Troubleshooting DFS Replication

Note: This article applies to the following Windows Server 2008 version and later.

Distributed File System Replication (DFSR) is used to replicate data from DFS namespaces across a group of servers called a replication group.
This allows data to stay synchronized on multiple servers. This article helps you to troubleshoot synchronization problems.

Check for backlogs

A. Run a diagnostic report.

1. Start DFS Management.

   • For Server 2012 and later, click Server Manager > Tools > DFS Management.
   • For Server 2008 or 2008 R2, click Start > Administrator Tools > DFS Management.

2. Expand Replication.

3. Right-click on the replication group for the namespace.

4. Click Create Diagnostic Report.

5. Choose Next for the remaining windows of the wizard.

6. The completed report opens in a browser. You can also find the report under C:\DFSReports.

B. From an elevated command or powershell prompt, run DFSDiag /TestDFSIntegrity /DFSRoot: /Full and review the output of the results.

Check for delays

A. Confirm the server's network interface card drivers are up to date.

B. Confirm that the anti-virus software is aware of the replication and has exclusions set if needed. You can also disable your anti-virus
software to confirm if that corrects the issue.

C. Check for bandwidth throttling.

1. Start DFS Management.

   • For Server 2012 and later, click Server Manager > Tools > DFS Management.
   • For Server 2008 or 2008 R2, click Start > Administrator Tools > DFS Management.

2. Expand Replication.

3. Click on the replication group for the namespace.

4. Click on the Connections tab.

5. Right-click the replication group member and select Properties.

6. Make sure Enable replication and RDC are checked.

7. Click the Schedule tab.

8. Click View Schedule.

9. Make sure that the bandwidth usage says Full. You can also change the bandwidth throttling to see if there is a difference.

D. Check the Staging Quota.

1. The default quota is 4 GB.

2. In Server Manager, click Tools > DFS Management.

3. Expand Replication.

4. Click on the replication group for the namespace.

5. Right-click each member of the replication group in the Memberships tab.

6. Click the Staging tab.

7. If 4 GB is not sufficient, you can increase it.

Check Active Directory

To verify AD connectivity, open a command or powershell prompt and run the following coomand, which provides
you with the details Active Directory has about DFS including the replication groups and folders it belongs to:

$ DFSRDIAG dumpadcfg /member:SERVERNAME

Have the servers check-in with AD. This should return "operation succeed" as a result.

$ DFSRDIAG pollad /member:SERVERNAME

To view what is replicating, run the following command:

$ FDSRDIAG replicationstate

The results are similar to the following if replication is working:

Active inbound connection: 1<br>
 Connection GUID: BE12378E-123D-41233-1238-123412B7AFD6<br>
 Sending member: YOURSERVERNAMEHERE<br>
   Number of updates: 6
 
 Updates being processed:
  [1] Update name: 83b78c9696004f7797f319bfcc314d201.jpg<br>
  [2] Update name: d1d86aa38477492680ff14ffffcc3fa61.fla<br>
  [3] Update name: b131d9dbffca4b7faa82a3bd172271a72.swf<br>
  [4] Update name: 5ac75c7ad2ae4d74931257d605205d441.swf<br>
  [5] Update name: 856d568e07644803844988dfd5aab05b1.jpg<br>
  [6] Update name: 1ebaa536c0574797a04ba5999e754aff3.swf<br>

Total number of inbound updates being processed: 6
Total number of inbound updates scheduled: 0