File server DFS-R replication issue file removed

Question

Hello, I would like to have the opinion of someone who knows DFS-R with file servers :). My customer has 2 servers with DFS-R in between (SRV1 and SRV2 for example).

The replication stopped working because they have passed because more than 60 days have passed without them replicating. The problem was seen today, and it's been over a year since they responded. Users always connected to SRV1 (preference set up on namespace servers). I therefore try to exit the SRV2 replication group and then put it back in but the event log indicates the same error, replication has not taken place for more than 60 days so it is not possible. I then decide to delete all SRV2 data contained in each replicated folder (including dfsrconfig) and keep only the root folder used for replication. I reintegrate the server into the replication group and the data is well replicated. I let it run. Result: Everything replicated well, but around 200GB out of 500 were deleted on SRV1. When I go to a folder, from SRV1 there were 50 files before, there are only 20 now for example.... I would like to know what could have happened to cause data to be deleted from SRV1 even though I did nothing about it and when I added SRV2 as a member, it was indeed SRV1 who was the master of replication. I can't find any technical explanation that could explain this so I would like to have the opinion of experts on the subject

Answer 1

It seems that the deletion of data on SVR2 replicated to SRV1 You would need to restore it from backups

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hth Marcin

Answer 2

I need to understand a little more what I would need to do ? Here I remove data from server but only after I removed it from the replication group. Then I add it back. I would understand if an entire replication group would be empty in SRV1 but it's not

Answer 3

Use the following procedure (as per https://serverfault.com/questions/1097498/how-to-properly-remove-dfs-replication-without-data-loss) to remove SVR2 from the replication group:

1. Disable member from the Replication Group using the DFS Management Console. Right-click on each member server and select Disable.
2. Wait until the change replicates across AD, indicated by Event 4114 in the DFSR Event Log on the target server.
3. Delete membership from the replication group using the DFS Management Console. Right-click on each member server and select Remove.
4. Wait to verify that the removal operation replicated across the domain, indicated by Event 4010 in the DFSR Event Log.

Once that's completed, restore data from backups to SVR1.

Before you re-add SVR2 to the replication group, uninstall DFS-R on that server, delete the directory structure corresponding to the replicated content, reinstall DFS-R, and add the server back to the group

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hth

Marcin