Windows 2000 Administration in a Nutshell

Name

offline files

Synopsis

A feature that lets users work with files in shared folders even when the network connection is unavailable.

Description

When users want to work with their files, they typically connect to shared folders on network file servers to retrieve these files. When they modify these files, they save their changes in the shared folders. This procedure has several benefits:

• It allows users to roam between different client computers and still be able to access their files from a central location on the network.

• It centralizes management of users’ files, allowing them to be easily backed up by administrators.

The downside is that when the network connection becomes unavailable—due to either a network problem or the file server being down—the users are unable to access their files and can’t do their work. The solution is to use the offline-files feature of Windows 2000, which allows files stored in network shares to be cached on the user’s local computer so that these files are always available for the user.

Tip

Use offline files if users frequently need to work offline with files stored in shared folders on network file servers. If you occasionally need to transfer files between a laptop and a desktop computer using a direct cable connection, Briefcase will suffice.

How It Works

When offline files are configured, the process of accessing network resources is the same whether the user is connected to the network or not. When the user logs on, the locally cached copies of her ...