Improvements in the Post-SP2 Release of Ntfrs.exe That Is Packaged with an Updated Ntfs.sys Driver (321557)

   Date         Time   Version        Size     File name
   --------------------------------------------------------
   02-Mar-2002  23:40  5.0.2195.5016  733,456  Ntfrs.exe
   03-Mar-2002  02:44  5.0.2195.5016   54,544  Ntfrsapi.dll
   03-Mar-2002  02:44  5.0.2195.5016   21,264  Ntfrsprf.dll
   02-Mar-2002  23:39  5.0.2195.5016   80,384  Ntfrsres.dll
   03-Apr-2002  02:41  5.0.2195.5524  513,072  Ntfs.sys

MORE INFORMATION

Two versions of Ntfrs.exe that were released as hotfix Q307319 in the Fall of 2001 and in March, 2002, expose an access check problem in Ntfs.sys that prevents the FRS from fully replicating files and folders. Administrators who installed either of these versions of Ntfrs.exe on computers on which the System account does not have full control of the replicated directory tree may experience any of the following symptoms:

• An inconsistency in the contents of FRS-replicated DFS or Sysvol replica sets. Specifically:
  • A file or folder may exist on the upstream partner on which the file was created or last written, but not on other members of the replica set.
  • Files and folders may exist on both upstream and downstream partners, but their versions may be inconsistent (older) compared to the computer that received the last update.
  • Files and folders that are created in Windows Explorer (by clicking New on the File menu, and then creating a file or folder) are replicated to downstream partners, but are not replicated if they are created by using any other method (such as the mkdir command, the copy con filename.ext command, the copy command, the Save command on the File menu, the Save As command on the File menu, or by dragging the file in Windows Explorer.
• Files that are located in the in the DO_NOT_REMOVE_NtFrs_PreInstall_Directory folder are not moved to their final locations.
• A Connstat report from an upstream partner indicates that all of the change orders that were sent to the downstream partner have been received and processed.
• The ntfrsutl idtable command indicates that files that are located in folders on the upstream partner but are missing on the downstream partner are located in the FRS IDTABLE of both computers. This indicates that the change order for a file was received by the downstream partner.
• "Access Denied" error messages are recorded in the FRS debug logs when the FRS tries to rename a pre-installation file to its final name. For example:

  <StuPreInstallRename: 2728: 1546: S0: HH:MM:SS> ++ ERROR - Failed to rename pre-install file NTFRS_<ChangeOrder_GUID> for filename.ext WStatus: ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED

• The inbound log (by using the ntfrsutl inlog command) on downstream partners shows that change orders for the missing files are in an "IBCO_INSTALL_REN_RETRY" state. This indicates that multiple attempts to rename the pre-installation file to its destination location were made (see the STATE: field). For example:

  Table Type: Inbound Log Table for DFSROOT|APPS (1)
  SequenceNumber               : 0000000d
  Flags                        : 0100004e Flags [VVAct Content Locn Retry CmpresStage ]
  IFlags                       : 00000001 Flags [IFlagVVRetireExec ]
  State                        : 0000000e  CO STATE:  IBCO_INSTALL_REN_RETRY   <--Note the rename retry error state.
  ContentCmd                   : 00002000 Flags [RenNew ]
  Lcmd                         : 00000004  D/F 0   Movein
  FileAttributes               : 00000020 Flags [ARCHIVE ]
  FileVersionNumber            : 00000005
  ..
  ..
  ChangeOrderGuid              : 9883330a-265f-4384-a38b69acb9d224bc
  OriginatorGuid               : fce4a387-68c7-43b2-9a2e93c3acbb401c
  FileGuid                     : 16ed465b-0324-4248-8c25535248bb51b6
  OldParentGuid                : 54d058b9-9a2e-4225-866d0a8a77cce7f0
  NewParentGuid                : 54d058b9-9a2e-4225-866d0a8a77cce7f0
  CxtionGuid                   : 86bc5234-f9ec-496b-8fc1b09eb55fa4b9
  Spare1Ull                    : Mon Jan  7, 2002 09:13:26
  MD5CheckSum                  : MD5: 9ac5676d 669a9926 a5a86bac 6eeae417 
  ..
  FileName                     : SOMESUCHFILE.EXT

This scenario is best identified by the "Access Denied" error messages in the FRS debug logs, and if files and folders that are created in Windows Explorer are replicated to downstream partners, but are not replicated if they are created by using any other method.

