I have a client that multiple forests and multiple domains all at a functional level of 2003. They have Windows 2012 servers implemented and have DFS-N and DFS-R implemented in domain based 2008 mode. Would all the domains being at 2003 cause issues for their DFS implementation. I am trying to convince them to upgrade their domains so they can take advantage of DFS for SysVol rather than using FRS.

What issues if any would appear with there DFS or DFSR implementa

Hi Christopher,

Based on my research, domain functional level must be Windows Server 2008 or higher to use Windows Server 2008 mode domain based namespaces.

Here are some links below for you references:

Distributed File System

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753479(v=WS.10).aspx

DFS in 2008 mode, when domain functional level is 2003

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windowsserver/en-US/273264b4-0b45-47a7-8a27-8287a68a105f/dfs-in-2008-mode-when-domain-functional-level-is-2003?forum=winserverfiles

I hope this helps.

Best Regards,

Amy Wang