- Setting Up a DFS Root
- Adding Root Links
- Creating a Link Replica
- Conclusion
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Creating a Link Replica
Let's say you want to add some fault tolerance to the link you just created. If the share this link is pointing to becomes unavailable (that is, for server maintenance), you want users to be redirected to an identical share containing the same file information but at a different location.
To set up a link replica, right-click the link you want to replicate and choose New Target.
You should see a screen similar to the one shown in Figure 8.
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Figure
8 Adding a link replica.
In the example, I am pointing my replica to another folder by the same name but on a different server. This folder will actually act as a backup link for my original link if the original link goes offline. After clicking OK on the New Target property sheet, you are prompted to configure replication for this replica. Click Yes to configure it now and then click Next, which displays the second screen of the Configure Replication Wizard shown in Figure 9.
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Figure
9 Configuring replication.
This screen asks you to choose which target will be the master or the distributor. Any other targets become publishers of the distributor. The Staging button allows you to change the path to the folder used for storing temporary files by the File Replication Service. Click Next to define the topology for the replication set shown in Figure 10.
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Figure
10 Choosing a replication topology.
If you have ever studied network topologies, these choices should be familiar. It just determines the direction in which data is transferred among locations between replica targets. Choose one that suits you and click Finish to return to the DFS Management Console. Repeat this process for any other links you want replicated.
You can check the status for the link's targets any time by right-clicking the link in the left pane. Under the status heading in the right pane, you should see the words Online or Offline to indicate whether the targets are active or not. You can have a target disabled, but still be online. It would be offline only if the share were physically unavailable that the target is pointing to. When you disable a target, you are making it unavailable to any users connecting to the link holding it, but it is still online.