Windows Server Hack [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Hack 97 Back Up the DFS Namespace

If you've implemented the
Distributed File System (DSF) on your network, you need to back up
your DFS namespace regularly.

The Distributed File System (DFS) is a feature of Windows 2000 Server
and Windows Server 2003 that lets you create a single
logical tree of shared folders that are physically located on
different file servers on your network. This makes it easier for
administrators to manage shared folders, and it also helps users find
shared resources, since the resources appear from the
user's point of view as a single hierarchical set of
folders on a single machine. As a result, to locate a particular
shared folder on the network, users don't have to
know the actual file server on which the folder resides; they just
have to connect to the DFS tree and browse until they find the folder
they require. Then, if the user has the appropriate permissions to
access the folder, he can do whatever he needs to do with the files
stored within it.

A collection of shared resources arranged in a logical hierarchy like
this is called a DFS namespace. This namespace
begins with the DFS root, which forms the bottom of the DFS tree. The
branches of the tree are called DFS links and
they map to shared folders on different file servers across your
network. Windows 2000 Server machines can host only one DFS root
(hence, only one namespace), but the Enterprise Edition of Windows
Server 2003 supports multiple DFS roots on a single machine.

If you're using DFS, it's important
that you back up your DFS configuration for your Windows 2000 domain.
Unfortunately, many disaster-recovery products on the market that
support Windows 2000 do not have a native add-in to support the
backup and restoration of the DFS namespace.

Fortunately, Microsoft has included in Windows 2000 two
command-line-based tools (DFScmd and
DFSUtil) to facilitate such a need. While the
functionality in these tools is also provided in the GUI by the DFS
snap-in for the MMC, using the command-line tools gives you the added
flexibility of using them to create a script that you can execute via
Task Scheduler to automate the backup process if your DFS topology
changes often.

DFScmd

The first command-line utility, DFScmd,
allows you to back up the DFS namespace to a text file that can be
accessed later to restore the namespace if necessary.
Here's the syntax to perform a backup:

DFScmd /view \\DFSName\DFSShare /BATCH >> "path\filename.bat"

For example, if you have a domain-based DFS namespace for the domain
Consoto.net, with a DFS
root named DFSRoot, then
your backup syntax would look like this:

DFScmd /view \\Consoto.net\DFSRoot /BATCH >> C:\Temp\dfsbackup.bat

Here's an example of what is saved in this batch
file:

REM BATCH RESTORE SCRIPT
REM dfscmd /map "\\consoto.net\DFSRoot" "\\servera.consoto.net\DFSRoot" "DFS Root for 
Consoto.Net members."
dfscmd /map "\\consoto.net\DFSRoot\Departments\Finance" "\\serverb.consoto.net\finance$" 
"Finance Department."
dfscmd /map "\\consoto.net\DFSRoot\Departments\ISS" "\\serverb.consoto.net\dept_iss$" 
"Information Systems Department."
dfscmd /map "\\consoto.net\DFSRoot\Domain Support\IIS Published Sites" 
"\\serverc.consoto.net\inetpub$" "IIS Web Sites published for Internet/Intranet Access."
The command completed successfully.

To restore the DFS volume structure (namespace) from the server it
was originally hosted on to a new file server in the domain, perform
the following steps. Start Distributed File System from
Administrative Tools and on the Action menu click New DFS Root. Click
Next and then choose the proper type of DFS root for your domain.
Select the server that will host the DFS root and then click Next.
Select the share that will become the DFS Root Share and then click
Next. Finally, insert a comment, click Next, and then click Finish.
The new DFS root is now available.

Now, run the batch file created earlier to restore the DFS volume
structure. When the batch file has completed execution, verify that
the namespace has been properly created. In our example, the DFS
namespace should now appear in the Distributed File System
Administrator like this:

DFSRoot
Departments
Finance
ISS
Domain Support
IIS Published Sites

DFSUtil

The second command-line
utility,
DFSUtil, allows you to query and perform
troubleshooting of the DFS metadata with domain-based DFS
implementations. DFS metadata is configuration
information of DFS that is stored in the Active Directory-based
Partition Knowledge Table. The functionality of the
command-line-based DFSUtil parallels the
functionality of the Distributed File System MMC snap-in.

While DFScmd is a built-in operating system
command, DFSUtil can be found on your Windows
2000/2003 product CD under the Support\Tools
directory in the SUPPORT.CAB file. If
you plan on using these utilities, I recommend you download the
latest SUPPORT.CAB file from
Microsoft's web site at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/ if you
are running Windows 2000 Service Pack 2 or later. The service packs
include updated versions of DFSUtil.exe that
resolve issues encountered with the original
version found on your Windows 2000 Server CD.

Matt Goedtel