The introduction of Windows 2008 brought us the famous Read-Only domain controller, the domain controller without passwords (unless explicitly approved) and one-way replication. That one-way replication also applied to the SYSVOL share. Sysvol is replicated by either FRS or DFSR depending on the initial setup of the domain. If you have upgraded your domain from Windows 2000 or Windows 2003 to Windows 2008 SYSVOL is still using FRS to replicate. When you have initially deployed Windows 2008 and set the forest functional level to use the Windows 2008 standards; DFSR is used. Usually the replication of Sysvol is two-way, you can change the contents on each domain controller and those changes are replicated to all domain controllers.

If you made changes to the SYSVOL folder on an RODC (2008), however, these changes are overwritten with the next replication cycle when you have DFSR. When you have a Windows 2008 R2 RODC the SYSVOL share will automatically be marked as read-only so you cannot make any changes.

When you have a mixed 2003/2008 domain, or did not start with the forest functional level at 2008; SYSVOL still replicates through the FRS method, and in that case horrible things can occur: If you change a file on the RODC SYSVOL that replicates through the FRS method the file get’s stamped placed in the queue for outbound replication (which will never occur) and if you make enough changes the FRS on the RODC will actually shutdown!

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