How to migrate DFS Namespace

Question

I've installed on-premise ServerB which should take over for the old ServerA.

Folder targets has been changed from ServerA to ServerB where I've Robocopied all the files and created the same shares.

I've also added ServerB as a namespace server and disabled ServerA folder tagets for every share.

When powering down ServerA, the namespace becomes unavailable for the users, and the DFS Management GUI on ServerB also becomes inaccessible.

Am I missing a step to move the "DFS Root role" from ServerA to ServerB or what is the solution?

***Moved from Windows / Other/unknown / Files, folders, and online storage***

Answer 1

Hello TroelsCr3wef

If you've already changed the folder targets from ServerA to ServerB and have successfully added ServerB as a namespace server, then the primary components of the migration seem to be in place.

here are a few additional steps to check:

• Double-check that DNS records are updated to reflect ServerB as the primary namespace server. This includes A records, CNAME records, or any other DNS entries pointing to the DFS namespace.
• Make sure that the DFS namespace referrals are correctly configured to point to ServerB as the active namespace server. You can check this in the DFS Management Console.
• Ensure that ServerB is operating normally and there are no issues with its network connectivity, services, or disk storage.
• Monitoring the DFS namespace on ServerB for any errors or warnings in the DFS event logs.

Best regards,

Karlie Weng

Answer 2

I've now double checked the existence of a correct A-record to ServerB (same as for ServerA).

I've now two servers in Namespace Servers tab in DFS Management. I've now disabled ServerA in regard to Referral Status.

Still, when shutting down the DFS Namespace service at ServerA, the DFS Management GUI throws this error at me:

"\domain\root: The namespace cannot be queried. The RPC server is unavailable"
(The path is of course just an example.)

It's of course an domain based namespace :)

I can't locate anything DFS-related in eventviewer on ServerB. On ServerA the DFS Replication log is located below Applications and Services Logs, but not anywhere to find on ServerB.

ServerA 2012

ServerB 2022

Answer 3

ServerA has a lot of Dfsr00220.log.gz files located in C:\Windows\debug. ServerB does not.

Answer 4

I've now tried to delete ServerB as a NameSpace Server and tried to add it from ServerA's DFS Management. This failed with the following error: "Error adding namespace server"

When clicking on Browse this error appears "Value does not fall within the expected range".

I'm able to add ServerB as a namespace server at DFS Mangement on ServerB and it appears in DFS Management on ServerA.

Answer 5

No DFS-related errors in eventviewer > Windows Logs > system > Find "dfs"