How to manually decommission a root server that hosts a domain-based DFS root in Windows Server 2003 (842218)

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To decommission a root server that hosts a domain-based DFS root, follow these steps:

1. Remove the root server from the DFS namespace. To do this:
   • Use the Distributed File System snap-in to remove the root server from the DFS namespace. To do this:
     1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Distributed File System.
     2. In the left pane, click the DFS root that is to be removed.
     3. In the right pane, right-click the root target that you want to remove, and then click Remove Target.
     4. Click Yes.
     5. Close the DFS snap-in.
   • Use the version of the DFS utility (Dfsutil.exe) that is included in the Windows Server 2003 Support Tools to remove the root server from the DFS namespace. To do this, follow these steps.
     
     Note To install the DFS utility that is included in the Windows Server 2003 Support Tools, right-click Suptools.msi in the Support\Tools folder on the Windows Server 2003 CD-ROM, and then click Install.
     1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd in the Open box, and then click OK.
     2. Type the following command, and then press ENTER:

        Dfsutil /UnmapFtRoot /Root:DFS root /Server:RootTargetServer /Share:DFS share name

     Note RootTargetServer refers to the root server that is to be decommissioned. Also, DFS root must be of the following form:

     \\DomainOrServer\RootName

2. On the decommissioned root target, remove DFS information from the registry by using the following Dfsutil.exe command:

   Dfsutil /Clean /Server:RootTargetServer /Share:DFS share name

   
   Note DFS root must be of the following form:

   \\DomainOrServer\RootName

3. On the decommissioned root server, at a command prompt, type net stop dfs, and then press ENTER.
4. On the decommissioned root server, at a command prompt, type net start dfs, and then press ENTER.
   
   Note After you remove a DFS root target, DFS stops giving referrals to the decommissioned server within 15 minutes of the update to the DFS Active Directory directory service object. The DFS Active Directory object resides on the local domain controller and is issued by the PDC emulator master. The time that the update can take depends on Active Directory replication schedules.

For additional information about DFS, visit the following Microsoft Web site: