HOW TO: Configure Microsoft DFS as the Filing System for IIS

This article describes how to use Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Distributed File System (DFS) as the filing system for Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 5.0.

You can use DFS to make files that are distributed across multiple servers to appear to users as files that reside in one place on the network. If network resources for a Web site are stored on multiple computers, DFS allows you to centralize the network resources in a unified namespace. The logical namespace remains constant even if you move network resources to either a different server or a shared folder.

You can use DFS with IIS to make Web site management easier. When you use DFS as the filing system for IIS, you can use relative links in your Web site. These links can point to any network resource even if the resource does not reside on that same physical server. As a result, you can change the location of the resource without having to update the links in your Web site. To do so, use the DFS Administrator tool to update the namespace to point to the new location for the resource. As long as the DFS namespace is updated to point to the moved resource, you do not have to modify anything on the Web site for the links to continue working.

When you use the DFS Administrator tool, you can build a single hierarchical view of multiple file servers and file server shares that are physically distributed across a network. You can build a logical DFS folder of the main Internet or intranet Web site, which includes the default Web pages for several Web servers in subfolders.

How to Create the DFS Root

To use DFS as the filing system for IIS 5.0, configure a DFS root for the Web site. To do so:

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Distributed File System.
2. Click New DFS Root on the Action menu, and then click Next.
3. Click the type of DFS root that you want to create (for example, click either domain-based or stand-alone), and then click Next.
4. If you are creating a domain-based DFS root, click the name of the domain where you want to create the root, and then click Next.
5. Either type the name of the host computer for the DFS root or click a name from the list of available servers, and then click Next.
6. Type the path and the name of the root for the Web site in the DFS root format (for example, type \\servername\home), and then click Next.
7. Either accept the default name for the DFS root or type a new name, and then click Next.
8. Click Finish, and then restart the computer. NOTE: A host server is limited to one DFS root. The DFS root may be located in a file allocation table (FAT) partition. However, an NTFS file system offers greater security options.

After you configure a DFS root for the Web site, you can add additional DFS shared folders to redirect users to other network resources.

How to Add Additional DFS Shared Folders

To add additional DFS shared folders:

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Distributed File System.
2. Right-click the DFS root to which you want to assign a shared folder, and then click New DFS Link.
3. Type the logical name for this subfolder in the Link Name box.
4. Type the name of the shared folder where the Web server is located in the Send the user to this shared folder box (for example, type \\servername2\resource), and then click OK.

How to Move a Network Resource

If you change the location of a network resource, you can use the DFS Administrator tool to update the namespace to point to the new location of the resource. As long as you update the DFS namespace to point to the new location of the resource, you do not have to modify anything on the Web site for the links to continue working.

To update the namespace to point to the new location for the resource:

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Distributed File System.
2. Note the name of the DFS link that you want to move, right-click the DFS link, and then click Remove DFS Link.
3. Right-click the DFS root to which you want to assign a shared folder, and then click New DFS Link.
4. Type the logical name for this subfolder in the Link Name box (use the same logical name that you noted in step 2).
5. Type the name of the new location of the shared folder where the Web server is located in the Send the user to this shared folder box (for example, type \\servername3\resource), and then click OK.

Troubleshooting

For more information about troubleshooting DFS in Windows 2000, refer to the following Microsoft Web site:

For more information about DFS in Windows 2000, refer to the following Microsoft Web sites:

• Distributed File System White paper (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/storage/storservices.mspx)
• Step-by-Step Guide to Distributed File System (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb727150.aspx)

For additional information about how to set up file replication for IIS, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For information about how to create a virtual directory, see IIS Help.