[Samba] windows 7 roaming profiles

[Charles Marcus]

Miguel - please stop sending to me directly, I am on the list.

On 2012-03-29 4:36 PM, Miguel Medalha <miguelmedalha at sapo.pt> wrote:
>>> NO, IT DOESN'T!

>> Microsoft disagrees - see below.

> You are introducing a new theme altogether: Offline Files.

No, I am not. Redirected Folders *uses* the Offline Files technology (by 
default at least), so it is 100% on point for discussing Redirected Folders.

I was simply pointing out that the *default* behavior was to always 
cache all data in redirected folders on the local client using the tried 
and true 'offline files' technology, but in a different way with respect 
to Redirected Folders (with Windows 7, which, in case you hadn't 
noticed, is the subject being discussed) - it synchronizes *as changes 
are made*, *in the background*, not at logon/logoff.

All comments below will assume a Windows 7 client, and Redirected 
Folders configured per the defaults.

> On a local and *reliable* network, you can use folder redirection
> *without* Offline Files. I did it and it works.

No network is 100% reliable. Things break. This is I imagine why the 
default behavior is to cache Redirected Folders on the local clients.
I prefer less headaches if/when they do, so this default makes sense to me.

>>> What you describe is the behavior of normal *roaming profiles*.

>> No... you can use a combination of roaming profiles and redirected
>> folders for the best result, which is what I do.

> That's precisely what I was advocating. Please read my posts.

Oh, I did, but you were claiming that Redirected Folders were not stored 
locally, which is plain *wrong* unless you have intentionally *changed* 
the *default* behavior of Redirected Folders, which is to cache 
everything on the local client and keep things synchronized in the 
background.

>> The stuff in the roaming profiles (very little) is copied back/forth
>> at login/out, the stuff in t he redirected folders is *synchronized*
>> at all times using the Offline Files technology that has long existed
>> in Microsofts products.

> Maybe you were not very clear in your first post. You said the following:
>
> "Folder Redirection will always (...) store local cached copy of those
> folders on the local computer... what it accomplishes is it saves all of
> the copying back and forth when logging in/out."
>
> which is not true. Even with Offline Files, only the files you are
> working with will be synchronized back and forth. The redirected folders
> themselves and the files previously stored therein will not be
> transferred to the client machine.

Wrong, again.

The *first* time a user logs in to a different computer, the contents 
will be copied down to the local computers cache - *in the background* 
(so it doesn't slow down the logon like it does with XP).

Apparently you didn't bother to read the rest of that article at the 
link I referenced, so here is all of the pertinent info - you'll see 
that Redirected Folders indeed *does* store *everything* in a local 
cache, only copies everything down at logon the *first* time the user 
logs in on a particular computer (but does so in the background), and 
that it synchronizes changes as they are made *in the background*, not 
at logoff:

"Folder Redirection improvements in Windows 7

The Folder Redirection feature in the Windows operating system allows 
administrators to redirect user folders such as Documents, Pictures, or 
Music to shared folders that are hosted on servers. Folder Redirection 
is used in conjunction with the Offline Files technology to ensure that 
the user’s data is available when the network connection to the server 
that is hosting a redirected folder becomes latent or unavailable.

When the network connection is slow or unavailable, Offline Files routes 
requests for the user folders that are stored on the server to the local 
computer cache. Users read and write from their local cache. Offline 
Files synchronizes new and changed files and folders from the local 
computer cache to the server when the network becomes available or in 
the background when the connection is slow.

The first time a user logs on, Offline Files moves all files and folders 
from their current location to the local cache. Then, Offline Files 
synchronizes the data from the local cache with the redirected user 
folder on the server. The user is blocked from logging on to the 
computer during this task.

In earlier versions of the Windows operating system, redirected user 
folders that contained large amounts of data or a large number of files 
and folders could cause delays with the user logon process, increasing 
the time before the user could reach the desktop. This delay could 
become significant when the network connection between the user’s 
computer and the server was slow, because the Windows operating system 
did not present the user’s desktop until the file synchronization 
between the client and server completed.

Windows 7 optimizes the first-time logon process with Folder 
Redirection. Windows 7 presents the user’s desktop as soon as the files 
are moved to the Offline Files cache. The user is allowed to log on, and 
Offline Files in Windows 7 synchronizes the data between the local 
computer and the server in the background. Background synchronization 
decreases the time that the user waits for the desktop and reduces the 
amount of network utilization."

What about this is unclear?

> This makes a big difference because we may be talking about Gigabytes
> of data. A roaming profile without folder redirection does transfer
> the whole profile, which might have been a good idea a decade ago but
> is not feasible with the amounts of data we work with today.

I agree, that is why it is best to use the combination...

>> Yes, but they will *also* reside on the *local computer*.

> As I said before, only the files you are modifying will have a local
> instance,

<sigh> Again, this is only correct *if you have changed the default*, 
assuming that you even can - I still haven't seen proof that you can, 
but am not interested in such a feature so have no motivation to go 
check for myself.

If you are using Redirected Folders with the default behavior, what you 
said is totally *wrong*.

Defaults are usually the way they are for a reason, and I need a damn 
good one to change them.

> which will be synchronized to the server at logout.

Wrong again - they are synchronized *as changes are made*, *in the 
background*, *not* at logout.

Only stuff in the roaming profile is *synchronized at logout*.

-- 

Best regards,

Charles