DFS replicas unavailable

I’ve setup DFS to replicate a folder between two domain controllers. The root host is a Windows 2k3 std., the other Windows 2k.

Should the replicated folder be available via the W2k machine if the host is down?

When i try to access it via namespace, I get unavailable or access denied error.

I thought the whole point of DFS was fault tolerance.

Someone please tell me if DFS will do this, or do I need Veritas or Availl replication software to accomplish failover.

Thanks