DFS, Folder Redirection and Offline Files...

Hello to all...

We have a Windows 2003 domain, two w2k3 SP1 DCs, and my file server is w2k3
R2 SP1 Ent. All of our client machines are Windows XP SP2.

We performed a Root Consolidation via the File Server Migration Utility and
Root Consolidation wizard. I also have a Domain based DFS namespace.

We performed the Root Consolidation for legacy reasons. Namely a ton of
linked files on the old file server, as well as we didn't want to deal with
the fun of moving users' home directories which included thier redirected My
Documents and then having the client side caches go nuts.

Our users have two mapped drives which point to DFS paths in the stand
alone, consolidated, root. (\\retiredservername\share1 and
\\retiredservername\share2\username)

We use the Folder Redirection GPO to send the contents of clients' My
Documents folder to \\retiredservername\share2\username\my documents.

The My Documents folders have been allowed to be made available offline as
the vast majority of our users are laptop based.

That's the windup, here's the pitch.

Since the Root Consolidation, and the creation of the Domain Based
Namespace, we've had an issue where if laptop users, disconnect thier CAT5
cable, pick up thier laptop and walk into a meeting room, reconnect....and
POW...they cannot access either of thier two mapped drives or thier My
Documents folder.

The only way to get the access back is to reboot, a log off/log on won't do
it.

We've seen a number of kb articles around this which mainly pertain to the
combo of DFS, Folder Redirection and Offline files being unsupported in
Windows 2000, but as we are completely Windows 2003, and the file server is
R2 Enterprise to support the multiple roots, we are concerned.

We have found if we take Offline Files out of the equation, by clicking on
the 'caching' button in the share tab of the target folders, and removing the
default selection of 'allow users to make files available offline' and set it
to 'not available offline', we notice a vast improvement in the mapped drive
disconnection issue.

Of course, this solves one issue but cripples our laptop users as now they
still get thier My Documents folders redirected, but now the content is not
available when they are away from the Domain. The 'make available offline'
and 'synchronize' options are now removed from the folder. Going into
Explorer, folder options, synchronize, yields little results as users just
get informed there are no selections available for synchronization.

Has anyone else out there come across this and solved it? I suppose i could
apply SP2 to the file server and see if by some luck it helps.

Thoughts, comments, ideas?

Thanks.

G.
.