Changes to the Post-SP2 Hotfix Versions of Ntfrs.exe and Ntfs.sys

This article describes changes to the versions of Ntfrs.exe and Ntfs.sys that are available in a Windows 2000 post-Service Pack 2 (post-SP2) hotfix that resolves known issues and improves the manageability and robustness of FRS.

FRS Detects and Suppresses Excessive Replication

When data is written to a file, that file is staged for replication. However, there are some cases in which data is written but the file is not changed. For example, if you use Group Policy to apply file permissions, the file is not changed. If you use Group Policy to enforce permissions on files in Sysvol, that policy is applied every five minutes by default. Therefore, FRS tires to replicate the "changed" files even though the permissions were not necessarily modified.

In the post-SP2 hotfix, FRS does not replicate a file if no actual changes were made. Also, if FRS detects a significant increase in the number of changes that are made to a file, FRS logs an event ID 13567 message in the FRS event log.

FRS Performs Serialized Version Vector Joins

When a member first joins a replica set, FRS locates the upstream partners and requests a list of all of the files in the replica set. In versions of Windows 2000 before this post-SP2 hotfix, FRS obtains this list of files from all upstream partners at the same time, which results in a duplication of effort on those partners. In the Windows 2000 post-SP2 hotfix, this behavior has been changed so that FRS obtains the list from the upstream partners one after the other. Therefore, if the first upstream partner is synchronized, the new member replicates all of the files from it. The version vector join process with each subsequent partner is much shorter because the new member does not need to replicate any files. If the initial partner is not synchronized, subsequent joins result in updates that are sent to the new member.

FRS Does Not Stop Replicating If the Staging Area Is Filled

If FRS tries to allocate space for a staging file but is not successful either because there is not enough space or because the amount of space in use has reached 90 percent of the staging space-limit parameter (the default value is 660 megabytes), FRS starts to delete staging files. Staged files are deleted (in the order of the longest time since the last access) until the amount of space in use has dropped below 60 percent of the staging space-limit parameter. Therefore, FRS no longer stops replicating if the staging area runs out of free space. If a replica-set member goes offline for a long time, FRS does not block replication on an upstream member because the staging area is filled. For additional information about the staging space limit parameter, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Increase in the NTFS Journal Size

FRS uses the NTFS file system journal to alert it when changes are made to a file. If the journal wraps, FRS loses track of the changes it needs to replicate. You must perform a non-authoritative restore operation. The NTFS journal size has been increased to 128 megabytes (MB) to reduce the possibility of a journal wrap.

Changes to the Automatic Non-Authoritative Restore Functionality

FRS no longer performs an automatic non-authoritative restore if a journal wrap condition is detected. Instead, it logs an event ID 13568 message in the FRS event log to remind you to perform the operation at a convenient time. A registry key has been included to configure an automatic non-authoritative restore operation if you want to do so. However, if you configure this setting, the contents of the replica tree may be made unavailable while the restore operation is taking place.

Time-Out Problems

The following time-out problems have been addressed:

• The time-out problem that occurs if many members attempt to synchronize at once with an upstream partner.
• The time-out problem that occurs if a staging file for a very large file is being created.

Changes to the Way in Which You Change the FRS Staging Path

You can now change the FRS staging path without having to perform a non-authoritative restore operation. When FRS detects a change to the staging path, it logs an event ID 13563 message in the FRS event log that describes the procedure. This message is:

FRS Renaming of Files in the Pre-Installation Folder Generates "Access Denied"

This version of FRS opens parent folders with reduced access requirements (FILE_READ_ATTRIBUTES instead of GENERIC_READ and GENERIC_EXECUTE) to avoid sharing violations that prevent the rename operation on staging files from completing. However, this exposes an incorrect access check in the Ntfs.sys file system driver. An updated Ntfs.sys driver is included in this hotfix package.

Other Changes

• Event messages that are logged when a domain controller is unable to create the Sysvol share are now more descriptive.
• The FRS update for Windows 2000 Service Pack 2 (SP2) enables compression "on the wire." If the replicated data is already compressed, the resulting file may actually be larger than the original. When this occurs, the FRS "silently" does not replicate. This problem has been resolved.
• Changes to Microsoft Office document files (.doc, .xl?, etc.) on one replica may cause the same file to be deleted on all downstream partners. This problem has been fixed.
• The FRS service must build a table that links volume serial numbers to drive letters. This table is used to make sure that the service can find the correct volume for the replicated folders even if drive letter assignments change. FRS no longer polls removable drives when it builds this table.
• Event messages that include instructions about how to update the registry have been corrected.
• A memory leak that can be significant in environments that have many domain controllers has been fixed.

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For additional information about how to obtain a hotfix for Windows 2000 Datacenter Server, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: