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Carl C
Asked: 2010-09-09 15:42:14 +0800 CST

How do I rename a DFS root?

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I am new to DFS and need to rename an existing DFS root (OldDFS$) to a new name (NewDFS$) so that it's clearer to its users. This is on an AD domain and there is no replication of the DFS data. The current DFS root points to a Domain Controller (DC1) running Windows Server 2003 R2. The actual data (links, targets?) is on another server (Server1). The data in those links (targets?) can stay in place on the same server and drives. I just want the DFS root to have a new name. I really don't want to lose any data or have to replicate it, as there is 200 GB of data in the DFS folders.

What I want to do:

Change DFS name \\domain.com\OldDFS$

To DFS name \\domain.com\NewDFS$

My current DFS root target is: \\DC1\OldDFS$

I have three links (or are these targets?) under the current root, none of which needs to change:

\\server1\link1$
\\server1\link2$
\\server1\link3$

How do I go about this?

windows windows-server-2003 dfs active-directory

2 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    I don't think it's possible to rename a DFS Root but there's nothing stopping you from creating a new DFS Root and transitioning the users to the new DFS Root.

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  2. To save effort if you are renaming a large namespace, you can use export and import.

    First export OldDFS$ to a .xml file. Command line:

    dfsutil root export \\domain.com\OldDFS$ DfsExport.xml

    Then edit the .xml file and rename all occurrences of OldDFS$ to NewDFS$. You can use Notepad, or any text editor if you don't have an XML editor. Save.

    In the DFS console, create the new namespace NewDFS$ but leave it empty.

    Now Import from the .xml file that you prepared. Command line:

    dfsutil root import merge DfsExport.xml \\domain.com\NewDFS$

    Check what got created. Add additional Namespace servers if needed. Switch your users over to use \domain.com\NewDFS$, and finally delete the OldDFS$ Namespace.

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