Appendix B - Procedures Reference

Appendix B - Procedures Reference

Active Directory Operations Guide

This appendix lists all procedures in alphabetical order. You can build tear sheets for your operations staff by cutting and pasting the task and its procedures into a separate document.

Associate an Existing Subnet Object with a Site

Associate an existing subnet with a site under the following conditions:

When you are removing the site to which the subnet was associated.
When you have temporarily associated the subnet with a different site and want to associate it with its permanent site.

Requirements

Credentials: Enterprise Admins
Tool: Active Directory Sites and Services (Administrative Tools)

To associate an existing subnet object with a site

In Active Directory Sites and Services, expand the Sites container, and then click the Subnets container.
In the details pane, right-click the subnet with which you want to associate the site, and then click Properties.
In the Site box, click the site with which to associate the subnet, and then click OK.

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Back Up System State and the System Disk on a Domain Controller

The following procedure backs up both system state and the system disk.

Requirements

To back up system state, you must log on at the local computer, or you must enable Terminal Services in Remote Administration mode on the remote domain controller.
Credentials: Domain Admins, local Administrator, or Backup Operator.
Tool: NTBackup.exe

To back up system state and the system disk on a domain controller

Log on to the domain controller by using an account that has Domain Admins, local Administrator, or Backup Operator credentials.
Start the Windows NT Backup Wizard by choosing one of the following options:
- Open a command prompt, type ntbackup and press ENTER.
- Click Start, point to Programs, then point to Accessories, then point to System Tools, and then click Backup.

Click the Backup Wizard button, and then click Next.
Select Back up selected files, drives, or network data.
In Items to Back Up, click SystemState to select it, then expand the drive letter containing the system files and click the system disk to select it. Click Next.
In the Where to Store the Backup box, select the Backup Media Type by choosing one of the following options:
- Choose File if you want to back up to a file. If you do not have a tape backup unit installed, File is selected automatically.
- Choose a tape device if you want to back up to tape.

In the Backup Media or File Name box, choose one of the following options:
- If you are backing up to a file, type a path and file name for the backup (.bkf) file, or click the Browse button to find a folder or file. If the destination folder or file does not exist, the system creates it.
- If you are backing up to a tape unit, choose the tape that you want to use.

After you click Next, the Completing the Backup Wizard screen appears. This screen summarizes the options selected for this backup job. Verify that Prompt to replace data is listed in the How category. If it is not, click the Advanced button, click Next until you reach the Media Options screen, and then select Replace the data on the media with this backup.
Complete the remaining wizard screens, and click Finish to begin the backup operation. When a Replace Data dialog box appears, click Yes to overwrite the existing backup on this tape or file path with this backup. A progress indicator shows the status of the backup operation.

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Back Up System State on a Domain Controller

The following procedure backs up only system state. It does not back up the system disk or any other data on the domain controller.

Requirements

To back up system state, you can log on at the local computer, or you can enable Terminal Services in Remote Administration mode on the remote domain controller.
Credentials: Domain Admins, local Administrator, or Backup Operator.
Tool: NTBackup.exe

To back up system state on a domain controller

Log on to the domain controller by using an account that has Domain Admins, local Administrator, or Backup Operator credentials.
Start the Windows NT Backup Wizard by choosing one of the following options:
- Open a command prompt, type ntbackup and press ENTER.
- Click Start, point to Programs, then point to Accessories, then point to System Tools, and then click Backup.

Click the Backup Wizard button, and then click Next.
Select Only back up the system state data.
In the Where to Store the Backup box, select the Backup Media Type by choosing one of the following options:
- Choose File if you want to back up to a file. If you do not have a tape backup unit installed, File is selected automatically.
- Choose a tape device if you want to back up to tape.

In the Backup Media or File Name box, choose one of the following options:
- If you are backing up to a file, type a path and file name for the backup (.bkf) file, or click the Browse button to find a folder or file. If the destination folder or file does not exist, the system creates it.
- If you are backing up to a tape unit, choose the tape that you want to use.

After you click Next, the Completing the Backup Wizard screen appears. This screen summarizes the options selected for this backup job. Verify that Prompt to replace data is listed in the How category. If it is not, click the Advanced button, click Next until you reach the Media Options screen, and then select Replace the data on the media with this backup.
Complete the remaining wizard screens, and click Finish to begin the backup operation. When a Replace Data dialog box appears, click Yes to overwrite the existing backup on this tape or file path with this backup. A progress indicator shows the status of the backup operation.

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Change Polling Interval

Use the following procedure to change the polling interval.

