Change the Replication Topology

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Updated: October 16, 2013

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

The replication topology consists of the logical connections that DFS Replication uses to replicate files among servers. When choosing a topology, keep in mind that two one-way connections are created between the members you choose. These two connections allow data to flow in both directions.

Use the following procedure to create a replication topology by using DFS Management. To use Windows PowerShell instead, use the Set-DfsrConnection cmdlet, which was introduced in Windows Server 2012 R2.

To create a replication topology

  1. Click Start , point to Administrative Tools , and then click DFS Management .

  2. In the console tree, under the Replication node, right-click the replication group to create a new topology for, and then click New Topology .

  3. Follow the instructions in the New Topology Wizard to choose one of the following topologies:

    • Hub and spoke . This topology requires three or more members. For each spoke member, choose a required hub member and an optional second hub member for redundancy. This optional hub ensures that a spoke member can still replicate if one of the hub members is unavailable. If you specify two hub members, the hub members will have a full-mesh topology between them.

    • Full mesh . In this topology, every member replicates with all other members of the replication group.

Note

Configuration changes are not applied immediately to all members except when using the Suspend-DfsReplicationGroup and Sync-DfsReplicationGroup cmdlets. The new configuration must be replicated to all domain controllers, and each member in the replication group must poll its closest domain controller to obtain the changes. The amount of time this takes depends on AD DS replication latency and the long polling interval (60 minutes) on each member. To poll immediately for configuration changes, open a command prompt window and then type the following command once for each member of the replication group: dfsrdiag.exe PollAD /Member:DOMAIN\Server1. To do so from a Windows PowerShell session, use the Update-DfsrConfigurationFromAD cmdlet, which was introduced on Windows Server 2012 R2.

Additional references