Hello, is it a good idea to use DFSR on Windows Server 2008 R2 for large folders (2000 users, a lot of files up to 20 GB per file). What about performance?

Hi,

 

The first synchronization will take a bit (that's ok, you have many giga to move), anyway DFSR uses a protocol and algorithm which can update only the changes to a file (so a 20GB of file is not "copied" entirely every time). The limits are the followings:

 

Size of all replicated files on a server: 10 terabytes.

 

Number of replicated files on a volume: 8 million.

 

Maximum file size: 64 gigabytes.

 

 

And take a look here:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc773238%28WS.10%29.aspx

 

Let me know!

And what about personal experiences? What about this situation: 30 clients are uploading data 30 * 20 GB at the same time and 20 other clients are working with small files (editing some files). Is DFSR faster or slower than "single server solution"?

In theory, it is FASTER. I know a friend who is using this and he's so happy. Anyway, he doesn't need to work with files of 20 GB. You could try in test environment, then monitor performance and make some calculation.

OK, what about file locking? Is it sufficient to install 3rd party sw for locking to both windows 2008 server or I will need to install it into clients too?

That's a good question and the answer is not easy.

 

From TechNet:

Does DFS Replication prevent other applications from accessing a file during staging?

 

No. DFS Replication opens files in a way that does not block users or applications from opening files in the replication folder. This method is known as "opportunistic locking."

 

That's ok, but in a normal environment, what about big files? To say the truth, "opportunistic lock" locks anything! I think you don't have to lock files, everything should work without locking files.

 

What do you think?

I need file locking. Some files are shared by multiple users (about 30 MB db files). I know that dfs does not support file locking but there is some 3rd party software which implements file locking for dfs. But I dont know whether I need to install something to clients - that could be a problem becouse we have Windows and Linux clients.

Usually you don't need to install any agent on your client, anyway, the best thing is to e-mail the software producer.