1. Features of windows2003
ACTIVE DIRECTORY
Easier Deployment and Management
ADMT version 2.0—migrates password from NT4 to 2000 to 20003
or from 2000 to 2003
Domain Rename--- supports changing Domain Name System and/or NetBios
name
Schema Redefine--- Allows deactivation of attributes and class definitions in
the Active directory schema
AD/AM--- Active directory in application mode is a new capability of AD that
addresses certain deployment scenarios related to directory enabled
applications
Group Policy Improvements----introduced GPMC tool to manage group policy
UI—Enhanced User Interface
Grater Security
Cross-forest Authentication
Cross-forest Authorization
Cross-certification Enhancements
IAS and Cross-forest authentication
Credential Manager
Software Restriction Policies
Improved Performance and Dependability
Easier logon for remote offices
Group Membership replication enhancements
Application Directory Partitions
Install Replica from media
Dependability Improvements--- updated Inter-Site Topology Generator (ISTG)
that scales better by supporting forests with a greater number of sites than Windows
2000.
FILE AND PRINT SERVICES
Volume shadow copy service
NTFS journaling file system
EFS
Improved CHDSK Performance
Enhanced DFS and FRS
Shadow copy of shared folders
Enhanced folder redirection
Remote document sharing (WEBDAV)
IIS
Fault-tolerant process architecture----- The IIS 6.0 fault-tolerant process
architecture isolates Web sites and applications into self-contained units called
application pools
Health Monitoring---- IIS 6.0 periodically checks the status of an application pool
with automatic restart on failure of the Web sites and applications within that
application pool, increasing application availability. IIS 6.0 protects the server, and
other applications, by automatically disabling Web sites and applications that fail too
often within a short amount of time
Automatic Process Recycling--- IIS 6.0 automatically stops and restarts faulty
Web sites and applications based on a flexible set of criteria, including CPU
utilization and memory consumption, while queuing requests
Rapid-fail Protection---- If an application fails too often within a short amount of
time, IIS 6.0 will automatically disable it and return a "503 Service Unavailable" error
message to any new or queued requests to the application
Edit-While-Running
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/evaluation/overview/technologies/defa
ult.mspx
2. Difference between NT & 2000
NT SAM database is a flat database. Where as in windows 2000 active directory
database is a hierarchical database.
In windows NT only PDC is having writable copy of SAM database but the BDC is
only read only database. In case of Windows 2000 both DC and ADC is having write
copy of the database
Windows NT will not support FAT32 file system. Windows 2000 supports FAT32
Default authentication protocol in NT is NTLM (NT LAN manager). In windows 2000
default authentication protocol is Kerberos V5.
Windows 2000 depends and Integrated with DNS. NT user Netbios names
Active Directory can be backed up easily with System state data
3. Difference between 2000 & 2003
Application Server mode is introduced in windows 2003
Possible to configure stub zones in windows 2003 DNS
Volume shadow copy services is introduced
Windows 2003 gives an option to replicate DNS data b/w all DNS servers in forest or
All DNS servers in the domain.
Refer Question 1 for all Enhancements
4. Difference between PDC & BDC
PDC contains a write copy of SAM database where as BDC contains read only copy
of SAM database. It is not possible to reset a password or create objects with out PDC
in Windows NT.
5. Difference between DC & ADC
There is no difference between in DC and ADC both contains write copy of AD. Both
can also handles FSMO roles (If transfers from DC to ADC). It is just for
identification. Functionality wise there is no difference.
6. What is DNS & WINS
DNS is a Domain Naming System, which resolves Host names to IP addresses. It uses
fully qualified domain names. DNS is a Internet standard used to resolve host names
WINS is a Windows Internet Name Service, which resolves Netbios names to IP
Address. This is proprietary for Windows
7. Types of DNS Servers
Primary DNS
Secondary DNS
Active Directory Integrated DNS
Forwarder
Caching only DNS
8. If DHCP is not available what happens to the client
Client will not get IP and it cannot be participated in network . If client already got
the IP and having lease duration it use the IP till the lease duration expires.