Requirements

Credentials: Domain Admins
Tools: w32tm.exe, regedit.exe

To change the polling interval

At the command prompt, type the following command and then press ENTER:

w32tm -period value

where value is one of the following:

Value	Frequency
0	Once a day
"BiDaily"	Twice a day
"Tridaily"	Three times a day
"Weekly"	Once every seven days
"SpecialSkew"	Once every 45 minutes until 3 good synchronizations occur, then once every 8 hours (3 per day) [default]
"DailySpecialSkew"	Once every 45 minutes until one good synchronization occurs, then once every day
A number equal to the number of times per day.	The number of times per day you want to synchronize

To make the change take effect, stop and restart the time service.
At the command prompt, type the following command and then press ENTER:

net stop w32time
At the command prompt, type the following command and then press ENTER:

net start w32time
Verify that the interval has been changed in the registry.
At the command prompt, type the following command and then press ENTER:

Regedit
Navigate to the following registry key and verify that the value is correct:

Hkey_Local_Machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Parameters\Period

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Change the Delay for Initial Notification of an Intrasite Replication Partner

The following registry entry controls the initial change notification delay:

Replicator notify pause after modify (secs)
in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NTDS\Parameters.

The default value is 300 seconds.

Requirements

Credentials: Domain Admins
Tools: Regedit.exe

To change the delay for initial notification of an intrasite replication partner

In the Run dialog box, type regedit and then click OK.
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NTDS and click the Parameters entry.
Double-click Replicator notify pause after modify (secs) to change the initial delay.
In the Base box, click Decimal.
In the Value data box, type the number of seconds for the delay, and then click OK.

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Change the Garbage Collection Logging Level

The garbage collection logging level is an NTDS Diagnostics setting in the registry.

Requirements

Credentials: Domain Admins
Tools: Regedit.exe or Regedt32.exe (system tools)

Caution: The registry editor bypasses standard safeguards, allowing settings that can damage your system, or even require you to reinstall Windows. If you must edit the registry, back up system state first. For information about backing up system state, see "Active Directory Backup and Restore" in this guide.

To change the garbage collection logging level

In the Run dialog box, type regedit or regedt32, and then click OK.
Navigate to the Garbage Collection entry in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NTDS\Diagnostics.
Double-click Garbage Collection, and for the Base or Radix, click Decimal.
In the Value data or Data box, type an integer from 0 through 5, and then click OK.

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Change the Garbage Collection Period

The garbage collection period determines how often expired tombstones are removed from the directory database. This period is governed by an attribute value on the Directory Service object in the Configuration container. The default value is 12 (hours).

Decrease the period to perform garbage collection more frequently. Increase the period to perform garbage collection less frequently.

Requirements

Credentials: Enterprise Admins
Tools: ADSI Edit (Support Tools)

To change the garbage collection period

On the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Windows 2000 Support Tools, Tools, and then click ADSI Edit.
Expand the Configuration container and then expand CN=Configuration, expand CN=Services, and expand CN=Windows NT.
Right-click CN=Directory Service and then click Properties.
In the Select a property to view list, click garbageCollPeriod .
In the Edit Attribute box, type the new value.
Click Set and then click OK.

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Change the Priority for DNS SRV Records in the Registry

To prevent clients from sending all requests to a single domain controller, the domain controllers are assigned a priority value. Clients always send requests to the domain controller that has the lowest priority value. If more than one domain controller has the same value, the clients randomly choose from the group of domain controllers with the same value. If no domain controllers with the lowest priority value are available, then the clients send requests to the domain controller with the next highest priority.

A domain controller's priority value is stored in its registry. When the domain controller starts, the Net Logon service registers with the DNS server. The priority value is registered with the rest of its DNS information. When a client uses DNS to discover a domain controller, the priority for a given domain controller is returned to the client with the rest of the DNS information. The client uses the priority value to help determine to which domain controller to send requests.

The value is stored in the LdapSrvPriority registry entry. The default value is 0 and it can range from 0 through 65535.

Note: A lower value entered for LdapSrvPriority indicates a higher priority. A domain controller with an LdapSrvPriority setting of 100 has a lower priority than a domain controller with a setting of 10. Therefore, clients attempt to use the domain controller with the setting of 100 first.

Requirements

Credentials: Domain Admins
Tools: Regedit.exe (system tool)

To change the priority for DNS SRV records in the registry

In the Run dialog box, type regedit, and press ENTER.
In the registry editor, navigate to HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Netlogon\Parameters
Click Edit, click New, and then click DWORD value.
For the new value name, type LdapSrvPriority, and press ENTER.
Double-click the value name that you just typed to open the Edit DWORD Value dialog box.
Enter a value from 0 through 65535. The default value is 0.
Choose Decimal as the Base option.
Click OK.
Click File, and then click Exit to close the registry editor.

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Change the Space Allocated to the Staging Area Folder

This procedure outlines the steps needed to modify the registry entry that restricts the amount of disk space allocated to the Staging Area in SYSVOL.

Requirements

Credentials: Domain or Enterprise Admins
Tools: Regedit.exe

To change the space allocated to the Staging Area folder

In the Run dialog box, type regedit and press ENTER.
In the registry editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NtFRS\Parameters.
Double-click Staging Space Limit in KB to open the Edit dialog box.
In the Base frame, select Decimal.
For Value Data enter a value from 10000 through 2000000000. Do not use commas. Click OK.
Close the registry editor.

