4.16 Duplicate Folders in a Standard Pair

In a Dynamic File Services standard pair, a second instance of a folder is created on a target path as files are moved between the primary and secondary locations. In a merged view, users are not aware that two instances of a folder exist. If a folder is empty in one of the locations, the empty folder is not removed. If a user deletes a folder, both instances of the folder are removed.

Dynamic File Services automatically synchronizes the metadata information (such as ACLs and attributes) from the primary location instance of the folder to its secondary instance when the folders are accessed via the merged view or during a policy run. Because some metadata cannot be modified through a network share, DynamicFS also monitors instances of folders on the primary path for changes to metadata. For information about setting ACLs and attributes for folders, see Section 4.15, File and Folder Attributes and ACL Permissions in a Standard Pair.

The attributes and ACL settings for the two folder instances can become out of synchronization if you modify a folder’s metadata by accessing a folder directly instead of via the merged view. Accessing a folder instance directly on the secondary path creates a conflict because the attributes or permissions are changed only on that instance of the folder, but not on its matching instance on the primary path.

For information about detecting and reporting conflicts in metadata on folders, see Section 8.11, Reporting Conflicts for Attributes and ACL Permissions on Folders.