Firstly I'd sack Offline Files and go for a proper EFSS solution like OneDrive for Business, DataNow, Hightail, etc. etc. - there's loads in this space. Offline Files are a major pain for clearing caches and whatnot - with proper EFSS you just delete the local profile and you're done.
How do you assign the file server - using a logon script of some sort? I've seen this done with AppSense loads of times and what they tend to do is set a variable at user logon that depends on your location, device, etc. Then you just reference the variable "%HOMESERVER%" or whatever you want to call it elsewhere in the configuration for redirection, GPO and whatever else you need. If files need to be moved from one server to another, initiate a File/Folder Copy Action if the variable has changed from last time. Needs some work to evaluate and store the variable, but I've done this previously where users needed to remember the last default printer they had for a particular subnet (a nightmare that was, indeed!) If you're in a XenApp/RDS environment it can even more complicated as you re-evaluate the variable at triggers like session disconnect, network disconnect and the like, but the latest version of AppSense should be able to cope with every eventuality - it can re-evaluate the variable as networks connect and disconnect (think VPN), session unlocking (think laptop user), many other trigger points are configurable. Not straightforward out-of-the-box config, but I've seen and done it quite a few times. There's other solutions in this space besides AppSense - RES, Immidio, Scense, to name a few - but they all offer more or less the same set of parameters. I know for certain you can do this with AppSense though. Cheers, JR -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Michael Leone Sent: 03 September 2015 17:53 To: [email protected] Subject: [NTSysADM] Using DFS for user home folders Here's my current situation - my users all get assigned 1 of 4 file servers, as their home profile (depends on what department they work for, and which server is closest). Then Group Policy initiates a folder redirection of "My Documents" and "Desktop". Additionally, the GPO turns on Offline files (pointing at the same server).. Here's the problem - I have a lot of users who end up being transferred around, and hence at some point, we have to move thir files from server A to server B; change their group membership so now a GPO which redirects to server B; and we have to clear the offline folders cache on the old workstation, else it continues to point at server A, and files never sync properly. This is aggravating, to say the least. We thought of using DFS (set up a new namespace, adding these 4 file servers to it; change all the users to use the DFS namespace to store their home profile (and moving all the files there). That way, I never have to move files, I need less GPOs, I don't have the offline files headache, etc. Problem is, using DFS for home folders is officially not supported by MS ... So what are others doing in this situation? There must be others with such issues of having to move user folders, etc. I could make 1 central file server for all home profiles, but if there are ever any network hiccups, then you can't reach your files. (so I'd still need offline files). We looked at AppSense, and while it can alleviate some of the issues, it can't fix all of them.