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Change the Static IP Address of a Domain Controller

If you change the static IP address of a domain controller, you must also change related TCP/IP settings accordingly.

Requirements

Credentials: Administrators
Tools: My Network Places
Required information:
IP address
Subnet mask
Default gateway address
Preferred and alternate DNS server addresses
WINS server addresses, if appropriate

To change the static IP address of a domain controller

Log on locally to the server for which you want to change the IP address.
On the desktop, right-click My Network Places and then click Properties.
In the Network and Dial-up Connections dialog box, right-click Local Area Connection and then click Properties.
In the Local Area Connection Properties dialog box, double-click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).
In the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties dialog box, in the IP address box, type the new address.
In the Subnet mask box, type the subnet mask.
In the Default gateway box, type the default gateway.
In the Preferred DNS server box, type the address of the DNS server that this computer contacts.
In the Alternate DNS server box, type the address of the DNS server that this computer contacts if the preferred server is unavailable.
If this domain controller uses WINS servers, click Advanced and then, in the Advanced TCP/IP Settings dialog box, click the WINS tab.
If an address in the list is no longer appropriate, click the address and then click Edit.
In the TCP/IP WINS Server dialog box, type the new address, and then click OK.
Repeat steps 11 and 12 for all addresses that need to be changed, and then click OK twice to close the TCP/IP WINS Server dialog box and the Advanced TCP/IP Settings dialog box.
Click OK to close the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties dialog box.

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Change the Weight for DNS SRV Records in the Registry

To increase client requests sent to other domain controllers relative to a particular domain controller, adjust the weight of the particular domain controller to a lower value than the others. All domain controllers start with a default weight setting of 100 and can be configured for any value from 0 through 65535, with a data type of decimal. When you adjust the weight, consider it as a ratio of the weight of this domain controller to the weight of the other domain controllers. Because the default for the other domain controllers is 100, the number you enter for weight is divided by 100 to establish the ratio. For example, if you specify a weight of 60, the ratio to the other domain controllers is 60/100. This reduces to 3/5, so you can expect clients to be referred to other domain controllers five times for every three times they get referred to the domain controller you are adjusting.

Requirements

Credentials: Domain Admins
Tools: Regedit.exe (system tool)

To change the weight for DNS SRV records in the registry

In the Run dialog box, type regedit, and press ENTER.
In the registry editor, navigate to HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Netlogon\Parameters.
Click Edit, click New, and then click DWORD value.
For the new value name, type LdapSrvWeight and press ENTER. (The value name is not case sensitive.)
Double-click on the value name you just typed to open the Edit DWORD Value dialog box.
Enter a value from 0 through 65535. The default value is 100.
Choose Decimal as the Base option.
Click OK.
Click File, and then click Exit to close the registry editor.

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Check Directory Database Integrity

Prior to performing any other troubleshooting procedures relative to a suspected database problem, or immediately following offline defragmentation, perform a database integrity check.

Requirements

Domain controller is started in Directory Services Restore Mode
Credentials: local Administrator account
Tool: Ntdsutil.exe (system tool)

To check directory database integrity

In Directory Services Restore Mode, open a command prompt and type ntdsutil, and then press ENTER.
At the ntdsutil: prompt, type files and then press ENTER.
At the file maintenance: prompt, type integrity and then press ENTER.
Note the status that is reported when the integrity check is completed.
- If the integrity check completes successfully, type q and press ENTER to return to the ntdsutil: prompt. Then go to step 5 to perform semantic database analysis.
- If the integrity check reports errors, perform directory database recovery.

At the ntdsutil: prompt, type semantic database analysis and then press ENTER.
At the semantic checker: prompt, type verbose on and then press ENTER.
At the semantic checker: prompt, type go and then press ENTER.
Complete the database integrity check as follows:
- If no errors are detected in the status at the end of the procedure, type quit and then type quit again to close Ntdsutil.exe, and then restart the domain controller normally to return it to service. If you are performing this procedure remotely over a Terminal Services connection, be sure that you have modified the Boot.ini file for normal restarting before you restart the domain controller.
- If semantic database analysis reports recoverable errors, then perform semantic database analysis with fixup. If errors are not recoverable, then either restore the domain controller from backup or rebuild the domain controller.

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Check the Status of the Shared System Volume

This test involves checking Event Viewer to make sure that the File Replication Service is started properly and then ensuring that the SYSVOL and NETLOGON shared folders are created.

