Migrating to the Redirected State

Updated: August 19, 2008

Applies To: Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2

After you have verified that all domain controllers have successfully migrated SYSVOL replication to the Prepared state and that SYSVOL replication still operates as expected, you can migrate SYSVOL replication to the Redirected state. In the Redirected state, DFS Replication takes over the replication of the primary SYSVOL folder for the domain; however, FRS continues to replicate the original SYSVOL folder.

To migrate to the Redirected state, perform the following tasks:

  1. Migrate the domain to the Redirected state

  2. Verify that the domain has migrated to the Redirected state

After you migrate successfully to the Redirected state, you can proceed to migrate to the Eliminated state, as discussed in the Migrating to the Eliminated State topic.

Migrate the domain to the Redirected state

After you verify that the domain is successfully in the Prepared state, as discussed in the Migrating to the Prepared State topic, you are ready to migrate the domain to the Redirected state.

To migrate the domain to the Redirected state

  1. From a command prompt window on a writeable domain controller (not a read-only domain controller) in the domain that you want to migrate, type dfsrmig /setglobalstate 2 to set the global migration state to Redirected.

  2. Type dfsrmig /getglobalstate to verify that the global migration state is Redirected. The following output appears if the global migration state is Redirected.

    Current DFSR global state: ‘Redirected’
    Succeeded.
    
  3. Type dfsrmig /getmigrationstate to confirm that all domain controllers have reached the Redirected state. The following output should appear when all domain controllers reach the Redirected state.

    All Domain Controllers have migrated successfully to Global state (‘Redirected’).
    Migration has reached a consistent state on all Domain Controllers.
    Succeeded.
    

    This step can take some time. The time needed for all of the domain controllers to reach the Redirected state depends on Active Directory latencies and the amount of data that is present in the SYSVOL shared folder.

Important

You should not begin migrating to the Eliminated state until the migration reaches a consistent state on all domain controllers.

Verify that the domain has migrated to the Redirected state

Before you continue the migration and migrate the domain to the Eliminated state, it is important to first verify that the domain has properly migrated to the Redirected state. Use the following procedure to verify the health of the migration. Once you are satisfied that migration to the Prepared state has succeeded and that SYSVOL is still replicating properly, you can migrate to the Eliminated state.

To verify that the domain has migrated to the Redirected state

  1. On each domain controller in the domain that you want to migrate, open a command prompt window and type net share to verify that the SYSVOL shared folder is shared by each domain controller in the domain and that this shared folder now maps to the SYSVOL_DFSR folder that DFS Replication is replicating. Text that is similar to the following should appear as part of the output of the command:

    Share name   Resource                        Remark
    
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    […]
    NETLOGON     C:\Windows\SYSVOL_DFSR\sysvol\corp.contoso.com\SCRIPTS
                                                 Logon server share
    SYSVOL       C:\Windows\SYSVOL_DFSR\sysvol   Logon server share
    

Tip

To use the net share command on a remote computer, download and use the Windows Sysinternals PsExec tool (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=161328).

  1. Use the DFS Management snap-in to create a Diagnostic Report for the SYSVOL_DFSR folder by performing the following steps:

Note

You must be a member of the local Administrators group on each server for which you want to prepare a diagnostic report.

1.  Open **DFS Management** from the **Administrative Tools** folder.  
      
2.  In the console tree, under the **Replication** node, click **Domain System Volume**.  
      
3.  Click the **Membership** tab, click **Membership Status**, and then for each domain controller in the domain, verify that the **Enabled** check box is selected for a **Local Path** of \[*drive*:\\\]*Windows\_folder*\\SYSVOL\_DFSR\\domain.  
      
4.  Right-click **Domain System Volume**, and then click **Create Diagnostic Report** to create a diagnostic report for the DFS Replication of the SYSVOL\_DFSR folder. Follow the instructions in the Diagnostic Report Wizard and view the report that the wizard produces to verify the health of the DFS Replication of the SYSVOL\_DFSR folder.  
      
    DFS Management in Windows Server 2008 provides the ability to run a propagation test and generate two types of diagnostic reports—a propagation report and a general health report. To verify that SYSVOL replication is working properly, perform the propagation test and examine both reports for problems.  
      

Note

The amount of time necessary to generate a diagnostic report varies based on a number of factors, including DFS Replication health, the number of replicated folders, available server resources (for example, CPU and memory), WAN availability (connectivity, bandwidth, and latency), and the chosen reporting options. Because of the potential delay in creating diagnostic reports, you should create diagnostic reports for no more than 50 servers at a time.

  1. Use the Ultrasound tool to verify that the FRS replication of the original SYSVOL folder remains healthy. For information about using Ultrasound to monitor FRS replication, see the Ultrasound Help.

    If you are not already using Ultrasound to monitor FRS, see the following blog post for a simpler method to check SYSVOL replication using the FRSDIAG tool https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=137837.

    Although DFS Replication rather than FRS is responsible for SYSVOL replication after migration to the Redirected state, you should still confirm that FRS replication continues to work in case you need to roll back migration later.

  2. Migrate SYSVOL replication to the Eliminated state when you are satisfied that migration to the Redirected state succeeded and that replication of the SYSVOL shared folder continues to operate properly. For information about how to migrate SYSVOL replication to the Eliminated state, see Migrating to the Eliminated State.

If you need additional confirmation that migration to the Redirected state succeeded or if you need additional troubleshooting information when migration to the Redirected state does not succeed, perform the additional verification steps in Verifying the State of SYSVOL Migration.

Additional references

SYSVOL Replication Migration Guide: FRS to DFS Replication

Migrating to the Prepared State

Migrating to the Eliminated State

SYSVOL Migration Series: Part 4 – Migrating to the ‘REDIRECTED’ state