Managing and Troubleshooting DFS

DFS can be managed through the DFS Management console included in the Windows Server 2008 R2 Administrative Tools program group and in the Server Manager console. DFS can also be managed in a command-line environment using the DFS command-line utilities. These utilities include the following:

» DfsUtil — Can be used to manage DFS namespaces, servers, and clients. DfsUtil can also be used to export DFS namespaces to XML files so they can be migrated to new systems.

» DfsCmd — Can be used to manage the folders and targets within an existing DFS namespace.

» DfsrAdmin — Can be used to perform actions on existing DFS Replication groups, including adding new replication group folders and generating reports on existing replicated folder members.

» DfsrDiag — Can be used to force replication, stop replication, or report on replication health.

Using the DFS management console, DFS standalone and domain-based roots can be shown and managed in a single DFS console window. The administrator can check DFS root and folder targets for availability by checking the Connection status of all targets for a particular replication group. Using the DFS Management console, a DFS administrator can also create a DFS Replication Diagnostic report. To create a diagnostic report for replication, perform the following steps:

1. Open the DFS Management console and expand it.

2. Double-click on Replication to reveal the desired replication group. If the desired replication group is not shown, right-click the Replication node, select Add Replication Groups to Display, and follow the steps to add the desired group.

3. Right-click the desired replication group, and select Create Diagnostic Report.

4. When the Diagnostic Report Wizard window opens, select either the health report,
propagation test, or propagation report, and click Next.

5. If a report was selected, the report will be saved to the c:\DFSReports folder with a default name; if necessary, change the report name and location and click Next.

6. On the Members to Include page, add or remove the desired folder target servers for the report, and click Next.

7. On the Options page, select the desired options for the report details, to count or not count backlogged files and whether or not to count the replicated files and folders, including data set size on each member, and click Next.

8. Review the selections and if everything looks correct, click Create to generate and display the report.

9. The report will be displayed in the default browser; close the browser and DFS Management console when you are finished.

Source of Information : Sams - Windows Server 2008 R2 Unleashed (2010)