9. what are the different types of trust relationships
Implicit Trusts
Explicit Trusts—NT to Win2k or Forest to Forest
10. what is the process of DHCP for getting the IP address to the client
There is a four way negotiation process b/w client and server
DHCP Discover (Initiated by client)
DHCP Offer (Initiated by server)
DHCP Select (Initiated by client)
DHCP Acknowledgement (Initiated by Server)
DHCP Negative Acknowledgement (Initiated by server if any issues after DHCP
offer)
11. Difference between FAT,NTFS & NTFSVersion5
NTFS Version 5 features
Encryption is possible
We can enable Disk Quotas
File compression is possible
Sparse files
Indexing Service
NTFS change journal
In FAT file system we can apply only share level security. File level protection is not
possible. In NTFS we can apply both share level as well as file level security
NTFS supports large partition sizes than FAT file systems
NTFS supports long file names than FAT file systems
12. What are the port numbers for FTP, Telnet, HTTP, DNS
FTP-21, Telnet – 23, HTTP-80, DNS-53, Kerberos-88, LDAP-389
13. what are the different types of profiles in 2000
Local Profiles
Roaming profiles
Mandatory Profiles
14. what is the database files used for Active Directory
The key AD database files—edb.log, ntds.dit, res1.log, res2.log, and edb.chk—all of
which reside in \%systemroot%\ntds on a domain controller (DC) by default. During
AD installation, Dcpromo lets you specify alternative locations for these log files and
database files
NTDS.DIT
15. What is the location of AD Database
%System root%/NTDS/NTDS>DIT
16. What is the authentication protocol used in NT
NTLM (NT LAN Manager)
17. What is subnetting and supernetting
Subnetting is the process of borrowing bits from the host portion of an address to
provide bits for identifying additional sub-networks
Supernetting merges several smaller blocks of IP addresses (networks) that are
continuous into one larger block of addresses. Borrowing network bits to combine
several smaller networks into one larger network does supernetting
18. what is the use of terminal services
Terminal services can be used as Remote Administration mode to administer remotely
as well as Application Server Mode to run the application in one server and users can
login to that server to user that application.
19. what is the protocol used for terminal services
RDP
20. what is the port number for RDP
3389
Medium Level
1. what is the difference between Authorized DHCP and Non Authorized DHCP
To avoid problems in the network causing by mis-configured DHCP servers, server in
windows 2000 must be validate by AD before starting service to clients. If an
authorized DHCP finds any DHCP server in the network it stop serving the clients
2. Difference between inter-site and intra-site replication. Protocols using for
replication.
Intra-site replication can be done between the domain controllers in the same site.
Inter-site replication can be done between two different sites over WAN links
BHS (Bridge Head Servers) is responsible for initiating replication between the sites.
Inter-site replication can be done B/w BHS in one site and BHS in another site.
We can use RPC over IP or SMTP as a replication protocols where as Domain
partition is not possible to replicate using SMTP
3. How to monitor replication
We can user Replmon tool from support tools
4. Brief explanation of RAID Levels
Microsoft Windows XP, Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 offer two types of disk
storage: basic and dynamic.
Basic Disk Storage
Basic storage uses normal partition tables supported by MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows 95,
Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), Microsoft Windows
NT, Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP. A disk initialized for
basic storage is called a basic disk. A basic disk contains basic volumes, such as primary
partitions, extended partitions, and logical drives. Additionally, basic volumes include
multidisk volumes that are created by using Windows NT 4.0 or earlier, such as volume sets,
stripe sets, mirror sets, and stripe sets with parity. Windows XP does not support these
multidisk basic volumes. Any volume sets, stripe sets, mirror sets, or stripe sets with parity
must be backed up and deleted or converted to dynamic disks before you install Windows XP
Professional.
Dynamic Disk Storage
Dynamic storage is supported in Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000 and Windows
Server 2003. A disk initialized for dynamic storage is called a dynamic disk. A dynamic disk
contains dynamic volumes, such as simple volumes, spanned volumes, striped volumes,
mirrored volumes, and RAID-5 volumes. With dynamic storage, you can perform disk and
volume management without the need to restart Windows.
Note: Dynamic disks are not supported on portable computers or on Windows XP Home
Edition-based computers.
You cannot create mirrored volumes or RAID-5 volumes on Windows XP Home Edition,
Windows XP Professional, or Windows XP 64-Bit Edition-based computers. However, you
can use a Windows XP Professional-based computer to create a mirrored or RAID-5 volume
on remote computers that are running Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Advanced
Server, or Windows 2000 Datacenter Server, or the Standard, Enterprise and Data Center
versions of Windows Server 2003.
Storage types are separate from the file system type. A basic or dynamic disk can contain any
combination of FAT16, FAT32, or NTFS partitions or volumes.
A disk system can contain any combination of storage types. However, all volumes on the
same disk must use the same storage type.
To convert a Basic Disk to a Dynamic Disk:
Use the Disk Management snap-in in Windows XP/2000/2003 to convert a basic disk to a
dynamic disk. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Log on as Administrator or as a member of the Administrators group.
2. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
3. Click Performance and Maintenance, click Administrative Tools, and then doubleclick
Computer Management. You can also right-click My Computer and choose
Manage if you have My Computer displayed on your desktop.
4. In the left pane, click Disk Management.
5. In the lower-right pane, right-click the basic disk that you want to convert, and then
click Convert to Dynamic Disk. You must right-click the gray area that contains the
disk title on the left side of the Details pane.
6. Select the check box that is next to the disk that you want to convert (if it is not
already selected), and then click OK.
7. Click Details if you want to view the list of volumes in the disk. Click Convert.
8. Click Yes when you are prompted to convert the disk, and then click OK.
Warning: After you convert a basic disk to a dynamic disk, local access to the dynamic disk
is limited to Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003.
Additionally, after you convert a basic disk to a dynamic disk, the dynamic volumes cannot be
changed back to partitions. You must first delete all dynamic volumes on the disk and then
convert the dynamic disk back to a basic disk. If you want to keep your data, you must first
back up the data or move it to another volume.
Dynamic Storage Terms
A volume is a storage unit made from free space on one or more disks. It can be formatted
with a file system and assigned a drive letter. Volumes on dynamic disks can have any of the
following layouts: simple, spanned, mirrored, striped, or RAID-5.
A simple volume uses free space from a single disk. It can be a single region on a disk or
consist of multiple, concatenated regions. A simple volume can be extended within the same
disk or onto additional disks. If a simple volume is extended across multiple disks, it becomes
a spanned volume.
A spanned volume is created from free disk space that is linked together from multiple disks.
You can extend a spanned volume onto a maximum of 32 disks. A spanned volume cannot be
mirrored and is not fault-tolerant.
A striped volume is a volume whose data is interleaved across two or more physical disks.
The data on this type of volume is allocated alternately and evenly to each of the physical
disks. A striped volume cannot be mirrored or extended and is not fault-tolerant. Striping is
also known as RAID-0.
A mirrored volume is a fault-tolerant volume whose data is duplicated on two physical disks.
All of the data on one volume is copied to another disk to provide data redundancy. If one of
the disks fails, the data can still be accessed from the remaining disk. A mirrored volume
cannot be extended. Mirroring is also known as RAID-1.
A RAID-5 volume is a fault-tolerant volume whose data is striped across an array of three or
more disks. Parity (a calculated value that can be used to reconstruct data after a failure) is
also striped across the disk array. If a physical disk fails, the portion of the RAID-5 volume
that was on that failed disk can be re-created from the remaining data and the parity. A RAID-
5 volume cannot be mirrored or extended.
The system volume contains the hardware-specific files that are needed to load Windows (for
example, Ntldr, Boot.ini, and Ntdetect.com). The system volume can be, but does not have to
be, the same as the boot volume.
The boot volume contains the Windows operating system files that are located in the
%Systemroot% and %Systemroot%\System32 folders. The boot volume can be, but does not
have to be, the same as the system volume.
RAID 0 – Striping
RAID 1- Mirroring (minimum 2 HDD required)
RAID 5 – Striping With Parity (Minimum 3 HDD required)
RAID levels 1 and 5 only gives redundancy
5. What are the different backup strategies are available
Normal Backup
Incremental Backup
Differential Backup
Daily Backup
Copy Backup
6. What is a global catalog
Global catalog is a role, which maintains Indexes about objects. It contains full
information of the objects in its own domain and partial information of the objects in
other domains. Universal Group membership information will be stored in global
catalog servers and replicate to all GC’s in the forest.
7. What is Active Directory and what is the use of it
Active directory is a directory service, which maintains the relation ship between
resources and enabling them to work together. Because of AD hierarchal structure
windows 2000 is more scalable, reliable. Active directory is derived from X.500
standards where information is stored is hierarchal tree like structure. Active directory
depends on two Internet standards one is DNS and other is LDAP. Information in
Active directory can be queried by using LDAP protocol
8. what is the physical and logical structure of AD
Active directory physical structure is a hierarchal structure which fallows Forests—
Trees—Domains—Child Domains—Grand Child—etc
Active directory is logically divided into 3 partitions
1.Configuration partition 2. Schema Partition 3. Domain partition 4. Application
Partition (only in windows 2003 not available in windows 2000)
Out of these Configuration, Schema partitions can be replicated between the domain
controllers in the in the entire forest. Where as Domain partition can be replicated
between the domain controllers in the same domain
9. What is the process of user authentication (Kerberos V5) in windows 2000
After giving logon credentials an encryption key will be generated which is used to
encrypt the time stamp of the client machine. User name and encrypted timestamp
information will be provided to domain controller for authentication. Then Domain
controller based on the password information stored in AD for that user it decrypts the
encrypted time stamp information. If produces time stamp matches to its time stamp. It
will provide logon session key and Ticket granting ticket to client in an encryption
format. Again client decrypts and if produced time stamp information is matching then
it will use logon session key to logon to the domain. Ticket granting ticket will be used
to generate service granting ticket when accessing network resources
10. what are the port numbers for Kerberos, LDAP and Global catalog
Kerberos – 88, LDAP – 389, Global Catalog – 3268
11. what is the use of LDAP (X.500 standard?)
