Fast and Reliable DFSR Replacement
Get a high-performance replacement for Microsoft Windows Distributed File System Replication (DFSR) for SMB file server replication, enabling real-time sync, WAN optimization, and full failover support without the limitations of traditional replication tools.
DFSR not working?
This popular but aging technology can easily turn a good day into a frustrating one. But you’re not alone.
If you're managing SMB file server replication across Windows Server environments, you’re likely aware of the challenges with DFS replication issues, from slow synchronization and staging problems to unpredictable delays.
It’s time for a data movement solution that’s fast, real-time, and can be deployed as a DFSR alternative, eliminating sync issues and providing full control and visibility.
Why DFSR is not working (and how to fix it) →
We make our customers active everywhere.
Data-driven organizations trust Resilio to rapidly synchronize files across servers running a diversity of web and application workloads.
Resilio allowed us to seamlessly join two disparate networks with ease for a small fraction of the cost of Microsoft’s ‘recommended’ solution. It has been a ‘set and forget’ solution requiring almost no maintenance. Absolutely rock solid.
– Frank Brants, IT Manager at QuatroTax
How does our DFSR alternative work?
We are a high-performance replacement for Microsoft DFSR, offering improved speed, reliability, and visibility.
The Resilio Active Everywhere data movement platform runs as a file replication service on your Windows Servers and replaces Distributed File System Replication (DFSR), while maintaining compatibility with the DFS Namespace.
Our platform is managed using a web-based interface and can also be controlled using a REST API or PowerShell.
See how our DFSR alternative works →
Achieve predictable replication.
Synchronize offices, servers, and file-based data without backlog or blind spots.
DFSR backlogs grow invisibly until they reach a breaking point. Troubleshooting consumes days as IT teams hunt through event logs across servers. Offices operate with stale data. Regulatory reporting deadlines approach while files remain unsynced.
A peer-to-peer-based approach to replication delivers predictable, near real-time replication of distributed file servers. Regardless of the file system size, P2P quickly detects file changes and starts replicating within seconds.
Read our guide to fast P2P replication with Resilio →
Distributed. High-Speed. Automated.
Data is growing at an unprecedented pace, and it’s everywhere.
Resilio Active Everywhere empowers organizations to efficiently, securely, and economically orchestrate how data moves, and where it lives, across global infrastructure—delivering the performance of distributed architecture with centralized control.
Centralized Visibility
Resilio delivers complete visibility and observability into all global transfers and data flows.
The centralized management dashboard shows you details of the replication process across all servers. You can view DFS replication status, audit logs from each server, and real-time completion ETA.
Administrators centrally track, monitor, control, and visualize operations across all locations.
A granular notification system enables you to receive alerts via email and webhooks for any replication issues.
Distributed File Replication Flexibility
Switch to a modern platform that’s easily managed and deployed by organizations of any scale.
Our peer-to-peer architecture enables one-to-many, many-to-one, or multi-directional synchronization, whereas DFSR employs a traditional point-to-point design that serializes replication between two servers unidirectionally.
This means you can create complex replication topologies rather than being limited to simple server pairs. Resilio Active Everywhere gives you the flexibility to implement the workflow you need:
Cloud Extensibility
Seamlessly extend your on-premises file servers to any cloud provider or combination of providers that fits your workflows.
Active Everywhere supports all major object storage platforms, including Amazon S3, Azure Blob, Google Cloud Storage, IBM Cloud, Wasabi, Oracle Cloud, Backblaze, and any S3-compatible storage.
This flexibility enables you to implement hybrid cloud strategies tailored to your specific requirements: back up critical data to cost-effective cold storage, replicate files to regional cloud instances for faster access, or maintain copies across multiple clouds for redundancy.
Whether you need to sync specific folders to the cloud for disaster recovery, create automated cloud backups of your entire DFS namespace, or build a hybrid architecture that combines on-premises performance with cloud scalability, Resilio provides the flexibility to design the solution that works for your organization—without vendor lock-in.
Efficient Error Correction
DFSR's notorious database corruption issues can bring file replication to a halt.
Built from the ground up for resilience and reliability, Resilio Active Everywhere uses corruption-resistant data structures to maintain a clean file system index that never requires manual rebuilding.
When network interruptions or failures occur, Resilio automatically resumes transfers exactly where they stopped, without data loss or corruption.
Supercharge Your Speed
DFSR's reliance on TCP/IP creates severe performance bottlenecks, especially over WANs.
Resilio Active Everywhere delivers dramatically faster replication through two key innovations:
WAN-optimized UDP protocol: Custom-built for unreliable networks, Resilio maintains full speed even with packet loss or high latency, eliminating TCP's performance penalties.
Peer-to-peer block-level replication: Files are hashed into blocks and transferred simultaneously to multiple servers in parallel, rather than DFSR's serial, one-at-a-time approach.
COMPARE Resilio Active Everywhere vs DFSR
Features
| Feature | DFSR | Resilio Active Everywhere |
|---|---|---|
| Cross platform solution | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Max number of servers | 256 for each replication group | No limits |
| Max number of files | 70 million (2012R2) | No limits |
| ACL replication | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Max file size | 250 Gb (2012R2) | No limits |
| WAN acceleration | ❌ | ✔️ |
| P2P replication | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Time to replicate 3.72 Gb single file | 4:00 min | 1:39 min |
| Time to replicate 100k files of 4kb each | 46 min | 17 min |
| Delta encoding | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Compression | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| In-transit encryption | ❌ | ✔️ |
| WAN optimization | ❌ | ✔️ |
| NAT traversal | ❌ | ✔️ |
| 10M+ files support | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Very large folders | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Real-time response to changes | ✔️ | ✔️ |
OUR CUSTOMERS Run with Resilio
Fast-growing companies use Active Everywhere to connect and automate data movement across core, cloud, and edge. Less troubleshooting, more data flowing.
Case study
Deutsche Aircraft
The aviation industry innovator now efficiently synchronizes over 20 million files in real-time across their DFS namespace, ensuring 24/7 availability of critical files.
Case study
Dar
The multidisciplinary engineering consulting organization is replicating thousands of files and terabytes of data over 350+ Resilio Active Everywhere synchronization jobs across six countries.
Case study
CNPPID
A public power district replaced unreliable DFSR with Resilio Active Everywhere, enabling real-time sync of 1.5 TB across eight remote sites connected by 12 Mbps microwave links.