Scheduling SYSVOL Replication

FRS replicates SYSVOL using the same intrasite connection objects and schedule built by the KCC for Active Directory replication. The connection object schedule is an attribute associated with each connection object. The connection object schedule contains a 7x24 array of bytes, one byte for each hour in a 7-day week. The low 4 bits of each byte are used to indicate the number of times replication is attempted in that hour. The upper 4 bits of each byte are reserved for future use. Intrasite SYSVOL replication occurs once per hour by default, unless changes are made that trigger replication. When information in the SYSVOL folder is modified, FRS replicates the information immediately to all replication partners.

The example connection object schedule below (each entry is 2 hexadecimal digits) would trigger both SYSVOL and Active Directory replication on the even hours of the week. Note that for SYSVOL, this schedule applies to intersite replication and not to intrasite replication. For intrasite SYSVOL connections, schedules are implicitly always on.

									Hour of the day
	00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
  sun=01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00
D mon=01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00
A tue=01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00
Y wed=01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00
S thu=01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00
  fri=01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00
  sat=01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00 01 00

Note

• Note that this is how the schedule information is interpreted by the service; the actual user interface does not present the schedule in this form. You can, however, view the connection object schedule for a particular computer by using Ntfrsutl.exe.

The SYSVOL replication schedule can be configured so that replication takes place four, two, one, or zero times per hour.

• When set to four times per hour, replication starts at 0:00, 0:15, 0:30, and 0:45. This schedule is essentially continuous replication.
• When set to two times per hour, replication at 15-minute intervals starting at 0:15 and 0:45.
• When set to one time per hour, replication starts at 0:00 and ends at 0:15 assuming that all changes have been replicated.

Note that for SYSVOL, FRS will continue to replicate until all changes are replicated, regardless of whether the schedule closes.

Changing Schedules on SYSVOL Connection Objects

It is possible to change schedules on connection objects, but this should be done only after careful consideration of the implications and alternatives:

• Note that schedules exist on both site links and connection objects.
• If you change the schedule on a connection object, the connection then becomes a manual connection that cannot be managed by KCC.

To view and change the schedule on a connection object for SYSVOL

1. In Control Panel, double-click the Administrative Tools icon.
2. Double-click the Active Directory Sites and Services icon.
3. In the console tree, expand Sites, and then expand the site of interest.
4. Expand Servers, expand the server of interest, and click NTDS Settings.
5. Right-click the connection object of interest, and click Properties.
6. Click Change Schedule to view or change the schedule for that connection.