Should i zip multiple file to 1 file or should i replicate individual files

[IT Staff]

Which way speeds up replication ?

Server 1 subfolder = 100,000 file with size eg 100mb. I i zip the 100,000
file and file size becomes 10mb

So i replicate zip file which makes initial replication faster ?

Once initial replication completes and server 2 receive the zip file, which
i then unzip back to 100,000 files in server 2, i know server1 will receive
the individual files. But i will also unzip server1 zip file so that it
expand exactly back to 100,000 files.

Is this a strategy to speed up replication especially intial replication ?

[Dave Warren]

Post by IT Staff
Which way speeds up replication ?
Server 1 subfolder = 100,000 file with size eg 100mb. I i zip the 100,000
file and file size becomes 10mb
So i replicate zip file which makes initial replication faster ?

Replicating less files and less data total is faster, yes.

Post by IT Staff
Once initial replication completes and server 2 receive the zip file, which
i then unzip back to 100,000 files in server 2, i know server1 will receive
the individual files. But i will also unzip server1 zip file so that it
expand exactly back to 100,000 files.
Is this a strategy to speed up replication especially intial replication ?

You'll get through the initial replication faster if you have less
files, but if you include the time to replicate out the unzipped files
and resolve all the conflicts you just created, you'll take longer, if
only because you wasted time replicating the unneeded ZIP *and* forced
conflict resolution on all of the files.

If you'd just prestaged the files then let DFS-R do it's job you'd go
through conflict resolution on the files once and then you'd be done
with it.

In general, the fastest solution is to let DFS-R do it's job. Prestage
or not (I'd recommend it, especially if the replication happens over a
slower link, and doubly so if you're using 2003 R2 rather then 2008),
but once DFS-R starts, anything you do to try and help out will take
longer then just letting DFS-R finish on it's own.

[IT STAFF]

Few questions. Let's assume initial replication completes on both servers.

1. From one server, i copied a "initial replication completed " folder to
"another" folder and set a new method of replication to sync with another
server. Do they have to go thru the standard "conflict and deleted" process
each time? (For bandwidth wise, i know it will not eat up as i've tested
before.)