LDAP is a directory access protocol, which is used to exchange directory information
from server to clients or from server to servers
12. what are the problems that are generally come across DHCP
Scope is full with IP addresses no IP’s available for new machines
If scope options are not configured properly eg default gateway
Incorrect creation of scopes etc
13. what is the role responsible for time synchronization
PDC Emulator is responsible for time synchronization. Time synchronization is
important because Kerberos authentication depends on time stamp information
14. what is TTL & how to set TTL time in DNS
TTL is Time to Live setting used for the amount of time that the record should remain
in cache when name resolution happened.
We can set TTL in SOA (start of authority record) of DNS
15. How to take DNS and WINS,DHCP backup
%System root%/system32/dns
%System root%/system32/WINS
%System root%/system32/DHCP
16. What is recovery console
Recovery console is a utility used to recover the system when it is not booting
properly or not at all booting. We can perform fallowing operations from recovery
console
We can copy, rename, or replace operating system files and folders
Enable or disable service or device startup the next time that start computer
Repair the file system boot sector or the Master Boot Record
Create and format partitions on drives
17. what is DFS & its usage
DFS is a distributed file system used to provide common environment for users to
access files and folders even when they are shared in different servers physically.
There are two types of DFS domain DFS and Stand alone DFS. We cannot provide
redundancy for stand alone DFS in case of failure. Domain DFS is used in a domain
environment which can be accessed by /domain name/root1 (root 1 is DFS root name).
Stand alone DFS can be used in workgroup environment which can be accessed
through /server name/root1 (root 1 is DFS root name). Both the cases we need to
create DFS root ( Which appears like a shared folder for end users) and DFS links ( A
logical link which is pointing to the server where the folder is physically shared)
The maximum number of Dfs roots per server is 1.
The maximum numbers of Dfs root replicas are 31.
The maximum number of Dfs roots per domain is unlimited.
The maximum number of Dfs links or shared folders in a Dfs root is 1,000
18. what is RIS and what are its requirements
RIS is a remote installation service, which is used to install operation system remotely.
Client requirements
PXE DHCP-based boot ROM version 1.00 or later NIC, or a network adapter that is
supported by the RIS boot disk.
Should meet minimum operating system requirements
Software Requirements
Below network services must be active on RIS server or any server in the network
Domain Name System (DNS Service)
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
Active directory “Directory” service
19. How many root replicas can be created in DFS
31
20. What is the difference between Domain DFS and Standalone DFS
Refer question 17.
High Level
1. Can we establish trust relationship between two forests
In Windows 2000 it is not possible. In Windows 2003 it is possible
2. What is FSMO Roles
Flexible single master operation (FSMO) roles are
Domain Naming Master
Schema Master
PDC Emulator
Infrastructure Master
RID Master
3. Brief all the FSMO Roles
Windows 2000/2003 Multi-Master Model
A multi-master enabled database, such as the Active Directory, provides the flexibility
of allowing changes to occur at any DC in the enterprise, but it also introduces the
possibility of conflicts that can potentially lead to problems once the data is replicated
to the rest of the enterprise. One way Windows 2000/2003 deals with conflicting
updates is by having a conflict resolution algorithm handle discrepancies in values by
resolving to the DC to which changes were written last (that is, "the last writer wins"),
while discarding the changes in all other DCs. Although this resolution method may be
acceptable in some cases, there are times when conflicts are just too difficult to resolve
using the "last writer wins" approach. In such cases, it is best to prevent the conflict
from occurring rather than to try to resolve it after the fact.
For certain types of changes, Windows 2000/2003 incorporates methods to prevent
conflicting Active Directory updates from occurring.
Windows 2000/2003 Single-Master Model
To prevent conflicting updates in Windows 2000/2003, the Active Directory performs
updates to certain objects in a single-master fashion.
In a single-master model, only one DC in the entire directory is allowed to process
updates. This is similar to the role given to a primary domain controller (PDC) in
earlier versions of Windows (such as Microsoft Windows NT 4.0), in which the PDC
is responsible for processing all updates in a given domain.
