Hello, I'm working on a potential setup of DFS in Windows Server 2003 (2008) preferred if the abilities are greater.I'm wondering what the minimum hardware is for my DFS hosting machine? Processor, memory, HDD, etc.I may have an HP Proliant Intel Xeon on hand and just wondering if 1-2GB would be enough power?I have other following questions regarding DFS and how it will operate. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.If I setup DFS on a server at my office location A and have a total of 2 office locations (Location A, and Location B) I have the DFS Server setup either on Server 1 in location A or on a separate server in location A how does the file replication service work?So I have a total of 2 file servers, one in location A and one in location B.I want to limit the bandwidth use between our T-1 and office locations however want my files to be accessible through a single namespace i.e: \\companyfile(namespace name)If I setup the namespace to host both servers (Server 1 in location A, and Server 2 in location B) is the data physically stored on the server hosting the DFS system? If so I dont want this. I want the DFS server to host only the namespace and links and dont want all the data from both servers copied to this DFS hosting server. My first question is to see if this is possible.So If I copy a file from Server 1 to Server 2 does that file go from Server 1 to the DFS Server to Server 2 (across our T-1 line) being that the servers are in two different locations and would it hit the DFS server, or would the file go directly from Server 1 to Server 2 and the DFS server would figure out and automatically update that the file was copied.The main concern here is that I dont want to have our DFS server host all the files on both file servers due to hdd limitations and massive amounts of company data.Also, could we have 2 control DFS servers? Or is one generally the way you want to go?Would it make sense to host the DFS hosting server on a different machine than one of the file servers or could I host the DFS server from Server 1, and also add Server 1 to the DFS namespace?What are the abilities of replication? Could I setup replication to occur every hour between our two office locations, having Server 1 replicate to Server 2? If a user is working on a file and saves the file to the namespace then goes to the other office location would it pull the updated file without replication run yet, or would changes not be seen in the file until replication is finished. (How smart is DFS, would it automatically update the file in both locations to say, ok I see a change was made lets make sure the file is up to date in the namespace regardless of where the file is saved from) If the file is in the namespace can we be sure its up to date when users open the file in both locations? Also, what is the simplest form we could create the namespace. Do we have to name it our domainname\namespace or could we simply make it \\namespace without users having to type in the domain name, i.e \\ourdomain\namespace?Again, we want to setup DFS and manage 2 office locations, without eating up our network by having too much stuff going back over the network between buildings. How smart is the DFS server?We also want to be sure that the objective of DFS is to only host the root name, links, and replication abilities from the DFS server and not to store all the data from both servers on this DFS (hosting service server)I'm new to DFS so I'm sorry if some of my questions are not clear but ultimately we want to simplify the pathname for users to access different department files from both offices from a single namespace regardless if they are at company location A or company location B.I also want to enable replication at night, but hourly would be nice also in case a user made a change to a file then we could recover the old file in 1-2 hours from the replicated file on server B from server A.**We want to minimize the data traveling over the T-1 but still utilize the namespace to pull files from 2 servers in separate locations. If I change a file on server A does it hit DFS then server B, or just server A hits server B? Without traffic going though the namespace which is on the other side of the T-1 (Therefore would be using T-1 utilization.)Anyone who might know anything about DFS please reply with any feedback.Thank you all so very much in advance!-Dan

Hello Dan, Thanks for posting here. After an overview of your post, I think DFS Replication with DFS namespace is a good solution which maybe fulfill your demand. Based on the experience, here is some information and general suggestion just for your reference. Q: I'm wondering what the minimum hardware is for my DFS hosting machine? Processor, memory, HDD, etc. I may have an HP Proliant Intel Xeon on hand and just wondering if 1-2GB would be enough power? A: Regarding hardware requirement for DFS, it depends on the actual environment in your network. For example, a. CPU speed: file server or the namespace server doesn't require too much CPU resource. However, the RDC (Remote Differential Compression) replication algorithm may require additional CPU resource. b. Memory: Additional RAM will therefore result in better file server performance. In this case, 1GB or more memory is recommended. c. Storage: hardware-based RAID 5 volumes is the recommended file server standard for all data volumes. On all the file servers, we may need to ensure there is enough disk space for staging areas for DFS replication. d. Network: If possible, please use Giga-Bit NIC which will improve the network performance. Q: how does the file replication service work? A: For the detail work mechanism of DFS replication, please refer to the following TechNet online document Overview of the Distributed File System Solution in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc787066.aspx Q: I want to limit the bandwidth use between our T-1 and office locations however want my files to be accessible through a single namespace i.e: \\companyfile(namespace name). If I setup the namespace to host both servers (Server 1 in location A, and Server 2 in location B), is the data physically stored on the server hosting the DFS system? If so I dont want this. I want the DFS server to host only the namespace and links and dont want all the data from both servers copied to this DFS hosting server.My