Scheduling Replication

Schedules govern intersite replication between servers or domain controllers and also intrasite replication for Dfs replica sets. Intrasite replication for SYSVOL occurs automatically.

On SYSVOL

Site-to-site replication for SYSVOL is determined by the schedule for its connection object in Active Directory. It is treated as a trigger schedule, which means that when the connection schedule enables replication at a specified time, all pending file changes that have accumulated on an inbound partner are now replicated to the outbound partner. This can take minutes or hours depending on how much file data needs to be replicated.

Because trigger schedules are used with SYSVOL, its replication behavior is similar to that for Active Directory objects. Remember that replication of directory objects is completely separate from replication of SYSVOL files by FRS. As shown in Figure 18.5, the default interval for intersite replication of SYSVOL files is once per hour.

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Figure 18.5 Default Replication Schedule for SYSVOL

To check the schedule on the connection object for SYSVOL

1. Open the Sites and Services administrative console.
2. In the console tree, expand Sites, and then expand the site of interest.
3. Expand Servers, expand the server of interest, and then expand NTDS_Settings.
4. Right-click the connection of interest, and then click Properties.
5. Click Change Schedule to view the schedule for that connection.

On Dfs Replicas

A schedule for a replica set can be assigned to a connection object or to the replica set itself. Normally, a connection object is preferred because a schedule assigned to a connection object overrides a schedule assigned to a replica set. However, assigning a schedule to the replica set might be easier in certain circumstances. For example, if a replica set had a large number of replicas, say 100, it is a tedious process to configure all the connection objects.

The schedule for the replication of a replica set is interpreted as on or off. For example, the schedule shown in Figure 18.6 enables replication between 5 A.M. and 8 A.M. FRS starts replicating to the outbound partners at 5 A.M. and stops replicating at 8 A.M. even if not done sending all the files. This allows you to allocate replication when network bandwidth is available. For example, you can schedule replication during nonpeak hours in case a user dumps a 1 gigabyte (GB) file into a replica set.

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Figure 18.6 Replication Schedule for Dfs Replicas

To change the schedule on the connection object for a replica set

1. Open Active Directory Users and Computers, click View, and then click Advanced Features.
2. In the console tree, expand System, expand File Replication Service, and then expand DFS Volumes.
3. Expand the Dfs root and link of interest.
4. Right-click the link, and then click Properties.
5. Click Change Schedule to view the schedule for that connection.

To change the schedule on the entire replica set

1. Open Active Directory Users and Computers, click View, and then click Advanced Features.
2. In the console tree, expand System, expand File Replication Service, and then expand DFS Volumes.
3. Continue expanding until you reach the replica set of interest.
4. Click Change Schedule to view the schedule for that replica set.

   Remember that if a schedule is assigned to a connection object within this replica set, it overrides the schedule assigned to the replica set for that connection.

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