Requirements

Credentials: Domain Admin
Tools: Event Viewer, net.exe

To check the status of the shared system volume

In Event Viewer, click File Replication Service in the Event Viewer tree to display the FRS events.
Look for an event 13516 with a date and time stamp that corresponds with the recent restart. It can take 15 minutes or more to appear. An event 13508 indicates that FRS is in the process of starting the service. An event 13509 indicates that the service is started successfully. Event 13516 indicates that the service is started, the folders are shared and the domain controller is functional.
To verify the shared folder is created, open a command prompt and type net share to display a list of the shared folders on this domain controller, including NETLOGON and SYSVOL.
At a command prompt, type dcdiag /test:netlogons and press ENTER.
Look for a message that states computername passed test NetLogons where computername is the name of the domain controller. If you do not see the test passed message, some problem will prevent replication from functioning. This test verifies that the proper logon privileges are set to allow replication to occur. If this test fails, verify the permissions set on the NETLOGON and SYSVOL shared folders.

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Clean Up Metadata

If you give the new domain controller the same name as the failed computer, then you need perform only the first procedure to clean up metadata, which removes the NTDS Settings object of the failed domain controller. If you will give the new domain controller a different name, then you need to perform all three procedures: clean up metadata, remove the failed server object from the site, and remove the computer object from the domain controllers container.

Requirements

Credentials: Enterprise Admins (metadata cleanup requires modifying the configuration naming context)
Tool: Ntdsutil.exe, Active Directory Sites and Services, Active Directory Users and Computers

To clean up metadata

At the command line, type ntdsutil and press ENTER.
At the ntdsutil: prompt, type metadata cleanup and press ENTER.
At the metadata cleanup: prompt, type connections and press ENTER.
At the server connections: prompt, type connect to server servername, where servername is the domain controller (any functional domain controller in the same domain) from which you plan to clean up the metadata of the failed domain controller. Press ENTER.
Type quit and press ENTER to return you to the metadata cleanup: prompt.
Type select operation target and press ENTER.
Type list domains and press ENTER. This lists all domains in the forest with a number associated with each.
Type select domain number , where number is the number corresponding to the domain in which the failed server was located. Press ENTER.
Type list sites and press ENTER.
Type select site number , where number refers to the number of the site in which the domain controller was a member. Press ENTER.
Type list servers in site and press ENTER. This will list all servers in that site with a corresponding number.
Type select server number and press ENTER, where number refers to the domain controller to be removed.
Type quit and press ENTER. The Metadata cleanup menu is displayed.
Type remove selected server and press ENTER.

At this point, Active Directory confirms that the domain controller was removed successfully. If you receive an error that the object could not be found, Active Directory might have already removed from the domain controller.
Type quit, and press ENTER until you return to the command prompt.

If the new domain controller receives a different name than the failed domain controller, perform the following additional steps:

Note: Do not perform the additional steps if the new computer will have the same name as the failed computer. Ensure that hardware failure was not the cause of the problem. If the faulty hardware is not changed, then restoring through reinstallation might not help.

To remove the failed server object from the sites

In Active Directory Sites and Services, expand the appropriate site.
Delete the server object associated with the failed domain controller.

To remove the failed server object from the domain controllers container

In Active Directory Users and Computers, expand the domain controllers container.
Delete the computer object associated with the failed domain controller.

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Clear the Global Catalog Setting

Clearing the Global Catalog setting initiates removal of the partial directory partitions from the directory database of the domain controller.

Requirements

Credentials: Domain Admins in the domain of the global catalog server
Tools: Active Directory Sites and Services (Administrative Tools)

To clear the Global Catalog setting

In Active Directory Sites and Services, expand the Sites container and then expand the site in which you are removing a global catalog server.
Expand the Servers container and then expand the server object for the domain controller that you want to remove as a global catalog server.
Right-click the NTDS Settings object for the target server, and then click Properties.
If the Global Catalog check box is selected, clear the check box and then click OK.

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Compact the Directory Database File (Offline Defragmentation)

Performing offline defragmentation creates a new, compacted version of the database file in a different location. This location can be either on the same computer or a network-mapped drive. However, to avoid potential problems related to network issues, perform this procedure locally.

After compacting the file to the temporary location, copy the compacted Ntds.dit file back to the original location. If possible, maintain a copy of the original database file that you have either renamed in its current location or copied to an archival location.

Requirements

Domain controller is started in Directory Services Restore Mode.
Credentials:
Local domain controller: local Administrator account.
Remote location: Read and write permissions on the destination drive and shared folder.
Disk space:
Current database drive: Free space on the drive that contains the file equivalent to at least 15 percent of the current size of the database for temporary storage during the index rebuild process.
Destination database drive: Free space equivalent to at least the current size of the database for storage of the compacted database file.
Tools:
Command line: net use, del, copy commands
Ntdsutil.exe (system tool)

