File Replication Service (FRS) is a

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service for distributing shared files and Group Policy Objects. It replaced the (Windows NT) Lan Manager Replication service, and has been partially replaced by

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Replication. It is also known as NTFRS after the name of the executable file that runs the service. One of the main uses of FRS is for the SYSVOL directory share. The SYSVOL directory share is particularly important in a Microsoft network as it is used to distribute files supporting

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and scripts to client computers on the network. Since Group Policies and scripts are run each time a user logs on to the system, it is important to have reliability. Having multiple copies of the SYSVOL directory increases the resilience and spreads the workload for this essential service. The SYSVOL directory can be accessed by using a

network share In computing, a shared resource, or network share, is a computer resource made available from one host to other hosts on a computer network. It is a device or piece of information on a computer that can be remotely accessed from another compu ...

to any server that has a copy of the SYSVOL directory (normally a

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) as shown below: \\server\SYSVOL Or by accessing it using the domain name: \\domain.com\SYSVOL Servers that work together to provide this service are called Replication Partners. To control file replication: # Use the ''Active Directory Sites and Services'' from ''Administrative Tools''. # Select the ''Sites'' container to view a list of sites. # Expand the site that to be viewed. This will provide the list of servers in that site. # Expand the server to be viewed, right click the NTDS settings, and select ''Properties''. # Under the ''Connections'' tab, the list of servers that are being replicated can be seen.

DFS Replication

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and

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, DFS Replication is available as well as the ''File Replication Service''. ''DFS Replication'' is a state-based replication engine for file replication among DFS shares, which supports replication scheduling and

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. It uses Remote Differential Compression to detect and replicate only the change to files, rather than replicating entire files, if changed.

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also includes a DFS Replication Service which is limited to peer-to-peer DFS Replication service groups. FRS is still used for SYSVOL replication, but optionally, DFS replication may be used instead of FRS replication for SYSVOL shares, and the FRS stopped. On up-level Windows Server 2008 domain controllers, SYSVOL replication is performed using DFS replication, by default although NTFRS replication is also supported. On Windows Server 2008/R2 up-level domain controllers, SYSVOL replication is performed using DFS replication, and NTFRS replication is disabled altogether.

References

External links

FRS Technical Reference

{{Windows Components Active Directory Microsoft server technology Windows components Network file systems Internet Protocol based network software