In a forest, there are five FSMO roles that are assigned to one or more domain
controllers. The five FSMO roles are:
Schema Master:
The schema master domain controller controls all updates and modifications to the
schema. Once the Schema update is complete, it is replicated from the schema master
to all other DCs in the directory. To update the schema of a forest, you must have
access to the schema master. There can be only one schema master in the whole forest.
Domain naming master:
The domain naming master domain controller controls the addition or removal of
domains in the forest. This DC is the only one that can add or remove a domain from
the directory. It can also add or remove cross references to domains in external
directories. There can be only one domain naming master in the whole forest.
Infrastructure Master:
When an object in one domain is referenced by another object in another domain, it
represents the reference by the GUID, the SID (for references to security principals),
and the DN of the object being referenced. The infrastructure FSMO role holder is the
DC responsible for updating an object's SID and distinguished name in a cross-domain
object reference. At any one time, there can be only one domain controller acting as
the infrastructure master in each domain.
Note: The Infrastructure Master (IM) role should be held by a domain controller that is
not a Global Catalog server (GC). If the Infrastructure Master runs on a Global
Catalog server it will stop updating object information because it does not contain any
references to objects that it does not hold. This is because a Global Catalog server
holds a partial replica of every object in the forest. As a result, cross-domain object
references in that domain will not be updated and a warning to that effect will be
logged on that DC's event log. If all the domain controllers in a domain also host the
global catalog, all the domain controllers have the current data, and it is not important
which domain controller holds the infrastructure master role.
Relative ID (RID) Master:
The RID master is responsible for processing RID pool requests from all domain
controllers in a particular domain. When a DC creates a security principal object such
as a user or group, it attaches a unique Security ID (SID) to the object. This SID
consists of a domain SID (the same for all SIDs created in a domain), and a relative ID
(RID) that is unique for each security principal SID created in a domain. Each DC in
a domain is allocated a pool of RIDs that it is allowed to assign to the security
principals it creates. When a DC's allocated RID pool falls below a threshold, that DC
issues a request for additional RIDs to the domain's RID master. The domain RID
master responds to the request by retrieving RIDs from the domain's unallocated RID
pool and assigns them to the pool of the requesting DC. At any one time, there can be
only one domain controller acting as the RID master in the domain.
PDC Emulator:
The PDC emulator is necessary to synchronize time in an enterprise. Windows
2000/2003 includes the W32Time (Windows Time) time service that is required by the
Kerberos authentication protocol. All Windows 2000/2003-based computers within an
enterprise use a common time. The purpose of the time service is to ensure that the
Windows Time service uses a hierarchical relationship that controls authority and does
not permit loops to ensure appropriate common time usage.
The PDC emulator of a domain is authoritative for the domain. The PDC emulator at
the root of the forest becomes authoritative for the enterprise, and should be
configured to gather the time from an external source. All PDC FSMO role holders
follow the hierarchy of domains in the selection of their in-bound time partner.
In a Windows 2000/2003 domain, the PDC emulator role holder retains the following
functions:
Password changes performed by other DCs in the domain are replicated preferentially
to the PDC emulator.
Authentication failures that occur at a given DC in a domain because of an incorrect
password are forwarded to the PDC emulator before a bad password failure message is
reported to the user.
Account lockout is processed on the PDC emulator.
Editing or creation of Group Policy Objects (GPO) is always done from the GPO copy
found in the PDC Emulator's SYSVOL share, unless configured not to do so by the
administrator.
The PDC emulator performs all of the functionality that a Microsoft Windows NT 4.0
Server-based PDC or earlier PDC performs for Windows NT 4.0-based or earlier
clients.
This part of the PDC emulator role becomes unnecessary when all workstations,
member servers, and domain controllers that are running Windows NT 4.0 or earlier
are all upgraded to Windows 2000/2003. The PDC emulator still performs the other
functions as described in a Windows 2000/2003 environment.
At any one time, there can be only one domain controller acting as the PDC emulator
master in each domain in the forest.
4. How to manually configure FSMO Roles to separate DC’s
How can I determine who are the current FSMO Roles holders in my domain/forest?
Windows 2000/2003 Active Directory domains utilize a Single Operation Master method
called FSMO (Flexible Single Master Operation), as described in Understanding FSMO Roles
in Active Directory.
The five FSMO roles are:
· Schema master - Forest-wide and one per forest.
· Domain naming master - Forest-wide and one per forest.
· RID master - Domain-specific and one for each domain.
· PDC - PDC Emulator is domain-specific and one for each domain.
