Chapter 10

Chapter 10:
Managing the Distributed File
System, Disk Quotas, and
Software Installation
 Learning Objectives
Chapter 10

■ Design, configure, and manage the

Distributed File System on a network
■ Publish a shared folder and a
Distributed File System shared folder in
the Active Directory
■ Enable and configure disk quotas
Learning Objectives (continued)
Chapter 10

■ Install and manage application software

■ Edit and configure the Windows 2000
Server Registry
■ Set up and use the Microsoft License
Manager
 Distributed File System
Chapter 10

■ Distributed File System (Dfs): A system

that enables folders shared from multiple
computers to appear as though they exist
in one centralized hierarchy of folders
instead of on many different computers
 Dfs Links in a Dfs Root
Chapter 10

D F S lin k s

D F S ro o t

Figure 10-1 Dfs links in the Dfs root container

 Advantages of DFS
Chapter 10

■ Shared folders can be set up so that they

appear in one hierarchy of folders
■ NTFS access permissions can be used
■ Offers fault tolerance
■ Enables load balancing for better server
performance
■ Web-based access is improved
■ Vital shared folders on multiple computers
can be backed up from one set of master
folders
 Planning Tip
Chapter 10

■ Implement Dfs on an NTFS volume to

take advantage of access
permissions, special permissions, and
auditing
 Troubleshooting Tip
Chapter 10

■ If you are running in mixed mode and

Dfs does not work on the Windows NT
Server 4.0 servers, install the latest
service pack for Windows NT Server
4.0 (Dfs is implemented in service
pack 3)
 Dfs Models
Chapter 10

■ There are two Dfs models:

◆ Standalone: does not take advantage of
the Active Directory and provides a flat
level share (no hierarchies under the root)
◆ Domain-based: uses the Active Directory
and offers a deep hierarchical folder
arrangement
 Domain-Based Topology
Chapter 10
■ Dfs root: The main Active Directory
container that holds Dfs links to shared
folders in a domain
■ Dfs link: A path that is established between
a shared folder in a domain and a Dfs root
■ Replica set: A grouping of shared folders in
a Dfs root that are replicated or copied to
all servers that participate in Dfs replication
 Planning a Dfs Implementation
Chapter 10

■ Determine whether to use a standalone

or domain-based model
■ Place Dfs shared folders on NTFS
formatted disks, if possible
■ Use multiple Dfs roots to reflect
particular arrangements of information
and security needs
 Planning a Dfs
Implementation(continued) Chapter 10

■ Set up a short cache timeout on

folders in which the contents change
often
■ Develop a synchronization schedule
that helps minimize network traffic
■ Regularly review and purge Dfs
folders that are no longer needed
 Configuring Dfs
Chapter 10

■ Configure Dfs using the Distributed file

System management tool
■ Start the tool by:
◆ Accessing it from the Administrative Tools
menu
◆ Or access it as an MMC snap-in
 Configuring the
Standalone Dfs Model Chapter 10

Figure 10-2 Specifying the standalone model

Associating the Domain with Dfs
Chapter 10

Figure 10-5 Entering the domain name

Creating a Dfs Root Share
Chapter 10

Figure 10-3 Creating a new Dfs share

 Troubleshooting Tip
Chapter 10

■ A host server can host only one DFS root

(either standalone or domain based)
■ If you attempt to create an additional
standalone or domain based root on a
server, you will see the error message,
“This server already hosts a Dfs root”
 Using the MMC to Access a
New Root Chapter 10

Figure 10-4 Viewing a new Dfs shared folder in the MMC console
 Tasks in Managing a Domain-
Based Dfs Root System Chapter 10

■ Deleting a Dfs root

■ Adding and removing a Dfs link
■ Adding root and link replica sets
■ Configuring security
■ Checking the status of a root or link
 Deleting a Dfs Root
Chapter 10

■ The steps to delete a Dfs root are:

◆ Warn users in advance
◆ Open the Distributed File System
management tool
◆ Right-click the root in the tree
◆ Click Delete Dfs Root
◆ Click Yes
 Adding a Dfs Link
Chapter 10

■ The steps to add a Dfs link are:

◆ Open the Distributed File System
management tool
◆ Right-click the root
◆ Click New Dfs Link
◆ Enter the name for the link
◆ Enter the shared folder to use for the link
◆ Set the cache timeout
◆ Click Ok
Setting Up a Link
Chapter 10

Figure 10-6 Creating a Dfs link

 DFS Replicas
Chapter 10
■ Replicas allow for the distributed file system to be
fault tolerant and load balanced
■ Create a root replica to provide a backup of the
master root system and to balance the load when
access to the master root becomes heavy
■ Load balancing via root replicas improves network
performance and user productivity, because users
don’t have to wait for the resources that they need
■ Designated links can be replicated as well as
roots for fault tolerance and load balancing
 Configuring a Replica
Chapter 10

■ To configure a replica using the DFS

management tool:
◆ Right-click the Dfs link to replicate and click New
◆ Enter the computer name and shared folder on the
computer to house the replica
◆ Select the replication method, Manual or
Automatic, and click OK. Automatic replication is
handled by the File Replication service.
◆ For automatic replication, set the the replication
policy and click OK
 Configuring the Type
of Replication Chapter 10

Figure 10-7 Adding a new replica for a Dfs link

 Configuring the
Replication Policy Chapter 10

Figure 10-8 Configuring replication policy

 Configuring the File
Replication Service Chapter 10

■ Make sure that the File Replication

Service is started and configured to
start automatically
■ Use the Computer Management tool or
the Services tool on the Administrative
Tools menu to configure services
 Dfs Root Permissions
Chapter 10

