NTFRSutl.exe (RK)

This command-line tool is practically undocumented. You can enter its name at the command prompt and get a list of parameters. This is all the information you have at your disposal. NTFRSutl produces a lot of rather cryptic data. Nevertheless, this tool may be very useful for monitoring, troubleshooting, and — to some extent — managing the File Replication Service (FRS) that replicates the System Volume (SYSVOL) information and Distributed File System (DFS) data. The tool can be run on a local as well as a remote DC.

Note 

NTFRSutl has been included in the Windows 2000 Service Resource Kit. Some Beta versions of Windows .NET server family have also comprised this tool.

Let us consider some of the NTFRSutl's parameters and their usage.

• ntfrsutl ds and ntfrsutl sets — these commands display the FRS configuration (replication partners, file filters, schedules, etc.). This information can be partially viewed in the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in (see the File Replication Service node in the System container, and the objects of FRS Sub-scriptions type, which every domain controller has).

• ntfrsutl stage — this command displays the disk space currently being used by replicated objects. Normally, when the configuration is stable, this space is 0 KB. Allocated space means some data have not yet been replicated. The following two commands allow you to see which specific data are to be replicated.

• ntfrsutl outlog and ntfrsutl inlog — these commands usually display no data. If there are objects to be replicated, the logs contain information that can be useful to an administrator, such as an object file name, and date and time of changes.

• ntfrsutl poll /now — this command can override the current schedule and trigger replication of staging data between the current or any specified DC and its partners. Then, you can check logs or staging areas to make sure that all data have been replicated.