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Article ID: 905846 - Last Review: January 6, 2009 - Revision: 5.2

You may receive DFS referrals that contain a list of random DFS targets, random SYSVOL or NETLOGON referrals, or experience slow performance when you access a shared folder in a DFS namespace on a Windows Server 2003-based computer

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SYMPTOMS

When you use a client computer to access a shared folder in a Distributed File System (DFS) namespace that is hosted on a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1)-based computer, you may experience the following symptoms:

The client computer may receive a referral that contains a list of DFS targets that are random or in non-optimal order in terms of the Active Directory site cost from DFS client to DFS target servers.

Note To verify whether the client computer is experiencing this problem, examine the referral that is received from the DFS server. The problem exists if the first DFS target server in the referral is not optimal from the perspective of the DFS client.
You may receive random SYSVOL or NETLOGON referrals from the DFS server when a DFS client tries to access scripts and policies that are stored in the SYSVOL or NETLOGON shared folders on domain controllers. This behavior may cause a longer than usual logon delay, because you are retrieving SYSVOL data from a remote site domain controller.

Note Domain controllers generate site-costed SYSVOL and NETLOGON referrals only if the SiteCostedReferrals registry entry is added to the registry on all domain controllers, and the DFS service is restarted. When the SiteCostedReferrals registry entry is not added, SYSVOL or NETLOGON referrals contains two sets of targets. The first set contains all the targets in the same site as the client. The second set contains all remaining targets. The SiteCostedReferrals registry entry is located in the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Dfs\Parameters
Value Name: SiteCostedReferrals
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 1
You may experience slow performance. You experience this symptom when you access a shared folder on a target DFS server that is located far away on a wide area network (WAN) and when network latencies are high.
You may experience excessive bandwidth consumption by the client computer. You experience this symptom when you access large amount of data from a target DFS server whose site cost is high.

This problem may occur on a Windows Server 2003 domain controller or on a Windows Server 2003 member server that hosts a DFS namespace.

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CAUSE

These problems occur because the DFS server receives an incorrect DFS client IP address from the SMB Service.

When a DFS server receives a referral request from a client, the DFS server uses the IP address of the client to determine the client’s site. The DFS server sorts the list of target servers in the referral response in terms of increasing site cost from the DFS client to the target server.

When the SMB Service server provides an incorrect DFS client IP address to the Windows Server 2003-based DFS server, the client receives a referral that contains a list of DFS targets that are random or in non-optimal order in terms of the Active Directory site cost from DFS client to DFS targets.

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RESOLUTION

Service pack information

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows Server 2003. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

889100 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/889100/ ) How to obtain the latest service pack for Windows Server 2003

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Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support (http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support)

Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.Important You must install this hotfix on the DFS server computer.

Prerequisites

To apply this hotfix, you must have Windows Server 2003 SP1 installed on the computer.

Note Windows Server 2003 SP1 is included in x64-based versions of Windows Server 2003.

Restart requirement

You must restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Windows Server 2003, 32-bit versions with Service Pack 1

   Date         Time   Version           Size  File name
   --------------------------------------------------------
   11-Aug-2005  01:12  5.2.3790.2506  360,448  Srv.sys

Windows Server 2003, 64-bit Itanium-based versions with Service Pack 1

   Date         Time   Version             Size  File name     Platform
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
   11-Aug-2005  05:57  5.2.3790.2506  1,108,992  Srv.sys

Windows Server 2003, x64-based versions

   Date         Time   Version            Size    File name
   --------------------------------------------------------------
   11-Aug-2005  19:28  5.2.3790.2506      670,208  Srv.sys

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STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section. This problem was first corrected in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2.

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MORE INFORMATION

You can look up the DFS internal information on a client computer. To do this, type the following command at a command prompt:

dfsutil /PKTINFO

If a bad DFS referral is received by a client computer, the dfsutil /PKTINFO command displays an output that is similar to the following:

--mup.sys--2 entries...
Entry: \domainname.company.com\DFSrootShortEntry: \domainname.company.com\DFSrootExpires in 300 secondsUseCount: 0 Type:0x81 ( REFERRAL_SVC DFS )		   
   0:[\servername.domainname.company.com\DFSroot] State:0x19 ( ACTIVE )
   1:[\servername2.domainname.company.com\DFSroot] State:0x09 ( )

Note In this example output, the first entry is “servername.domainname.company.com.”

You can find the non-optimal ordering from the referral cache. To do this, examine the first entry and verify whether this server is located in the client computer’s site or in a remote site. To view the remote server names, examine the network traces. You can view the remote server names in the referral response frame.

To verify random SYSVOL or NETLOGON referrals in the referral cache, verify whether the first domain controller that is listed in the referral cache is located in the client computer's site or in a remote site.

SMB: R transact2 NT Get DFS Referral (response to frame x)

       Referrals
           Referral
               Version: 3
               Size: 34
               Server Type: SMB Server (1)
               Flags: 0x0000
               Proximity: 300
               TTL: 0
               Path Offset: 1054
               Alt Path Offset: 1114
               Node Offset: 1174
               Path: \domainname.company.com\DFSroot
               Alt Path: \domainname.company.com\DFSroot
               Node: \servername.domainname.company.com\DFSroot  <====== is this server in the client's site?

For more information about how to capture network traffic, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

812953 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/812953/ ) How to use Network Monitor to capture network traffic

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REFERENCES

For more information about DFS and DFS site costing, visit the following Microsoft Web sites:

DFS Technical Reference
http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver/en/library/20ffb860-f802-455c-9ca2-5194f79a9eb41033.mspx (http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver/en/library/20ffb860-f802-455c-9ca2-5194f79a9eb41033.mspx)
DFS Site Discovery and Target Selection
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/techinfo/overview/dfsfaq.mspx#E4C (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/techinfo/overview/dfsfaq.mspx#E4C)

For more information about a related update for Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000 Server, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

831201 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/831201/ ) An update for Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000 Server makes it possible to put the logon server at the top of the DFS referrals list

For more information about a hotfix that is available to support DFS Namespaces Client failback, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

898900 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/898900/ ) A hotfix is available to support the DFS Namespaces Client failback

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

258262 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/258262/ ) How to write a DWORD to the registry

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For more information about the terminology that is used in this article, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

824684 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/824684/ ) Description of the standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates

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Technical support for x64-based versions of Microsoft Windows

Your hardware manufacturer provides technical support and assistance for x64-based versions of Windows. Your hardware manufacturer provides support because an x64-based version of Windows was included with your hardware. Your hardware manufacturer might have customized the installation of Windows with unique components. Unique components might include specific device drivers or might include optional settings to maximize the performance of the hardware. Microsoft will provide reasonable-effort assistance if you need technical help with your x64-based version of Windows. However, you might have to contact your manufacturer directly. Your manufacturer is best qualified to support the software that your manufacturer installed on the hardware.

For product information about Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/64bit/default.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/64bit/default.mspx)

For product information about x64-based versions of Microsoft Windows Server 2003, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/64bit/x64/editions.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/64bit/x64/editions.mspx)

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