Review DFS Namespaces Server Requirements

  • Article

Updated: October 16, 2013

Applies To: Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2

A namespace server is a domain controller or member server that hosts a namespace. The number of namespaces you can host on a server is determined by the operating system running on the namespace server.

The following servers can host multiple domain-based and stand-alone namespaces:

  • Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter

  • Windows Server 2012 Datacenter

  • Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise

  • Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter

  • Windows Server 2008 Enterprise

  • Windows Server 2008 Datacenter

  • Windows Server 2003 R2, Enterprise Edition

  • Windows Server 2003 R2, Datacenter Edition

  • Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition

  • Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition

Servers that are running the following operating systems can host multiple domain-based namespaces in addition to a single stand-alone namespace:

  • Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard

  • Windows Server 2012 Standard

  • Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard

  • Windows Server 2008 Standard

  • Windows Server 2003 R2, Standard Edition with Service Pack 2 or later

  • Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition with Service Pack 2 or later

Note

Windows Server 2003, Web Edition cannot host any namespaces. It can act as a folder target; though a maximum of 10 concurrent incoming server message block (SMB) connections are permitted.

The following table describes additional factors to consider when choosing servers to host a namespace.

Guidelines for Servers that Host Namespaces

Server Hosting Stand-Alone Namespaces Server Hosting Domain-Based Namespaces
  • Servers running Windows Server 2003 R2 or older do not support access-based enumeration for stand-alone or domain-based (Windows Server 2008 mode) namespaces.

  • Must contain an NTFS volume to host the namespace.

  • Can be a member server or domain controller.

  • Can be hosted by a failover cluster to increase the availability of the namespace.
  • Servers running Windows Server 2003 R2 or older cannot host domain-based namespaces in Windows Server 2008 mode.

  • Must contain an NTFS volume to host the namespace.

  • Must be a member server or domain controller in the domain in which the namespace is configured. (This requirement applies to every namespace server that hosts a given domain-based namespace.)

  • Can use multiple namespace servers to increase the availability of the namespace

  • The namespace cannot be a clustered resource in a failover cluster. However, you can locate the namespace on a server that also functions as a node in a failover cluster if you configure the namespace to use only local resources on that server.

Additional references