Windows Distributed File Systems Management Pack Guide

Document Revisions

The following table summarizes the revisions that have been made to this document.

Revisions, June 2005

Section

New or Updated

Title

Description

Overview of the Distributed File Systems Management Pack

New

Monitoring in Low-Privilege Configuration

Added information about monitoring DFS roots, links, and link targets.

Overview of the Distributed File Systems Management Pack

Updated

Monitoring in Low-Privilege Configuration

Updated Management Pack reference.

The Distributed File Systems (DFS) Management Pack is used to monitor the Distributed File Systems service running on Microsoft Windows 2000 and Microsoft Windows 2003.

Microsoft Windows Distributed File Systems

DFS is a Microsoft Windows feature that allows administrators to group shared folders located on different servers by transparently connecting them to one or more DFS namespaces. Using the DFS tools, an administrator selects shared folders to present in the namespace, designs the hierarchy in which those folders appear, and determines the names that the shared folders show in the namespace. When a user views the namespace, the folders appear to reside on a single, high-capacity hard disk. Users can navigate the folders in the namespace without needing to know the names of the physical server or shared folders that actually host the data. DFS also provides many other benefits, including fault tolerance and load-sharing capabilities, making it an ideal solution for all types of organizations.

Microsoft Windows Distributed File Systems Management Pack

The DFS Management Pack monitors the performance and health of the DFS service and, in some cases, it can identify issues before they become critical. In addition, the DFS Management Pack can help monitor the availability of DFS shares to clients through client-side monitoring. The DFS Management Pack includes a rich set of views, tasks, and reports.

By detecting, alerting on, and automatically responding to critical events and performance indicators, the DFS Management Pack helps prevent possible DFS service and share outages. This helps ensure that the DFS infrastructure is working correctly, thus increasing the overall availability and performance of your Windows operating systems.

The DFS Management Pack reduces the cost of ownership by enabling proactive management and reducing resolution times for the issues identified.

The DFS Management Pack provides monitoring for the following:

  • DFS share availability from a clients perspective.

  • DFS root, link, and target availability.

  • DFS service health.

This guide corresponds to version 05.0.3000.0000 of the Distributed File Systems Management Pack. After importing the Management Pack, check the version to ensure that it is correct.

To view the version of the installed Management Pack

  1. In the Administrator console, expand Management Packs and then expand Rule Groups.

  2. Right-click Microsoft Windows Distributed File Systems (enabled), and then select Properties.

  3. On the General tab, in the Rule Group Properties dialog box, the Version field displays the version number.

For more information and to download MOM Management Packs, visit the MOM Management Pack Catalog Web site.

DFS Terms and Definitions

DFS namespace A virtual view of shared folders on different servers as provided by DFS. A DFS namespace consists of a root and many links and targets. The namespace starts with a root that maps to one or more root targets. Below the root are links that map to their own targets.

DFS server A Windows-based computer system that has the server components of the DFS system software installed and active and is hosting a DFS root. The DFS service runs on the DFS server.

DFS client A Windows-based computer system that uses DFS to access shares on the network. The DFS client has the client components of the DFS system software installed and active.

Link target The mapping destination of a link. A link target can be any Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path. For example, a link target could be a shared folder or another DFS path.

DFS link A component in a DFS path that lies below the root and maps to one or more link targets.

DFS path Any UNC path that starts with a DFS root.

DFS root The starting point of the DFS namespace. The root is often used to refer to the namespace, as a whole. A root maps to one or more root targets, each of which corresponds to a shared folder on a separate server. The DFS root must reside on an NTFS volume. A DFS root has one of the following formats: \\ServerName\RootName or \\DomainName\RootName.

Root target A physical server that hosts a DFS namespace. A domain-based DFS root can have multiple root targets, whereas a stand-alone DFS root can only have one root target. Root targets are also called root servers.

Domain root The root of a DFSnamespacehosted by an Active Directory directory service domain.

Stand-alone roots A DFS namespace hosted by a single computer.

Requirements

For the DFS Management Pack to operate optimally, the following requirements must be met:

  • Servers on which the DFS service is running must be managed by Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM).

  • Computers hosting DFS root targets and DFS link targets must be MOM managed computers.

  • The DFS Management Pack requires the use the Distributed File System Utility (dfsutil.exe) version 1.1.1 or later, which is included in the Windows Support Tools.

    • For Windows 2000, you can install Windows Support Tools from the Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 CD media or from the Microsoft Download Center.

    • For Windows Server 2003, you can install Windows Support Tools from the Windows 2003 CD media or you can install the tool individually from the Microsoft Download Center.

    DFS Management Pack rules need to be configured with the installation folder of the dfsutil.exe utility. It is highly recommended that the utility is installed in the same folder across the enterprise. Otherwise, you must use overrides to specify the various installation folders. For information about the default installation folder values and configuration requirements for non-default values, see Configuring Monitoring Scenarios.

  • Any specific DFS requirements must be met.