To perform offline defragmentation of the directory database

In Directory Services Restore Mode, compact the database file to a local directory or remote shared folder, as follows:
- Local directory: Go to step 2.
- Remote directory: If you are compacting the database file to a shared folder on a remote computer, establish a network connection to the shared folder as shown below. Because you are logged on as the local Administrator, unless permissions on the shared folder include the built-in Administrator account, you must provide a domain name, user name, and password for a domain account that has write permissions on the shared folder. In the example below, \\SERVER1\NTDS is the name of the shared folder, and K: is the drive that you are mapping to the shared folder. Example text that describes information that you type is shown in bold. After typing the first line and pressing ENTER, Ntdsutil.exe prompts you for the password. Type the password and then press ENTER.
```
H:\>net use K: \\SERVER1\NTDS /user:domainName\userName * 
Type the password for \\SERVER1\NTDS: 
Drive K: is now connected to \\SERVER1\NTDS 
The command completed successfully. 
```
At the command prompt, type ntdsutil and then press ENTER.
At the ntdsutil: prompt, type files and then press ENTER.
At the file maintenance: prompt, type

compact to drive :\ localDirectoryPath and then press ENTER

where drive:\ LocalDirectoryPath is the path to a location on the local computer. If you have mapped a drive to a shared folder on a remote computer, type the drive letter only (for example, compact to K:\).

Note: When compacting to a local drive, you must provide a path. If the path contains any spaces, enclose the entire path in quotation marks (for example, compact to "c:\new folder"). If the directory does not exist, Ntdsutil.exe creates it and creates the file named Ntds.dit in that location.
If defragmentation completes successfully, type quit and press ENTER to quit the file maintenance: prompt. Type quit and press ENTER again to quit Ntdsutil.exe. Go to step 6.

If defragmentation completes with errors, go to step 9.

Caution: Do not overwrite the original Ntds.dit file or delete any log files
If defragmentation succeeds with no errors, then follow the Ntdsutil.exe onscreen instructions to:
1. Delete all of the log files in the log directory by typing
```
del drive:\pathToLogFiles\*.log  
```
  Note: You do not need to delete the edb.chk file.
2. If space allows, either rename the original Ntds.dit file to preserve it or else copy it to a different location. Avoid overwriting the original Ntds.dit file.
3. Manually copy the compacted database file to the original location, as follows:
```
copy temporaryDrive:\ntds.dit originalDrive:\pathToOriginalDatabaseFile\ntds.dit 
```
  For example, if the original location is H:\NTDS and you compacted the file to K:\NTDS, you would type:
```
copy k:\ntds\ntds.dit h:\pathToOriginalDirectory\ntds\ntds.dit 
```
Type ntdsutil and then press ENTER.
At the ntdsutil: prompt, type files and then press ENTER.
At the file maintenance: prompt, type integrity and then press ENTER.

If the integrity check fails, the likely cause is that an error occurred during the copy operation in step 6.c. Repeat steps 6.c. through step 9. If the integrity check fails again:
- Contact Microsoft Product Support Services.
  
  -Or-
- Copy the original version of the Ntds.dit file that you preserved in step 6.b. to the original database location and repeat the offline defragmentation procedure.
If the integrity check succeeds, proceed as follows:
- If the initial compact to command failed, go to step 4 and perform steps 4 through 9.
- If the initial compact to command succeeded, type quit and press ENTER to quit the file maintenance: prompt, and then repeat to quit Ntdsutil.exe.
Restart the domain controller normally. If you are connected remotely through a Terminal Services session, be sure that you have modified the Boot.ini file for normal restarting before you restart the domain controller.

If errors appear when you restart the domain controller:

Restart the domain controller in Directory Services Restore Mode.
Check the errors in Event Viewer.

If the following events are logged in Event Viewer on restarting the domain controller, respond to the events as follows:
- 1046: "The Active Directory database engine caused an exception with the following parameters." In this case, Active Directory cannot recover from this error and you must restore from backup media.
- 1168: "Internal error: An Active Directory error has occurred." In this case, information is missing from the registry and you must restore from backup media.
Check database integrity and then proceed as follows:

If the integrity check fails, try repeating step 6.c through step 9 above, and then repeat the integrity check. If the integrity check fails again:
- Contact Microsoft Product Support Services.
  
  -Or-
- Copy the original version of the Ntds.dit file that you preserved in step 6.b. to the original database location and repeat the offline defragmentation procedure.
  
  If the integrity check succeeds, perform semantic database analysis with fixup.
If semantic database analysis with fixup succeeds, quit Ntdsutil.exe and restart the domain controller normally.
If semantic database analysis with fixup fails, contact Microsoft Product Support Services.

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Compare the Size of the Directory Database Files to the Volume Size

You might need to relocate the database file, the log files, or both if disk space on the volume on which they are stored becomes low. Before moving the database file or log files, examine the size of the database folder, logs folder, or both if they are stored in the same location, relative to the size of the volume to verify that these files are the cause of low disk space. Include the size of the SYSVOL folder if it is on the same partition.

Requirements

Credentials: Domain Users (online) or local Administrator (offline)
Tool: Command line: dir command

To compare the size of the directory database file files to the volume size

In Windows Explorer, click My Computer.
On the View menu, click Details.
In the Name column in the details pane, locate the volume. Make a note of the value in the Total Size column.
Navigate to the folder that stores the database file, the log files, or both.
Right-click the folder and then click Properties. Make a note of the value in Size on disk.
If the volume includes SYSVOL, navigate to that folder and repeat step 5.
Compare the sizes. If the combined size of the relevant database files and SYSVOL files (if appropriate) is significantly smaller than the volume size, then check the contents of the volume for other files.
If other files are present, move those files and reassess the disk space on the volume.

