Dfs and Active Directory

Dfs uses the distributed systems infrastructure of Windows 2000 to find and manage file resources that are located on different computers in an enterprise. In fact, it is Dfs acting in concert with Active Directory, the directory service for Windows 2000, that provides the foundation of this distributed systems infrastructure.

Active Directory maintains all knowledge of the domain-based Dfs roots that exist in the domain. Specifically, domain-based Dfs depends on Active Directory for the following functionality:

• Storing complete knowledge of the Dfs topology underlying the Dfs namespace.
• Updating and querying Dfs knowledge by using the LDAP protocol.
• Keeping all participating computers for a Dfs root synchronized in their view of the Dfs topology.
• Exposing the site topology for intelligent replica selection.
• Keeping the content of file replicas synchronized with one another by using the File Replication service.

Active Directory does not maintain any information or provide any functionality for a stand-alone Dfs root.

You can replicate Dfs roots on servers in a domain, whether or not you have multiple domain controllers in your domain. Of course, it always makes sense to have at least one replica for a domain controller in a domain. In smaller organizations or remote offices, where domain controllers might be providing multiple services, it often makes sense to host Dfs roots on the domain controllers themselves.

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