Updating shared files across computers

Question

I have a file server running Windows Server 2008 and a couple of laptops running Windows 7 on a network. There are a large number of files that all users will need access to. My plan is to have the files on both the server and the laptops because the users will need to access the files in places with no Internet access. I also want any changes made to the files on any of the laptops to propagate to the server and then propagate to the other laptops whenever they connect to the network. Should I do this with a scheduled batch script with a few xcopy commands or is there a better way to do it?

Answer 1

Just use offline files. Create a group policy enabling offline files and also specifying which folders to enforce offline files on. This will do everything you want.

Here's some reading for you:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Understanding-offline-files
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc782960(WS.10).aspx