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Configure a Domain Controller as a Global Catalog Server

Use the setting on the NTDS Settings object to indicate whether a domain controller is designated as a global catalog server.

Requirements

Credentials: Domain Admins in the domain of the global catalog server
Tools: Active Directory Sites and Services (Administrative Tools)

To configure a domain controller as a global catalog server

In Active Directory Sites and Services, expand the Sites container and then expand the site in which you are designating a global catalog server.
Expand the Servers container and then expand the server object for the domain controller that you want to designate as a global catalog server.
Right-click the NTDS Settings object for the target server, and then click Properties.
Select the Global Catalog check box and then click OK.

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Configure a Domain Controller as a Preferred Bridgehead Server

You can configure a domain controller as a preferred bridgehead server by modifying an attribute of the server object.

Requirements

Credentials: Domain Admins
Tools: Active Directory Sites and Services (Administrative Tools)

To configure a domain controller as a preferred bridgehead server

In Active Directory Sites and Services, expand Sites, and expand the site in which the server object is located.
Expand the Servers container to display the servers that are currently configured for that site.
Right-click the server object for the domain controller and then click Properties.
In the Transports available for intersite data transfer box, click IP, click Add, and then click OK.

The domain controller is now configured as a preferred bridgehead server. Be sure to configure more than one bridgehead server for each domain that is represented in the site.

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Configure a Domain Controller to not be a Preferred Bridgehead Server

Use the server object properties to remove a preferred bridgehead server from the IP transport.

Requirements

Credentials: Domain Admins
Tools: Active Directory Sites and Services (Administrative Tools)

To configure a domain controller to not be a preferred bridgehead server

In Active Directory Sites and Services, expand the Sites container and expand the site of the preferred bridgehead server.
Expand the Servers node to display the list of domain controllers currently configured for that site.
Right-click the server you want to remove and then click Properties.
If IP appears in the list that marks this server as a bridgehead server for the IP transport, click IP, click Remove, and then click OK.

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Configure DNS Server Recursive Name Resolution

Configure DNS server recursive name resolution based on the recursive name resolution method established on your network.

Requirements

Credentials: Domain Admin
Tools: DNS snap-in

To configure DNS server recursive name resolution

If your network uses root hints as the name resolution method, you do not need to perform any additional options. Root hints are automatically configured during installation. Do not continue to step 2.
If you need to configure forwarders, open the DNS snap-in and continue to step 3.
In the console tree, right-click computer_name (where computer_name is the computer name of the domain controller), and then click Properties.
In the domain_controller Properties sheet (where domain_controller is the name of the domain controller), on the Forwarders tab, select the Enable forwarders check box.
In the IP address box, type ip_address (where ip_address is the IP address of the DNS server or nearest replication partner, from which the domain is delegated), click Add, and then click OK.

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Configure SID Filtering

The administrator of the trusting domain applies SID filtering to filter out migrated SIDs stored in SIDHistory from specific domains. For example, where an external trust relationship exists so that the noam domain trusts the acquired domain, an administrator of the noam domain can apply SID filtering to the acquired domain, which allows all SIDs with a domain SID from the acquired domain to pass, but all other SIDs (such as those from migrated SIDs stored in SIDHistory) to be discarded.

Requirements

Credentials: Domain Admins of trusting domain.
Tool: Netdom.exe (Support tools)

To apply SID filtering

Log on to the trusting domain with an account with domain administrator credentials.
At the command prompt, type the following:

netdom /filtersids trusteddomain

where trusteddomain is the domain whose SIDs you want to filter. Press ENTER.

To remove SID filtering

Log on to the trusting domain with an account with domain administrator credentials.
At the command prompt, type the following:

netdom /filtersids no trusteddomain

where trusteddomain is the trusted domain where you had previously applied SID filtering, which you now want to remove. Press ENTER.

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Configure the DNS Client Settings

Configure the DNS client settings on the new domain controller.

Requirements

Credentials: Domain Admin
Tools: My Network Places

To Configure the DNS Client Settings

Open the Properties dialog box for My Network Places.
In the Network and Dial-up Connections dialog box, right click the connection that represents the connection this computer uses to attach to your network. The default label is Local Area Connection but this can be changed so it might not be labeled the same on your computer. Click Properties.
In the Local Area Connection Properties dialog box, click once on the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) to highlight it (ensure you do not clear the check box in front of it) then click Properties.
In the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties dialog box, ensure that Use the following DNS server addresses: is selected.
If the new domain controller is located in the forest root domain, set the Preferred DNS server IP address to that of another DNS server in the forest root domain. Try to choose a server that is located near the new domain controller. Set the Alternate DNS server address to the IP address of the new domain controller (so that it is referencing itself).

