A distributed file system (DFS) helps you maintain and share data on the network. Important functions such as data security, permissions, and accessibility are integrated into the DFS.
During the course of a day, a user might need to access multiple files stored on many servers connected to your LAN or WAN. To find all the files spread about the network, the user hunts through a long list of shares.
Windows DFS Namespace (DFS-N) allows you to create a single virtual space that simplifies access for everyone. Although you configure DFS-N on the Seagate server, the shares can come from any server on the network.
Namespaces are visible to all users on the network. However, a user must have access rights to the shares to view and edit content.
Before adding a namespace, you must understand the DFS-N hierarchy.
The namespace can be associated with a domain if the server has joined an Active Directory, or it can be a standalone server.
You can create folders to contain the target folders, such as folders based on a department or business.
Note: You can add a second share to a target folder to replicate data. Replication copies and updates files between the two shares. Your server must be a member of a domain for replication.
DFS replication (DFS-R) can improve bandwidth bottlenecks and enable users to spend their time more efficiently. DFS-R replicates data from a remote server to a local server on the LAN, providing users faster access to files. DFS-R also uses remote differential compression, which only replicates changes to a file rather than the entire file.
Note: Replication over the network is not the same as backing up a server. Although replication is convenient for avoiding WAN-related delays, it is not a substitute for regular backups on an external hard drive or shared volume.