Q. How can I quickly get a health report of my Active Directory (AD) 2008 SYSVOL DFSR replication?

A. Because Active Directory can now use DFSR for the replication of SYSVOL with Windows Server 2008, you can actually use the DFS Management tools to check on the health of an AD SYSVOL DFSR replication.

First, you need to add the Distributed File System Tools, which are available under Features, Remote Server Administration Tools, Role Administration Tools, File Services Tools, as shown here. You access this through Server Manager.

Once installed, launch the DFS Management link through the Administrative Tools group. Select the Replication namespace item then, in the details pane, right-click Domain System Volume and select Create Diagnostic Report.

You now have a choice of the type of test to perform—just select a Health Report. You'll be prompted for where to save the report, which domain controllers to include in the report, and a few other options. Accept the defaults and start the test.

Once the test is complete, a health report will be shown. You should be looking for all servers to complete with new errors or warnings, as shown below.

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