If the new domain controller is located in a child domain, set the Preferred DNS server IP address to the IP address of the new domain controller (so that it is referencing itself). Set the Alternate DNS server address to that of another DNS server in the same domain. Try to choose a server that is located near the new domain controller.
Click OK to close the dialog box.

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Configure the Selected Computer as a Reliable Time Source

Perform the following procedure on the selected computer to configure it as a reliable time source.

Requirements

Credentials: Domain Admins
Tools: regedit.exe

To configure the selected computer as a reliable time source

At the command prompt, type the following command and then press ENTER:

Regedit
Navigate to the following registry key and change the value to 1:

Hkey_Local_Machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Parameters\ReliableTimeSource

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Configure the Site Link Cost

When creating or modifying site links, use the object properties to configure the relative cost of using the site link. Obtain the cost value from the design team.

Requirements

Credentials: Enterprise Admins
Tools: Active Directory Sites and Services (Administrative Tools)

To configure site link cost

In Active Directory Sites and Services, expand the Sites container and the Inter-Site Transports container, and then click the IP container.
In the details pane, right-click the site link object you want to configure, and then click Properties.
In the Cost box, specify the number for the comparative cost of using the site link, and then click OK.

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Configure the Site Link Interval

Use the properties on the site link object to determine how often during the available replication schedule you want bridgehead servers to poll their intersite replication partners for changes. Obtain the interval value from the design team.

Requirements

Credentials: Enterprise Admins.
Tools: Active Directory Sites and Services (Administrative Tools)

To configure the site link interval

In Active Directory Sites and Services, expand the Sites container and the Inter-Site Transports container, and then click the IP container.
In the details pane, right-click the site link object you want to configure, and then click Properties.
In the Replicate every _____ minutes box, specify the number of minutes for the intervals at which replication polling occurs during an open schedule, and then click OK.

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Configure the Site Link Schedule

Use the properties on the site link object to define when replication is allowed. Obtain the schedule from the design team.

Requirements

Credentials: Enterprise Admins
Tools: Active Directory Sites and Services (Administrative Tools)

To configure the site link schedule

In Active Directory Sites and Services, expand the Sites container and the Inter-Site Transports container, and then click the IP container.
In the details pane, right-click the site link object you want to configure, and then click Properties.
In the SiteLinkName Properties dialog box, click Change Schedule.
In the Schedule for SiteLinkName dialog box, select the block of days and hours during which you want replication to occur or not occur (available or not available), and then click the appropriate option.
Click OK twice.

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Configure Time on the Forest Root PDC Emulator

Use the following procedure to configure the time service on the forest-root PDC emulator. Perform the procedure on the PDC emulator.

Requirements

Credentials: Domain Admins or Local Administrator on the PDC emulator.
Tools: net time, w32tm.exe, ping

To configure time on the forest-root PDC Emulator

Ping the Simple Network Time Protocol (SNTP) server to ensure that it is reachable from the client. Type the following command and then press ENTER:

ping server

where server is the DNS name or IP address of the SNTP server.
Open UDP 123 port for outgoing traffic on firewall if needed.
Open UDP 123 port (or a different port you have selected) for incoming SNTP traffic.
At the command prompt, type the following command and then press ENTER:

w32tm - portnumber

where portnumber is the server port specified in step 3.
At the command prompt, type the following command and then press ENTER:

net time /setsntp: server

where server is the DNS name or IP address of the SNTP server.
To verify that the manually configured time source has been set, at the command prompt, type the following command and then press ENTER:

net time /querysntp

Verify that the name of the SNTP server is displayed.
To make the change take effect, stop and restart the time service.
At the command prompt, type the following command and then press ENTER:

net stop w32time
At the command prompt, type the following command and then press ENTER:

net start w32time

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Configure Windows NT 4.0 Emulation

Use this procedure to set the registry for Windows NT 4.0 emulation.

Requirements

Credentials: Domain Admins

Tools: Regedt32

To configure Windows NT 4.0 emulation

In Regedt32, locate the NT4Emulator entry for the following subkey in the registry:
```
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/System/CurrentControlSet/Services/Netlogon/Parameters 
```
On the Edit menu, click REG_DWORD, type 0x1, and then click OK.
Quit Registry Editor.

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Copy the Directory Database Files to a Remote Share and Back

If you need to move the database file or the log files while you reconfigure the drive on which they are currently stored, and you do not have sufficient space to move the files locally, then you can use xcopy to copy the files to a remote shared folder temporarily, and then use the same procedure to copy them back to the original drive. You can use this method as long as the path to the files does not change. You cannot use Ntdsutil.exe to move database files off the local computer.

Important: When relocating any database files (the database file or the log files) off the local computer, always copy both the database file and the log files so that all of the necessary files to restore the directory service are maintained.

