Tons of files on user desktops (3GB+ in some cases). Bad for performance?

[NotBatman]

As per the title really, I've inherited this setup on a vanilla Win7 network with roaming user profiles. Some staff users have masses of files on their desktop. Now as I understood, this was pretty bad for logon performance. Is my thinking outdated? I'm a bit baffled as to why I can find notes in the network documentation as to why my previous had things running so they were locked to saving to their mapped network drive, but then scrapped this and enabled saving on the desktop.

 

It's on my hit list of things to 'fix', or is it just not that much of an issue now (also we're on the cusp of a 10gig backbone and staff desktop machines are, for the most part, well specced machines). Is it a case of, in this instance, it ain't great practice but the benefits gained for the work involved won't be worthwhile?

[Oaktech]

I'd get that desktop locked and redirected. Saving stuff on the desktop is a bad idea, both for performance and for data security.

[psydii]

I have set things up this way. Here is why:

 

If the desktop is excluded from roaming, there is no performance hit. Well there is for hundred/thousands of files, but this true of a home desktop too. Actually if they have thousands of file, a local desktop will improve performance over a redirected one.

 

If their home drive is full, a local desktop gives them emergency space.

 

If they are coping a large file from USB or elsewhere temporarily, rather a local desktop than over the network into a file share on expensive disks and onto the backup tapes.

 

Occasionally people complain their desktop doesn't roam or that they have lost files when we've re-imaged, but since we tell people at their induction, at staff meetings and termly by email not to save critical work to the desktop SLT don't look upon them with sympathy.

[Oaktech]

I have a slightly different approach, but for the same reasons. All desktops are fixed, all normal locations are redirected except downloads. Downloads don't move with the user. Chrome and IE are both directed by GPO to the local profile location.

[Rockpile99]

All our Desktops (roaming and local) are redirected and locked down (though different for staff and students). Documents folder is also redirected to Home drive for all users. Makes it safe to purge all roaming profiles (usually once a term) to keep things moving along nicely (our bottle neck is elderly student computers rather than network/servers).