DFS-R Health Report for SYSVOL

Distributed File System Replication (DFS-R) was introduced as a replacement for File Replication Service (FRS) in Windows Server 2008, and was further enhanced in Windows Server 2008 R2. When your domain functional level are set to Windows Server 2008, you have the option to migrate SYSVOL-replication from the deprecated FRS to the new and more reliable DFS-R service. A major advantage of using DFS-R over FRS is that FRS copies the whole file when a change are made, while DFS-R only copies the changed bits. This and further details are discussed here. I`ve also included some links in the resource section below on how to perform an FRS to DFS-R migration.

Included in the Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 are the DFS Management-console as well as several command-line tools for administering DFS. A great built-in feature in these tools is the diagnostic reports.

This is available in the DFS Management-console:

As well as from the DfsrAdmin.exe command-line tool:

Using this feature we can generate an HTML-report containing a great overview of the replication health for the SYSVOL replication group:

Any errors and warnings will be shown with detailed explanations. In addition we can view general information and statistics i.e. regarding free diskspace on the domain controllers, bandwith savings and so on (click on the thumbnail to view):

Since the reporting feature are available from the DfsrAdmin.exe command-line tool, it makes it easy to set up a script as a scheduled task that also sends the generated report via e-mail i.e. every morning. I`ve published a simple PowerShell-script to accomplish this which is available here.

Resources

SYSVOL Replication Migration Guide: FRS to DFS Replication (Word-version available here)

Verifying File Replication during the Windows Server 2008 DFSR SYSVOL Migration

DFSR SYSVOL Migration FAQ

Configuring DFSR to a Static Port

FRS to DFSR Migration Tool (not for SYSVOL migration)