DFS shares
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@TAHIN said in DFS shares:
If you add a domain controller as a namespace server, then your /DFSRoot/ will show up when you browse to your domain namespace.
In my test example, the DC is the DFS server also.
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Remember that when you browse to your domain, all you're really doing is browsing DFS namespaces/links that exist on the DC that you're logged into... like SYSVOL is DFS.
DFS Namespace servers just serve up the namespace and links, not the actual data, so there is no disadvantage to making all of your DC's namespace servers.
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@JaredBusch Is the DC on which you set up the example your %logonserver%?
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@TAHIN said in DFS shares:
@JaredBusch Is the DC on which you set up the example your %logonserver%?
Yes it is.
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There it is. Looks like it just took a bit?
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@TAHIN said in DFS shares:
There it is. Looks like it just took a bit?
That was browsing by server name.
Still not around by domain name.
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Hmm maybe just give it some time. Whenever I add a DC as a namespace server for my domain-based namespace, it eventually shows up.
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I'm reading through the comments. I'm using separate file servers, no DCs in the mix.
I can manually reach it by going to \domain\DFStest
But with another namespace (fileshares), I can simply go to \domain and see \Fileshares in there along with Netlogon & Sysvol.
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@BBigford Look at the fileshares DFS root from the DFS console. Is there a DC that is a namespace server?
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Haha SOB. I've been looking forEVER. Fileshares is actually on a DC. That's why it's publishing.
@TAHIN got it. Thanks
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@TAHIN said in DFS shares:
@BBigford Look at the fileshares DFS root from the DFS console. Is there a DC that is a namespace server?
Yeees. f%#&... I was looking over it too quickly. Our DCs are very similarly named to the file servers but distinguishable if you slow down and read (which I failed to do).
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Glad you got it. I'd recommend adding every DC as a namespace server. It provides redundancy for remotely connected machines. DFS lives in the domain, so you want to give clients as many ways in as you can.
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@TAHIN said in DFS shares:
Glad you got it. I'd recommend adding every DC as a namespace server. It provides redundancy for remotely connected machines. DFS lives in the domain, so you want to give clients as many ways in as you can.
The other DC is also a namespace server.
So is the DFSRoots folder (on the DC) setup automatically at some point or is that manually setup if you want to publish root shares? I've never opted to publish before.
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the DFSRoots folder is created automatically when you add that server as a namespace server. It only contains links to targets; you generally don't touch it. This plays into the best practice that you don't want to populate any actual data in your DFS Roots. Always create folder targets on separate volumes/servers, so the root links and target locations are separate.
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@TAHIN said in DFS shares:
the DFSRoots folder is created automatically when you add that server as a namespace server. It only contains links to targets; you generally don't touch it. This plays into the best practice that you don't want to populate any actual data in your DFS Roots. Always create folder targets on separate volumes/servers, so the root links and target locations are separate.
Awesome, thanks for that. I saw a bit more clearly what was going on after you explained the automatic portion.
Any idea why Microsoft makes you use DC shared folders to publish/advertise under \domain instead of just doing it this way, and still showing up when only typing \domain? You had mentioned in one of your earliest posts that it had to be a DC that the share was located on to work the way I originally asked about (very helpful).
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@BBigford
When you browse to \domain.com, it performs a DFS-GET-REFERRALS against the record that was retrieved from DNS. The namespace has to be explicitly shared on the DC that you're connecting to. It's the same for the other AD shares: If you go to your DC and type 'net share' in cmd, you'll be able to see netlogon, sysvol, and your namespace shares and where they're shared from. In essence all DFS does is present shares in a creative way based on which DC you're closest to; there is no DFS without shares.
