How do I move our DFS namespace to SharePoint?
DFS gave one 'logical' name across multiple file servers. SharePoint Online Hub Sites bundle multiple site collections: not identical, but a sensible mental successor for SMB.
Try this first
- 1Inventory current DFS: namespaces, targets per share, ACLs, data volume per share.
- 2Design SharePoint architecture: one hub per department group (e.g. Sales, Operations, HR), each department as a communication or team site.
- 3Migrate per share: Mover.io or SharePoint Migration Tool moves structure and permissions. Phase it, one share per week.
- 4Replace mapped drives with OneDrive sync or 'Add shortcut to OneDrive' on the SharePoint library: users see their folders under OneDrive.
- 5Clean up DFS namespace post-migration: remove old targets, keep the namespace a few weeks with a read-only banner or notice page.
When to bring us in
For very large files (>100 GB), high counts of small files (>300k per library), or heavy Excel power-pivot workloads: SharePoint has limits. Some workloads belong not in SharePoint but in Azure File Sync or another platform.
See also
- One DC or two DCs for an SMB office?Two is almost always the right answer; one DC is a single point of failure for logon, DNS and GPOs.
- Should I split FSMO roles across two DCs?For a small domain all on one DC is fine; with two DCs splitting is tidier but not required.
- How do I know my AD replication is healthy?Replication errors creep in silently; they only surface when logins or GPOs misbehave.
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