· Infrastructure master - Domain-specific and one for each domain.
In most cases an administrator can keep the FSMO role holders (all 5 of them) in the same
spot (or actually, on the same DC) as has been configured by the Active Directory installation
process. However, there are scenarios where an administrator would want to move one or
more of the FSMO roles from the default holder DC to a different DC. The transferring
method is described in the Transferring FSMO Roles article, while seizing the roles from a
non-operational DC to a different DC is described in the Seizing FSMO Roles article.
In order to better understand your AD infrastructure and to know the added value that each
DC might possess, an AD administrator must have the exact knowledge of which one of the
existing DCs is holding a FSMO role, and what role it holds. With that knowledge in hand,the administrator can make better arrangements in case of a scheduled shut-down of any given DC, and better prepare him or herself in case of a non-scheduled cease of operation from one of the DCs.
How to find out which DC is holding which FSMO role? Well, one can accomplish this task
by many means. This article will list a few of the available methods.
Method #1: Know the default settings
The FSMO roles were assigned to one or more DCs during the DCPROMO process. The following table summarizes the FSMO default locations:
FSMO Role Number of DCs holding
this role
Original DC holding the FSMO role
Schema One per forest
Domain Naming One per forest
The first DC in the first domain in the
forest (i.e. the Forest Root Domain)
RID One per domain
PDC Emulator One per domain
Infrastructure One per domain
The first DC in a domain (any domain,
including the Forest Root Domain, any
Tree Root Domain, or any Child
Domain)
Method #2: Use the GUI
The FSMO role holders can be easily found by use of some of the AD snap-ins. Use this table
to see which tool can be used for what FSMO role:
FSMO Role Which snap-in should I use?
Schema Schema snap-in
Domain Naming AD Domains and Trusts snap-in
RID
PDC Emulator
Infrastructure
AD Users and Computers snap-in
Finding the RID Master, PDC Emulator, and Infrastructure Masters via GUI
To find out who currently holds the Domain-Specific RID Master, PDC Emulator, and
Infrastructure Master FSMO Roles:
1. Open the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in from the Administrative
Tools folder.
2. Right-click the Active Directory Users and Computers icon again and press Operation
Masters.
3. Select the appropriate tab for the role you wish to view.
4. When you're done click Close.
Finding the Domain Naming Master via GUI
To find out who currently holds the Domain Naming Master Role:
1. Open the Active Directory Domains and Trusts snap-in from the Administrative Tools
folder.
2. Right-click the Active Directory Domains and Trusts icon again and press Operation
Masters.
3. When you're done click Close.
Finding the Schema Master via GUI
To find out who currently holds the Schema Master Role:
1. Register the Schmmgmt.dll library by pressing Start > RUN and typing:
2. Press OK. You should receive a success confirmation.
3. From the Run command open an MMC Console by typing MMC.
4. On the Console menu, press Add/Remove Snap-in.
5. Press Add. Select Active Directory Schema.
6. Press Add and press Close. Press OK.
7. Click the Active Directory Schema icon. After it loads right-click it and press
Operation Masters.
8. Press the Close button.
Method #3: Use the Ntdsutil command
The FSMO role holders can be easily found by use of the Ntdsutil command.
Caution: Using the Ntdsutil utility incorrectly may result in partial or complete loss of Active
Directory functionality.
1. On any domain controller, click Start, click Run, type Ntdsutil in the Open box, and
then click OK.
2. Type roles, and then press ENTER.
Note: To see a list of available commands at any of the prompts in the Ntdsutil tool, type ?,
and then press ENTER.
3. Type connections, and then press ENTER.
4. Type connect to server <servername>, where <servername> is the name of the server
you want to use, and then press ENTER.
5. At the server connections: prompt, type q, and then press ENTER again.
6. At the FSMO maintenance: prompt, type Select operation target, and then press
ENTER again.
At the select operation target: prompt, type List roles for connected server, and then press
ENTER again.
select operation target: List roles for connected server
Server "server100" knows about 5 roles
Schema - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER100,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-
Name,CN=Sites,CN=C
onfiguration,DC=dpetri,DC=net
Domain - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER100,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-
Name,CN=Sites,CN=C
onfiguration,DC=dpetri,DC=net
PDC - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER100,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-
Name,CN=Sites,CN=Conf
iguration,DC=dpetri,DC=net
RID - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER100,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-
Name,CN=Sites,CN=Conf
iguration,DC=dpetri,DC=net
Infrastructure - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER100,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-
Name,CN=Si
tes,CN=Configuration,DC=dpetri,DC=net
select operation target:
8. Type q 3 times to exit the Ntdsutil prompt.
Note: You can download THIS nice batch file that will do all this for you (1kb).
