Windows 2008 DFS Replication Issue

A standalone DFS namespace cannot participate in DFS-R (If it is not a member of an AD domain).

Clarification:

DFS can utilize two methods to replicate data:

• DFS-R - newer and used for Win2k8, Win2k8 R2, & Win2k3 R2
• FRS - used for older versions of Windows.

If the server you are setting up the namespace on, and the target servers are members of an AD domain then, Yes you can use DFS replication.

If you do not have Domain Admin rights you will need to be delegated permissions to create replication groups:

Detailed delegation Grant permissions to create a replication group This action is one of the two delegation actions that are available in DFS Management. To manually perform this action in Active Directory Users and Computers, follow these steps:

• Start Active Directory Users and Computers.
• Right-click the Domain\System\DFSR-GlobalSettings node, and then click Properties.
• Click the Security tab, and then click Advanced.
• Grant the desired users or groups the Create All Child objects permission, and then click to select This object only in the Apply onto area.

Or alternatively you could ask to be set to control all Replication groups:

Control of all replication groups To grant a user control of all existing and future replication groups in a domain, follow these steps:

• Start Active Directory Users and Computers.
• Right-click the following node, and then click Properties:
• Domain\System\DFSR-GlobalSettings
• Click the Security tab, and then click Advanced.
• Grant the desired users or groups the Full Control permission, and then click to select This object and all child objects in the Apply onto area.
• Add the users or groups to each member's local Administrators group. Or, grant the Full Control permission for the computer objects of each server in the replication groups.

Steps were taking from KB911604

I would suggest checking the basics first:

1. Is the correct node designated as the DFS Replication primary? Maybe it's backwards?
2. Is the replication topology correct and set (did you initially set it up with no topology and forgot to create the connections)?
3. Make sure that the files in question do not have replication filters.

Barring these, have you checked to see if any newly placed files replicate properly? If so, perhaps you can just manually copy the remainder of the existing files to the target and monitor it from there?