Server 2003 DFS Client settings and security policy

In addition to the Server-based DFS (Distributed File system) components in the Windows Server 2003 family, there are DFS components based on the client. DFS clients can cache references to a DFS root or Dfs link for a period of time that is specified by the administrator. DFS client components can run on many different Windows platforms. The Windows Server 2003 family product supports targets on the following platforms.

One, access to a DFS target from another computer

Table 1 List of operating systems that support DFS

DFS mappings and procedures for client computers to access DFS servers

DFS Mappings

By default, DFS mappings are automatically published to the Active Directory, providing a Dfs topology synchronization across the primary server. This, in turn, provides fault tolerance for the DFS root and supports optional replication of the target. You can extend DFS mappings by adding DFS links to the Dfs root. The only limit to the number of layers of a hierarchy in a DFS map for the Windows Server 2003 family is to use up to 260 characters for any file path. A new Dfs link can reference a target with or without a subfolder, or reference the entire Windows Server 2003 family volume. If you have the appropriate permissions, you can also access any local subfolders that exist or are added to the destination.

The process of accessing a DFS server by a client computer is divided into three steps, as shown in Figure 1:

Figure 1 DFS Client Access implementation process

1 Client connected to a DFS server 3

2 The client receives the recommended DFS link Server1

3 DFS clients connect to DFS links

Second, referral settings for DFS clients

You should set different parameters based on different DFS clients, and when the DFS client wants to access resources (folders or files, etc.) in the namespace, the domain controller or namespace server provides a client-side "reference list (Referrals)" containing the target server that owns the resource. The client attempts to access the required resources from the first server in the list, and if the server fails to provide a service, the client will turn to the next target server in the list. However, how do you determine the priority of the target server in the list? This can be set by right-clicking the namespace → properties → reference, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 Referral settings for DFS clients