Distribution File Server Basic Installation and configuration

September 19, 2016 Mohammed Hamada Leave a comment

What is Distribution File Server system?

According to Microsoft’s DFS article:

DFS Namespaces is a role service in Windows Server that enables you to group shared folders located on different servers into one or more logically structured namespaces. This makes it possible to give users a virtual view of shared folders, where a single path leads to files located on multiple servers, as shown in the following figure:

What is the benefit of having DFS in your office or work environment?

DFS nowadays is a very critical component in work environment of teams where everyone collaborate or work at the the same time on the same file.

DFS provide high availability for shared folders/files and users can access file servers regardless of their IP or location as long as they are part of the DFS topology.

Installation:

We will start installing DFS on a lab where there’s only 2 servers existed, we’ll setup replication group between them. this is rather a very simple and quick setup.

NameSpace Configuration

Sharing Namespace: HASIMIFS

The file server can be reached through the network from any client that’s in the domain using the following Namespace. (Domain users are set to read only but admins are set to read and write)

\\hasimi\hasimifs

—–

Replication Configuration for FS

Adding DFS members to the Replication group

Replication group schedule and Bandwidth

Configure replication to full during out of work hours

And 64mbps during work hours

Primary Member Selection

You should be able to select primary member which will be considered initially as the source of data.

Replication algorithm in DFS work by the logic of “Last who writes win” so if you’re the latest who writes to a file in the shared namespace then your data is going to be replicated among all other replica servers.

Adding folders for replication

Permissions : Existing Permissions

Local path of the DFS ROOT on the other member

I created a new folder on the second member of the replication group called “DFSROOTReplica” so I can distinguish that it’s a replica version of the original member .

Review setting before finalizing setup

Hyper-V, Virtual Machine Manager

THE APPLICATION ENCOUNTERED AN ERROR WHILE ATTEMPTING TO CHANGE THE STATE OF "VM"

September 19, 2016 Mohammed Hamada Leave a comment

Symptoms: After you finished deploying your Hyper-V server but in this case without the Server connected to the Internet and time is configured properly.

After you have created and configured new VMs and installed them, when you connect your physical Hyper-V host server to the Internet you notice the time changed and your VMs become inaccessible for certificate issue..

here’s the error and how to fix it.

3- EXCHANGE_OI on HASIMI NODE2 –

Action

Media Clipboard View Help

Virtual Machine Connection

The application encountered an error while attempting

to change the state of •g- EXCHANGE 01

•3- EXCHANGE_OI’ could not initialize.

Could not initiallze machine remoting system. Error. •Element not

found.’ (000070490).

not find a usable cetificate. Element not found.’

(0000704″).

•3- EXCHANGE_OI’ could not initialize. (Virtual machine 10

B967FUc-20A2-43BD.83EE.99R321DCD55)

•3- EXCHANGE_OI’ could not initialize machine remoting system. Error:

‘Element not found.'(Ox8D070490). (Virtual machine ID

g967FUc.20A2-43gD.B3EE.g9A2321DCD55)

•3- EXCHANGE_OI’ could not find a usable certificate. Error: ‘Element not

Status: Off

found.’ (oxeoc70490). machine

B967FUc-20A2-a3BD-B3EE-99A2321DCD55)

@ Hide details

Symptoms

If the Hyper-V Host Server doesn’t have internet and you have configured it after creating a VM then the server date will change and the self-signed certificate date will change as it won’t be verified by Hyper V manager and will cause launching the VM to fail to start.

Solution:

Delete old certificate and Create a new Self signed certificate.

To do so open MMC

Navigate to Certificates