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Display Name (?):

Distributed File System

Short Name (?):

Dfs

Executable (?):

Dfssvc.exe

Library (?):

None.

Depends On (?):

Workstation, Server, Security Accounts Manager

Supports (?):

None.

Description (?):

Integrates disparate file shares into a single, logical namespace and manages these logical volumes distributed across a local or wide area network. If this service is stopped, users will be unable to access file shares. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

OS (?):

2000 Server, Server 2003, Vista Server

Startup (?):

Default	Home	Workstation	Server	Minimal	Tweaked	Automatic
Automatic	Disabled	Disabled	Automatic	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled

Explanation (?):

The distributed file system service allows you to create, manage, remove and use logical share volumes on a local or wide area network. In terms this simplifies a large disparate network into a single namespace so that users can access many file shares through a single point, while providing fault tolerance through redundancy. In laymans terms this means that in an active directory any remote file share can be added to the domain and will provide forwarding to those shares from the domain itself, allowing users to forget complicated UNC paths.

This service can only be found on server versions of Windows, but can be disabled at the loss of the ability of the feature. In a corporate environment with many shared resources from a range of computers this service could simplify the task for users needing to search server file shares. However, it is highly recommended to uninstall this feature through the add/remove components dialog rather than from disabling the service itself.