AddOn DFS Replication Management Pack (part #1 – configuration)
This article is to serve as documentation for my recent MP addition to TechNet gallery: https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/AddOn-DFS-Replication-33d233a8.
I split the documentation into part #1 (configuration) and part #2 (featured monitoring).
The AddOn Distributed File System (DFS) Replication Management Pack for System Center Operations Manager 2012 monitors the health of DFS Replication by complementing the monitoring provided by Microsoft Management Packs:
– System Center 2012 Management Pack for Microsoft Windows Server File & iSCSI Services 2012 R2 (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42066)
– System Center 2012 Management Pack for Microsoft Windows Server File & iSCSI Services 2012 (https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/download/details.aspx?id=34970)
Here are the Management Packs that you need to have imported in the first place:
Plus the following MP, specifically for the presentation MP (visualization):
Get this MP from:
https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Powershell-Grid-Widget-919dc3d6
All agents need to have the Agent Proxy setting enabled (Allow this agent to act as a proxy and discover managed objects on other computers).
Make sure that Firewalls are not blocking WMI remote connections – a lot of workflows in the DFS MPs are using WMI queries (local and remote).
Add a Windows Account with appropriate permissions on DFS. Configure this account for More Secure distribution (no selected computers, for the moment).
The AddOn.DFSReplication MP has configured a group called “Agents On Windows FileServer DFS-R”; members of this group are HealthServices on all Windows FileServer DFS-R role computers. You can use this group to have the “DFR-R Monitoring Account” distributed; just execute the following from Operations Manager Shell:
PS C:\> $distagents = Get-SCOMGroup -DisplayName “Agents On Windows FileServer DFS-R” | Get-SCOMClassInstance
PS C:\> Get-SCOMRunAsAccount -Name “DFS-R Monitoring Account” | Set-SCOMRunAsDistribution -MoreSecure -SecureDistribution $distagents
Note. Please update the commands above for whatever name you provided to the DFS-R monitoring account; in case you used exactly same name as in the screenshot, then you can use (cut and paste) the commands as they are provided.
Verification:
Last step is to associate the Profile with the RunAs account just created.
In part #2 I will detail what additional monitoring is provided by this Management Pack.
stelianposteablog 
On a network with lots of file share activity, their is no way that each replica is going to have 0 backlog, so it is very noisy. How can i put a threshold so it only cares about replication groups which have a backlog of 1000 or more? If
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Thanks for feedback. I guess it makes sense to have the backlog monitor implemented with a configurable threshold. I will update the MP and notify here when new version is available.
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Management Pack is now updated.
DFS-R: Backlog File Count (Monitor) allows now configuration of overrides for the checking interval (default 3600 sec) as well as for the backlog count threshold (default 0).
Please keep in mind that optimal overrides configuration would be using “For all objects of class: DFS-R Replication Connection” for cookdown considerations.
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Hi Stelian, great addon I must say. I am struggling to setup backlog monitoring of DRS replication on my DC’s (SYSVOL) with Microsoft MP, but the account I need to use for DFS Replication Monitoring Account profile needs to be local admin on monitored machines (no local accounts on DC’s) or domain admin which poses security threat and I am not allowed to use it. So far I couldn’t find any solution, not even using dfsrdiag.exe special permissions for backlog tracking on this account. Does your MP uses the same account and did you try to setup backlog monitoring on domain controllers with your AddOn?
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Hi Nike, Honestly I did not try my MP on Domain Controllers. The MP adds its own RunAs Profile; as for the permissions of the account that has to be associated with this profile, I recall that there is a way to delegate permissions to run DFSRDIAG (for example). Keep in mind that permissions are required mostly for WMI access. You can use the tasks in the MP to verify correct permissions. Thanks for your feedback!
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I have many 2016 DFS servers and a few 2012 mainly I am interested in the back log part. I already have a DFS service account that I use for the 2016 MP and has been distributed out to all may DFS servers could I use the same runas account with this MP?
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