How To Use File Replication Service File and Folder Filters in Windows 2000

This article describes how to use file and folder filters for content that is replicated by the File Replication service (FRS).

FRS is a multithreaded, multiple-master replication engine that replaces the LAN Manager Replication (LMREPL) service in Microsoft Windows NT versions 3.x and 4.0. Windows 2000-based domain controllers and servers use FRS to replicate system policies and logon scripts for Windows 2000-based and earlier clients.

FRS can also replicate content between Windows 2000-based servers that host the same fault-tolerant distributed file system (Dfs) roots or child node replicas.

Overview

File and folder filters are managed by the fRSFileFilter and fRSDirectoryFilter attributes of the NTFRS-Replica-Set class. File and folder filters are maintained for each FRS replica including the following:

• Sysvol. Replication for Sysvol is implicitly enabled.
• Fault-tolerant roots on which replication has been enabled.
• Dfs child nodes that are located on Windows 2000-based servers on which replication has been enabled. Dfs replication must be enabled in the Distributed File System Manager snap-in (Dfsgui.msc) on each level of the Dfs namespace that is "backed" by more than one Windows 2000-based server or domain controller.

Using Dfs File and Folder Filters

You can apply file and folder filters on NTFRS-Replica-Set objects to prevent files on the Windows 2000 system volume or replicated Dfs volumes from being replicated. You can define the file and folder filters in the Active Directory service for each FRS replica individually, or in the registry, which affects all FRS replicas that are hosted on that server. The final filter that is applied to the replica is formed from the settings in Active Directory and the registry as per the following configurations: By default, the file filter value in Active Directory is set to "*.tmp, *.bak, ~*" and the value in the registry is not set. The folder filter is not set in Active Directory or in the registry.

Based on the configurations listed earlier in this article, if an administrator wants to replicate all the files in an FRS replica and therefore deletes the default file filters in Active Directory, the resultant filter that is applied to the replica excludes the files with names that include *.tmp, *.bak, and ~*. For the default file filter not to be used, the file filter in Active Directory must not be blank. Setting the file filter to a comma (,) is sufficient to allow all files to be replicated.

Running the ntfrsutl ds command displays the file and folder filters that are defined on the FRS replica in Active Directory. However, this may not be the actual filter that is applied to the replica. Running the ntfrsutl sets command displays the resultant file and folder filters on the FRS replica, which are created based on the configurations that are listed earlier in this article.

Setting the File and Folder Filters on an FRS Replica in Active Directory

1. Start the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in.
2. On the View menu, verify that the Advanced Features command has a check mark.
3. In the left pane, double-click System, then double-click File Replication Service.

Setting Filters for Sysvol

1. Right-click Domain System Volume (Sysvol share), and then click Properties.
2. On the Replica Set tab, configure the file and folder filters that you want.
3. Click OK to save the settings.

Setting Filters for Dfs Replicas

1. Double-click Dfs Volumes, and then double-click the Dfs Root container.
2. Right-click the object that represents the Dfs replica that you want to modify, and then click Properties.
3. On the Replica Set tab, configure the file and folder filters that you want.
4. Click OK to save the settings.

Using Registry Entries

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
You can use the following registry entries to set file and folder filters for all replica sets that are hosted on a server: NOTE: The filters that you set in the registry must be set on all servers that are members of those replicas if you want to maintain a consistent replication policy across all servers.