■ Full Control: Can change permissions,

take ownership, create, delete, modify
and manage Dfs shared files and folders
– plus delete trees and subtrees in the
folder structure
■ Read: Can list and read the contents of
shared files and folders
■ Write: Can modify the contents of shared
files and folders
Troubleshooting a Problem with
a Root or Link Chapter 10

■ The most common problem is that a root,

link, or replica is not accessible, such as
when the computer on which it resides is
down
■ Use the Check Status option to locate a
problem and look for a red circle with a
white “x” that indicates a particular link or
replica is down
 Checking the Status of Dfs
Chapter 10

Figure 10-9 Checking the status of replicas in a link

 Steps for Publishing a Folder
Chapter 10

■ To publish a folder:
◆ Open the Active Directory Users and
Computers tool
◆ Right-click the domain
◆ Point to New and click Shared Folder
◆ Enter the name for the published folder
◆ Enter the path to the shared folder or Dfs
root and click OK
 Publishing a Folder
Chapter 10

Figure 10-10 Publishing a shared folder

 Disk Quotas
Chapter 10

■ Use the Windows 2000 disk quota capability

to:
◆ Prevent users from filling the disk capacity
◆ Encourage users to play their part in managing
disk space by cleaning up old or unused files
◆ Track disk capacity needs for future planning
◆ Provide server administrators information about
when users are nearing or have reached their
disk quotas
 Planning Tip
Chapter 10

■ If possible, establish quotas before

making shared folders available to users,
because it is politically harder to impose
the limits after users are accustomed to
having none
 Disk Quota Parameters
Chapter 10
■ To configure disk quotas, right click a disk
volume, select properties, and click Quota
■ Enable quota management: Sets up quota
management and starts tracking disk usage
■ Deny disk space to users exceeding quota
limits: Users can’t write new information after
reaching their quota level
■ Do not limit disk usage: Tracks disk usage
without imposing quotas
■ Limit disk space to: Sets the default amount
of disk space for all users
 Disk Quota Parameters
(continued) Chapter 10

■ Set warning level to: Sets the default disk

space that users can occupy that will trigger a
warning message
■ Log event when a user exceeds their quota
limit: An event is entered in the System log
when a user reaches his or her quota
■ Log event when the user exceeds the warning
level: An event is entered in the System log
when a user receives a warning that he or
she is approaching the quota
Configuring a Default
Disk Quota Chapter 10

Figure 10-11 Setting default disk quotas

 Disk Quotas for Specific Users
Chapter 10

■ Besides setting default disk quotas for

all users, you can set individual quotas
for certain users
■ Click the Quota Entries button to view
current usage by each user and set
individual quotas
 Setting a Quota for a User
Chapter 10

Figure 10-12 Setting a disk quota on a designated user account

 Deleting a Disk Quota
Chapter 10

Figure 10-13 Deleting a disk quota on an account

 Running Software Applications
Chapter 10

■ Software applications run in the user

mode
◆ User mode: A special operating mode in
Windows 2000 used for running programs
in a memory area kept separate from that
used by the kernel and in which the
program cannot directly access the kernel
or operating system services except
through an API
 Windows 2000 Server Registry
Chapter 10

■ Sample elements in the Registry

◆ Information about all hardware components
◆ Information about Windows 2000 services
◆ Data about user profiles and group policies
◆ Data on the last current and last known
setup used to boot the computer
◆ Configuration information for all software
◆ Software licensing information
◆ Control Panel parameter configurations
 Elements of the Registry
Chapter 10

■ Key: A category of information contained in the

Windows 2000 Registry, such as hardware or
software
■ Subkey: A key within a Registry key, similar to a
subfolder under a folder
■ Value: A data parameter in the Registry stored
as a value in decimal, binary, or text format
■ To view the information in the registry, run
regedit.exe or regedt32.exe
 Root Key Defined
Chapter 10

■ Root key: Also called a subtree, the

highest category of data contained in
the Registry. There are five root keys.
Windows 2000 Server Root Keys
Chapter 10

■ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE: Contains in
particular information about hardware
components and drivers, software
installed, system information, and
security
■ HKEY_CURRENT_USER: Contains
information about the user profile for the
account currently logged onto the
console
 Windows 2000 Server
Root Keys (continued) Chapter 10

■ HKEY_USERS: Contains all of the user

profiles
■ HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT: Contains
data to associate file extensions with
programs
■ HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG: Contains
information about the current hardware
profile
Example Contents of a Root Key
Chapter 10

Figure 10-16 The HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE root key

 Editing the Registry
Chapter 10

■ Edit the Registry using one of two

editors:
◆ Regedt32: a more modern 32-bit editor
◆ Regedit: the original editor preferred by
some administrators
 Editing the
HKEY_CURRENT_USER key Chapter 10

Figure 10-17 Changing Registry data for file associations

 Troubleshooting Tip
Chapter 10

■ Only make changes to the Registry

when you are absolutely certain about
what you are doing, or you may end up
with a system the will not boot
 Chapter Summary
Chapter 10

■ The Distributed File System (Dfs) is

designed to make it easier for users to
access multiple shared folders on
multiple servers
■ Dfs can be implemented using the
standalone or domain-based model
■ Dfs not only can make users more
productive, but it offers fault tolerance
and load balancing
 Chapter Summary
Chapter 10

■ Disk quotas make it possible to:

◆ Obtain statistics for disk capacity planning
◆ Place limits on the amount of disk space
that all users or individual users occupy
■ Use the Add/Remove Programs tool to
install, upgrade, and remove application
software
 Chapter Summary
Chapter 10

■ The Windows 2000 Server Registry

houses vital system, hardware,
software, user, and security information
■ Plan to use the Microsoft License
Manager to track current licenses,
install new licenses, and determine
when more licenses are needed