How do you ensure user files and settings are backed up?

Question

If user profiles (including documents, application data and other settings) are stored locally, what's the best way to back up this information or redirect to a user share on the network?

• Synch the local profile to a network user share?
• Change environment variable %USERPROFILE% to point to a network user share?
• Change My Documents path to network user share?
• Best practice?

Answer 1

For workstations use a group profile to redirect My Documents to a network share (your third suggestion). For laptops use offline files, but note that this will slow down shutdown and logoff.

I wouldn't use roaming profiles just to centralise document storage as it can seriously slow down logon and logoff.

Note that if the little darlings (actually it's often the MD) install iTunes on their laptops you'll be replicating their iTunes database. In W2k8 you can control redirection of My Music separately from My Documents, but this isn't available in 2003.

JR

Answer 2

With Windows, you can use roaming profiles to keep user information and documents stored in a central location automatically. This can be implemented using domain policies.

Answer 3

Under windwos enviro on a domain we map the U:\ drive to each user as they log in (script under profile).

All users are instructed to save everything under their u drive. For notebook users we use offline files and folders.

Email is done through exchange using rpc over http.

BUT most of my clients are engineers so if you tell them make sure that you are saving under the u:\ drive then they will do it.

I have other users that just don't listen no matter what, so i script robocopy on the workstation to pipe data over every 1hr over a giga connection. They don't even know that it is running.

gd