Link to home
Start Free TrialLog in
Avatar of straemm
straemm

asked on

how do i remove dfs?

I use 2 servers as DC , dhcp, dns and file server. There is also a dfs root named DFS between those 2 servers that map 3 folders(eg. FILES, COMMON, PROFILES). there is a replication between those 2 servers through dfs.
I want to stop using dfs due to some problems in administering it. The server-2 is out of network for many days now and only the server-1 works. I want to disable dfs so the server-1 to be used as file server directly and not through dfs. After that i will use the server-2 as backup server or something else.Is this possible? how can i do it??
Avatar of tibble2
tibble2
Flag of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland image

DFS configuration information is stored in the registry, and possibly in the Active Directory.

The procedure for deleting DFS configuration information is different for Fault-Tolerant DFS Roots versus Stand-Alone DFS Roots and Windows 2000 Cluster Servers.

Fault-Tolerant DFS Roots
1. Open a CMD prompt and type net stop dfs.

2. Use Regedt32 to navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\DfsHost.

3. Delete the Volumes key and any sub-keys.

4. Navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\DfsDriver\LocalVolumes

5. Delete all the sub-keys, but NOT the LocalVolumes key.

6. Open Active Directory Users and Computers.

7. On the View menu, press Advanced Features.

8. Open the DFS-Configuration container in the System object. Delete the DFS root in the right-hand pane.

9. Open a CMD prompt and type net start dfs.

Stand-Alone DFS Roots and Windows 2000 Cluster Servers
1. Open a CMD prompt and type net stop dfs.

2. Use Regedt32 to navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\DfsHost.

3. Delete the Volumes key and any sub-keys.

4. Navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\DfsDriver\LocalVolumes

5. Delete all the sub-keys, but NOT the LocalVolumes key.

6. Open a CMD prompt and type net start dfs.

Avatar of straemm
straemm

ASKER

thank you for the answer!
but i use windows server 2003 and no 2000..
If i use this way the shared folders will be available to users??
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
Avatar of tibble2
tibble2
Flag of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland image

Link to home
membership
This solution is only available to members.
To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.
Start Free Trial
Avatar of straemm

ASKER

thank you for the answer...
Does it matter which one of the 2 server is the master?? I mean i must do the above mentioned procedure in server-1?
How is it possible to delete the shares in server-2?
Sorry to ask but i am totally inexperienced in dfs.
I don't want to lose the shared folders for the users not even te user rights..
Right now users can access the shares through "server name\dfs\....."
And i just want users to have access through "server name\..."
Will it be possible after the above actions???
 
Hi,

you have replication set up correct? this means there will be a copy of the shares on both servers and so you will need to remove on set. At present users acess shares via objects created in active directory. Breaking the DFS conneciton won't delete the shares but it will mean that all users will need to map drives using the standard UNC \\xxx\xx\xx and so on. It is alwasy advisable to doccument permisions and back up the data when make changes such as this on a live environment incase something does go wrong. You should be placing users into groups and then giving the group access to the folder under permissions tab. This will make life alot easier.

cheers


Avatar of straemm

ASKER

thank you again for the answer.
The users already see 2 shortcuts and 1 map drive that are created in default user in sysvol..
If i change the shortcuts and map drive i should do this in default user also?
If i do this will the existing user use the new correct shortcuts and map drive???
 
Avatar of straemm

ASKER

Anyone to help me???
Hi,

I am a little confused about your last question. The default user is used to make new accounts and so shouldnt be an issue for currently existing users. Adding mappings to a drive is a manual event unless you use say a logon script deployed by active directory GPO. This is the reason for the existence. If you are unsure I would suggest trying this out on a test environment first to see the effects. Also make sure to back up ure data.
Avatar of straemm

ASKER

thank you for the answer.
So the Default User is only for newly created users and i must create the new shortcuts in login script. That is right??
How is it possible to create desktop shortcuts for users???
place short cuts in the all users folder.
Avatar of straemm

ASKER

Where in server??
After i searched a lot, i found that my problem has to do with FRS (file replication system) between the 2 servers.( 3 folders in each server). I think that this is my problem..
Now if i turned off dfs, the rfs also is going to be turned off?? I mean only for theese folders not for sysvol or anything else that is crucial for servers to work...
Avatar of straemm

ASKER

Hello again
recently i found that server is part of a cluster and i don't know what that is....
I am thinking of formatting it and setting up again....
I don't know what to do....
How is it possible to make sure that it is part of cluster and what is this???
sorry to bother you but i am very anxious about it!!