Requirements

Domain controller is started in Directory Services Restore Mode.
Credentials: local Administrator account.
Shared folder on a remote drive that has enough free space to hold the database file (Ntds.dit) and log files. Create separate subdirectories for copying the database file and the log files.
Disk space:
Temporary location: Free space on the destination drive equivalent to at least the current combined size of the database file or log files, depending on what files you are moving.
Permanent location: Free space on the destination NTFS drive equivalent to at least the following sizes, plus space to accommodate anticipated growth of the environment, depending on what files you are moving:

Caution: The drive that is the permanent location of the database or log files must be formatted as NTFS.

Database file only: The size of the database file plus 20 percent of the Ntds.dit file or 500 MB, whichever is greater.

Log files only: The size of the combined log files plus 20 percent of the combined logs or 500 MB, whichever is greater.

Database and logs. If the database and log files are stored on the same partition, free space equal to at least 20 percent of the combined Ntds.dit and log files, or 1 GB, whichever is greater.

Important: The preceding levels are minimum recommended levels. If you follow monitoring recommendations, falling below these minimum levels generates an alert. Therefore, adding additional space according to anticipated growth is recommended.
Tools:
Command line: net use, dir, xcopy commands
Ntdsutil.exe (system tool)

To copy the directory database and log files to a remote drive and back to the local computer

In Directory Services Restore Mode, open a command prompt and change directories to the current location of the database file (Ntds.dit) or the log files. If the database file and log files are in different locations, perform step 2 for each directory.
Run the dir command and make a note of the current size and location of the Ntds.dit file and the log files.
Establish a network connection to a shared folder, as shown below. Because you are logged on as the local Administrator, unless permissions on the shared folder include the built-in Administrator account, you must provide a domain name, user name, and password for an account that has write permissions on the shared folder.

In the example below, \\SERVER1\NTDS is the name of the shared folder. K: is the drive that you have mapped to the shared folder. Example text that describes information that you type is shown in bold. After typing the first line and pressing ENTER, Ntdsutil.exe prompts you for the password. Type the password and then press ENTER.
```
H:\>net use K: \\SERVER1\NTDS /user:domainName\userName * 
Type the password for \\SERVER1\NTDS: 
Drive K: is now connected to \\SERVER1\NTDS 
The command completed successfully. 
```
Use the xcopy command to copy the database file and log files to the location you established in step 3. In the example where the database file is located in H:\WINNT\NTDS and the share has the subdirectory DB, the text you type is shown in bold:
```
H:>xcopy WINNT\NTDS K:\DB 
```
The command copies the contents of WINNT\NTDS to the subfolder DB in the shared folder described as drive K:. If the database file and log files are in different locations, repeat the xcopy command for the log files, specifying the subfolder for the log files.
Change drives to the new location and run the dir command to compare the file sizes to those listed in step 2. Use this step to ensure that you copy the correct set of files back to the local computer.
At this point, you can safely destroy data on the original local drive.
After the destination drive is prepared, re-establish a connection to the network drive as described in step 3, if necessary.
Copy the database and log files from the remote shared folder back to the original location on the domain controller.
At the command prompt, type ntdsutil and then press ENTER.
At the ntdsutil: prompt, type files and then press ENTER.
At the file maintenance: prompt, type integrity and then press ENTER.

If the integrity check fails, perform semantic database analysis with fixup.
If the integrity check succeeds, type quit and press ENTER to quit the file maintenance: promp. Type quit and press ENTER again to quit Ntdsutil.exe.
Restart the domain controller normally. If you are performing this procedure remotely over a Terminal Services connection, be sure that you have modified the Boot.ini file for normal restarting before you restart the

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On This Page

Associate an Existing Subnet Object with a Site

Back Up System State and the System Disk on a Domain Controller

Back Up System State on a Domain Controller

Change Polling Interval

Change the Delay for Initial Notification of an Intrasite Replication Partner

Change the Garbage Collection Logging Level

Change the Garbage Collection Period

Change the Priority for DNS SRV Records in the Registry

Change the Space Allocated to the Staging Area Folder

Change the Static IP Address of a Domain Controller

Change the Weight for DNS SRV Records in the Registry

Check Directory Database Integrity

Check the Status of the Shared System Volume

Clean Up Metadata

Clear the Global Catalog Setting

Compact the Directory Database File (Offline Defragmentation)

Compare the Size of the Directory Database Files to the Volume Size

Configure a Domain Controller as a Global Catalog Server

Configure a Domain Controller as a Preferred Bridgehead Server

Configure a Domain Controller to not be a Preferred Bridgehead Server

Configure DNS Server Recursive Name Resolution

Configure SID Filtering

Configure the DNS Client Settings

Configure the Selected Computer as a Reliable Time Source

Configure the Site Link Cost

Configure the Site Link Interval

Configure the Site Link Schedule

Configure Time on the Forest Root PDC Emulator

Configure Windows NT 4.0 Emulation

Copy the Directory Database Files to a Remote Share and Back