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Networking has made it possible for organizations to locate offices and employees anywhere. Working with partners, selling products, and providing service can also be accomplished for any connected location. As long as files can move from point A to point B, there’s nothing standing in the way of productivity.

Of course, organizations with distributed workforces, sales regions, and partner locations have many files moving from point A to point B. Those files could contain any kind of data: copy, financials, software code, graphics. And many times, files are works in progress, travelling the network from one member of a committee to another, from an editor to a writer and back again, or from a supervisor asking for spreadsheet updates to the accountant who will make them.

IT management needs to ensure the organization that data and files will move securely from point to point. It must also find efficient ways to serve the data and enable people to share files. Without such efficient systems, productivity is compromised by file check-ins and check-outs and the need to know where files currently reside.

Microsoft Distributed File System (DFS) enables IT managers and end-users in medium and large enterprises access and manage files that are distributed across the network. DFS replication services allow files to be shared without emailing from person to person. There is no need to search for the latest version, the last recipient, or worry about the network’s capacity to move a large file.

However, Microsoft DFS does present some limitations, most notably the inability to lock files. Without file locking, users that access a file simultaneously might inadvertently overwrite one another’s changes or modify contents that are still being formulated. The time needed to identify and resolve data conflicts can negate the benefits of file sharing using Microsoft DFS.

Read the Full White Paper including the following information:

• Why use Microsoft DFS
• Problems with FRS - The advantage of DFS R2
• DFS R2 improvements - Namespaces and replication
• The DFS R2 limitations: No file locking
• Tools that add file locking to Microsoft DFS

 White Paper - MS DFS: Leveraging the Benefits and Filling the Gaps

Please let us know what you think and if there are any questions that may be left unanswered after reading this document. We look forward to hearing from you!