Another Note: Microsoft has a nice tool called Dumpfsmos.cmd, found in the Windows 2000
Resource Kit (and can be downloaded here: Download Free Windows 2000 Resource Kit
Tools). This tool is basically a one-click Ntdsutil script that performs the same operation
described above.
Method #4: Use the Netdom command
The FSMO role holders can be easily found by use of the Netdom command.
Netdom.exe is a part of the Windows 2000/XP/2003 Support Tools. You must either download
it separately (from here Download Free Windows 2000 Resource Kit Tools) or by obtaining
the correct Support Tools pack for your operating system. The Support Tools pack can be
found in the \Support\Tools folder on your installation CD (or you can Download Windows
2000 SP4 Support Tools, Download Windows XP SP1 Deploy Tools).
1. On any domain controller, click Start, click Run, type CMD in the Open box, and then
click OK.
2. In the Command Prompt window, type netdom query /domain:<domain> fsmo (where
<domain> is the name of YOUR domain).
Close the CMD window.
Note: You can download THIS nice batch file that will do all this for you (1kb).
Method #5: Use the Replmon tool
The FSMO role holders can be easily found by use of the Netdom command.
Just like Netdom, Replmon.exe is a part of the Windows 2000/XP/2003 Support Tools.
Replmon can be used for a wide verity of tasks, mostly with those that are related with AD
replication. But Replmon can also provide valuable information about the AD, about any DC,
and also about other objects and settings, such as GPOs and FSMO roles. Install the package
before attempting to use the tool.
1. On any domain controller, click Start, click Run, type REPLMON in the Open box,
and then click OK.
2. Right-click Monitored servers and select Add Monitored Server.
3. In the Add Server to Monitor window, select the Search the Directory for the server to
add. Make sure your AD domain name is listed in the drop-down list.
4. In the site list select your site, expand it, and click to select the server you want to
query. Click Finish.
5. Right-click the server that is now listed in the left-pane, and select Properties.
6. Click on the FSMO Roles tab and read the results.
7. Click Ok when you're done.
How can I forcibly transfer (seize) some or all of the FSMO Roles from one DC to another?
Windows 2000/2003 Active Directory domains utilize a Single Operation Master method
called FSMO (Flexible Single Master Operation), as described in Understanding FSMO Roles
in Active Directory.
The five FSMO roles are:
· Schema master - Forest-wide and one per forest.
· Domain naming master - Forest-wide and one per forest.
· RID master - Domain-specific and one for each domain.
· PDC - PDC Emulator is domain-specific and one for each domain.
· Infrastructure master - Domain-specific and one for each domain.
In most cases an administrator can keep the FSMO role holders (all 5 of them) in the same
spot (or actually, on the same DC) as has been configured by the Active Directory installation
process. However, there are scenarios where an administrator would want to move one or
more of the FSMO roles from the default holder DC to a different DC.
Moving the FSMO roles while both the original FSMO role holder and the future FSMO role
holder are online and operational is called Transferring, and is described in the Transferring
FSMO Roles article.
However, when the original FSMO role holder went offline or became non operational for a
long period of time, the administrator might consider moving the FSMO role from the
original, non-operational holder, to a different DC. The process of moving the FSMO role
from a non-operational role holder to a different DC is called Seizing, and is described in this
article.
If a DC holding a FSMO role fails, the best thing to do is to try and get the server online
again. Since none of the FSMO roles are immediately critical (well, almost none, the loss of
the PDC Emulator FSMO role might become a problem unless you fix it in a reasonable
amount of time), so it is not a problem to them to be unavailable for hours or even days.
If a DC becomes unreliable, try to get it back on line, and transfer the FSMO roles to a
reliable computer. Administrators should use extreme caution in seizing FSMO roles. This
operation, in most cases, should be performed only if the original FSMO role owner will not
be brought back into the environment. Only seize a FSMO role if absolutely necessary when
the original role holder is not connected to the network.
What will happen if you do not perform the seize in time? This table has the info:
FSMO Role Loss implications
Schema The schema cannot be extended. However, in
the short term no one will notice a missing
Schema Master unless you plan a schema
upgrade during that time.
Domain Naming Unless you are going to run DCPROMO, then
you will not miss this FSMO role.
RID Chances are good that the existing DCs will
have enough unused RIDs to last some time,
unless you're building hundreds of users or
computer object per week.
