It sounds like you are using name resolution to randomly return one of the
domain controller's IP addresses. You should really be using DFS instead (it
supports replication via FRS).
Here is a technical white paper on DFS:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/howitworks/fileandprint/dfsnew.asp
..and here is a step by step guide to setting up DFS:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/planning/fileandprint/dfssteps.asp
Having said that, having multiple replicas for the same link is *not*
recommended for data like user profiles and user documents. This is because
data that is frequently written to on multiple replicas can become out of
sync. Having multiple replicas works best when the data is written to
infrequently - such as a software distribution point.
(The following may not make sense until you read the white paper / step by
step guide.)
If you must have multiple replicas of your user profiles there is a
workaround, but it is limited. Go ahead and configure DFS the way it is
described in the step by step guide (setup a DFS root and then create a link
to the profiles folder.add replicas on each domain controller). Configure
automatic replication for all replicas. Then, disable all but one of the
replicas (right-click the replica and then click Take Replica
Offline/Online). Offline replicas appear with a yellow exclamation icon over
them.
When clients now look for a replica of the link, they will only be directed
to the one replica that is still online - they will not be directed to any
of the offline replicas. This ensures that clients only write data to one of
the replicas. Additionally, FRS will still replicate the data among all the
replicas - even if a replica is configured as "offline." The limitation to
this solution, however, is that there is no automatic failover. If the
server holding the only online replica goes offline, an Administrator will
manually need to select a new replica by bringing it online in the DFS
console (ensure the old replica is taken offline also).
------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Aubert
MCSE, MCSD, MCDBA
(e-mail address removed)
Note the "news2" in my email address is temporary and may be changed in the
future, remove it to email me at my Permanente address.
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