first question is to see if this is possible. A: If you make both Server 1 and Server 2 as the namespace servers of a DFS namespace, only the namespace shared folder is stored on the namespace server. Actually, all the namespace and DFS configuration settings are stored in the Active Directory database on DC, and the folder targets and all their content are store on the file servers who are the members of the DFS namespace. We may set at least one namespace server in the environment, or for tolerance consideration, we can also add additional server as the namespace server. This is optional and depends on your need. Q: So If I copy a file from Server 1 to Server 2 does that file go from Server 1 to the DFS Server to Server 2 (across our T-1 line) being that the servers are in two different locations and would it hit the DFS server, or would the file go directly from Server 1 to Server 2 and the DFS server would figure out and automatically update that the file was copied. A: If you simply copy a file from Sever1 to Server2, it won't hit the DFS server. Actually, if we want to make a DFS namespace work, we may have to create a corresponding DFS replication group. When you create the DFS replication group, you may set the replication topology, the Bandwidth usage and the replication schedule. After the DFS replication group is configure successfully, the DFS server will automatically update the file according to the replication group that we set. We don't have the additional operation on it. Q: The main concern here is that I don't want to have our DFS server host all the files on both file servers due to HDD limitations and massive amounts of company data. Also, could we have 2 control DFS servers? Or is one generally the way you want to go? A: Yes. Actually, you can make the file servers to be the DFS member server and put all the company data on the file servers, not on the DFS namespace server. In other words, you can control the DFS servers. Q: Would it make sense to host the DFS hosting server on a different machine than one of the file servers or could I host the DFS server from Server 1, and also add Server 1 to the DFS namespace? A: Actually, you may separate the following DFS related role on the different physical computer or on a same box. DFS namespace server: only hold a small portion of namespace share folder on it Domain controller: have the Active Directory database which host the DFS configuration settings and the replication group settings DFS member server: the file server actually holds the data on it In this case, you can host the DFS server from Server1 and also add Server 1 to the DFS namespace.Q: What are the abilities of replication?Could I setup replication to occur every hour between our two office locations, having Server 1 replicate to Server 2? A: For the concern on bandwidth and replication, DFS Replication supports replication scheduling and bandwidth throttling in 15-minute increments during a 7-day period. We can choose the start and stop times as well as the bandwidth to use during the replication interval. The settings for bandwidth usage range from 16 kilobits per second (Kbps) to 256 megabits per second (Mbps) as well as full (unlimited) bandwidth. So We can configure a default schedule and bandwidth that applies to all connections between members and, optionally, create a custom schedule and bandwidth for individual connections. Q: If a user is working on a file and saves the file to the namespace then goes to the other office location, would it pull the updated file without replication run yet, or would changes not be seen in the file until replication is finished. (How smart is DFS, would it automatically update the file in both locations to say, ok I see a change was made lets make sure the file is up to date in the namespace regardless of where the file is saved from)If the file is in the namespace can we be sure its up to date when users open the file in both locations? A: In this scenario, the change will be seen on the other file server until the DFS replication is finished. Actually, DFS Replication uses a new compression protocol called Remote Differential Compression (RDC), which can be used to efficiently update files over a limited-bandwidth network. RDC detects insertions, removals, and re-arrangements of data in files, thereby enabling DFS Replication to replicate only the changes when files are updated. Additionally, a function of RDC called cross-file RDC can help reduce the amount of bandwidth required to replicate new files. For the consideration of the file update, it depends on the replication schedule that you may set. Q: Also, what is the simplest form we could create the namespace.Do we have to name it our domainname\namespace or could we simply make it \\namespace without users having to type in the domain name, i.e \\ourdomain\namespace? A: in the case, you may have to create and set the namespace in the form of \\domainname\namespace Q: Again, we want to setup DFS and manage 2 office locations, without eating up our network by having too much stuff going back over the network between buildings. How smart is the DFS server? A: Dont worry about this, you can create a custom schedule and bandwidth for individual connections. By using that, you may configure the Bandwidth usage and the time that you want to make the DFS replication works. You can also set the schedule so that the server that initiates replication interprets the schedule as being in either Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) or in the server's local time. In this case, I would like to suggest that you read the following guides before you implement the DFS solution in the production environment. Step-by-Step Guide for the Distributed File System Solution in Windows Server 2003 R2 http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc737358.aspx DFS Step-by-Step Guide for Windows Server 2008 http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc732863.aspx Distributed File System Replication: Frequently Asked Questions http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/pt-BR/library/f9b98a0f-c1ae-4a9f-9724-80c679596e6b1046.mspx?mfr=true Hope it helps. David Shen - MSFT

Thank you so much! I'll be doing more testing and may have some more questions in the future but your reply was very informative and I appreciate it!Thanks again!Dan