If a file is viewed, and replicated vaults are being used, it is necessary to know which file server to view the file from. To achieve this:
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Create a new relationship definition between the host and the organization (SPFOrganizationFileServerHost).
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Because a user will most likely belong to an organization, a collection of the file hosts that a user wants to define as his local set can be configured by attaching the hosts to the organization object and ensuring that the user is a member of the correct organization.
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When a file is viewed, its vault, and therefore its host, can be derived.
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If the host of the file matches, or is in the set of hosts that are related to the user's organization, it can be viewed from its original location, as this host has been defined to be local to the current user.
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If the host of the file is not in the set of hosts that are related to the user's organization, check to see if the vault is replicated to a host that IS local to the current user. That is, if the file's vault is on End1 of an SPFVaultIsReplicatedTo relationship, check if any of the hosts related to any of the End2 vaults are set up for the current user. If so, the file can be viewed from this local host. If not, the file must be viewed remotely from the vault from which the file originates.
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If a user has no organization set (or the organization has no hosts), the file must be viewed from its original location. This is the equivalent of having a blank value for the LocalFileServer field on the user record.
Example
In the above diagram, Site A is considered the main site and has one file server that hosts two vaults. This file server (host) is related to the organization INGR-SWI by the SPFOrganizationFileServerHost relationship. The user User1 is related to the organization INGR‑SWI.
When User1 attempts to view a file that resides in Vault1, the code checks if the file's vault (Vault1) is on a server that is exposed by the user's organization. In this case, the condition is satisfied, and the user views the file directly from local Vault1.
Vault1 is also replicated to a vault named Vault3 on file server FS2 at Site B. FS2 is related to organization INGR-MIL by the relationship SPFOrganizationFileServerHost. The user User2 belongs to this organization.
When User2 attempts to view a file located in Vault1 (at Site A), the code makes the same check to see is Vault1 is on a server that is exposed by the user's organization. Because FS1 is not related to User2's organization INGR-MIL, the condition is not satisfied. Therefore, the code checks if Vault1 (where the file originates) is replicated to a host that User2 CAN access through his organization. Since Vault1 is at End1 of a relationship of type SPFVaultIsReplicatedTo, it finds the file servers that are related to all the End2 vaults (in this case, just Vault3). Since Vault3 is on a file server that User2 can access through his organization, the file can now be viewed from User2's local fileserver, FS2 (as long as the file is present).
When User3 attempts to view a file that also originates in Vault1, Vault1's file server is not found to be related to User3's organization. The code makes the same check of the SPFVaultIsReplicatedTo relationship, and since Vault1 is not replicated to a file server that User3's organization is related to, then no local vault is found. In this case, User3 must view the file from its original vault, Vault1.
Vault replication functionality is intended to make it faster for a remote user to
view or print files. Replicated vaults are not considered, however, when new documents
or new versions are created and files are vaulted.