Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to suggest an interesting backup scenario I have stumbled across whilst using Windows Server 2003 <R2>.

Windows Server 2003 R2 now introduces DFS-R which allows DFS clients (clients browsing to network shares as \\domain.local\share rather than \\server\share).

All of my users are now using redirected docs/desktop and save their documents to a folder called something like \\domain.local\redirection.

The cool thing is with DFS, you can have a server hosting a DFS share but you can also have a server which only receives the replicated information.

SO...

In my setup all my users save to a server called FILE2, FILE2 runs a backup (NTBACKUP > USB Disk) every night at 18:30.

However, at the same time, any change which is made to a doc/file on FILE2 is instantly replicated to a server in two other locations. Although these servers are on remote sites connected with 1mb VPN's, the replication works perfectly (as DFS-R only replicates the tiny amount of change in a file, not the whole file) and I basically have two totally up to date copies of all of my data should FILE2 fail.

What's more, if FILE2 does fail, I can simply go in to DFS-R administration, earmark one of my other servers as a host for \\domain.local\redirection and everyone can access their data again (albeit slowly until the server is moved from the remote site).

Any thoughts on this setup (it is live now and working very well).

Mike Firth

Michael Firth
DIY MCSE
www.diymcse.com

~If it's not broke, break it and LEARN~