Planning File Server Availability

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

When you plan for file server availability, begin by ensuring the uptime of the physical file server. Next, determine whether the file server contains business-critical data. If it does, you need to decide whether to use an availability strategy, such as replication or clustering, to ensure the availability of the data. If data on the file server is temporary or not business critical, continue to "Planning File Server Security" later in this chapter.

Figure 2.9 describes the planning process for file server availability.

Figure 2.9   Planning File Server Availability