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Migrate SYSVOL to the Distributed File System (DFS) Replication

Why Consider this

File Replication Service is obsolete and an inefficient technology which has been replaced by DFS Replication.

Watch a Customer Engineer explaining the issue

Context and Best Practices

When a Domain Controller is running Windows 2008 Server, SYSVOL is capable of being replicated using DFS Replication, rather than the older File Replication Service.

If all Domain Controllers within the Domain are running Windows Server 2008, and the Domain Functional Level has been raised to Windows Server 2008, it is advised to start the migration process to DFS Replication for SYSVOL to take advantage of new features.

Such benefits as Remote Differential Compression are available upon migration to DFS Replication which can significantly improve performance over WAN links.

There are many other benefits to moving to DFS Replication, as detailed in the Recommended Reading.

Suggested Actions

For migrating SYSVOL from FRS to DFRS, plese follow instructions from articles in Learn More section.

Learn More

Files that are replicated through FRS are deleted on downstream replicas in Windows:

https://support.microsoft.com/kb/3099433

The Case for Migrating SYSVOL to DFSR

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/askds/2010/04/22/the-case-for-migrating-sysvol-to-dfsr/

SYSVOL Replication Migration Guide: FRS to DFS Replication:

https://technet.microsoft.com/library/dd640019(WS.10).aspx

Streamlined Migration of FRS to DFSR SYSVOL

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/filecab/2014/06/25/streamlined-migration-of-frs-to-dfsr-sysvol/