PDC Emulator Will be missed soon. NT 4.0 BDCs will not be
able to replicate, there will be no time
synchronization in the domain, you will
probably not be able to change or troubleshoot
group policies and password changes will
become a problem.
Infrastructure Group memberships may be incomplete. If
you only have one domain, then there will be
no impact.
Important: If the RID, Schema, or Domain Naming FSMOs are seized, then the original
domain controller must not be activated in the forest again. It is necessary to reinstall
Windows if these servers are to be used again.
The following table summarizes the FSMO seizing restrictions:
FSMO Role Restrictions
Schema
Domain Naming
RID
Original must be reinstalled
PDC Emulator
Infrastructure
Can transfer back to original
Another consideration before performing the seize operation is the administrator's group
membership, as this table lists:
FSMO Role Administrator must be a member of
Schema Schema Admins
Domain Naming Enterprise Admins
RID
PDC Emulator
Infrastructure
Domain Admins
To seize the FSMO roles by using Ntdsutil, follow these steps:
Caution: Using the Ntdsutil utility incorrectly may result in partial or complete loss of Active
Directory functionality.
1. On any domain controller, click Start, click Run, type Ntdsutil in the Open box, and
then click OK.
2. Type roles, and then press ENTER.
Note: To see a list of available commands at any of the prompts in the Ntdsutil tool, type ?,
and then press ENTER.
3. Type connections, and then press ENTER.
4. Type connect to server <servername>, where <servername> is the name of the server
you want to use, and then press ENTER.
5. At the server connections: prompt, type q, and then press ENTER again.
6. Type seize <role>, where <role> is the role you want to seize. For example, to seize
the RID Master role, you would type seize rid master:
Options are:
7. You will receive a warning window asking if you want to perform the seize. Click on
Yes.
fsmo maintenance: Seize infrastructure master
Attempting safe transfer of infrastructure FSMO before seizure.
ldap_modify_sW error 0x34(52 (Unavailable).
Ldap extended error message is 000020AF: SvcErr: DSID-03210300, problem 5002
(UNAVAILABLE)
, data 1722
Win32 error returned is 0x20af(The requested FSMO operation failed. The current FSMO
holde
r could not be contacted.)
)
Depending on the error code this may indicate a connection,
ldap, or role transfer error.
Transfer of infrastructure FSMO failed, proceeding with seizure ...
Server "server100" knows about 5 roles
Schema - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER200,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-
Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=dpetri,DC=net
Domain - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER100,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-
Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=dpetri,DC=net
PDC - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER100,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-
Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=dpetri,DC=net
RID - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER200,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-
Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=dpetri,DC=net
Infrastructure - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER100,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-
Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=dpetri,DC=net
fsmo maintenance:
Note: All five roles need to be in the forest. If the first domain controller is out of the forest
then seize all roles. Determine which roles are to be on which remaining domain controllers
so that all five roles are not on only one server.
8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 until you've seized all the required FSMO roles.
9. After you seize or transfer the roles, type q, and then press ENTER until you quit the
Ntdsutil tool.
Note: Do not put the Infrastructure Master (IM) role on the same domain controller as the
Global Catalog server. If the Infrastructure Master runs on a GC server it will stop updating
object information because it does not contain any references to objects that it does not hold.
This is because a GC server holds a partial replica of every object in the forest.
5. What is the difference between authoritative and non-authoritative restore
In authoritative restore, Objects that are restored will be replicated to all domain
controllers in the domain. This can be used specifically when the entire OU is
disturbed in all domain controllers or specifically restore a single object, which is
disturbed in all DC’s
In non-authoritative restore, Restored directory information will be updated by other
domain controllers based on the latest modification time.
6. what is Active Directory De-fragmentation
De-fragmentation of AD means separating used space and empty space created by
deleted objects and reduces directory size (only in offline De-fragmentation)
7. Difference between online and offline de-fragmentation
The size of NTDS.DIT will often be different sizes across the domain controllers in a domain.
Remember that Active Directory is a multi-master independent model where updates are
occurring in each of the domain controllers with the changes being replicated over time to the
other domain controllers.
The changed data is replicated between domain controllers, not the database, so there is no
guarantee that the files are going to be the same size across all domain controllers.
Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 servers running Directory Services (DS) perform a
directory online defragmentation every 12 hours by default as part of the garbage-collection
process. This defragmentation only moves data around the database file (NTDS.DIT) and
doesn’t reduce the file’s size - the database file cannot be compacted while Active Directory is
mounted.
Active Directory routinely performs online database defragmentation, but this is limited to the
disposal of tombstoned objects. The database file cannot be compacted while Active Directory
is mounted (or online).
An NTDS.DIT file that has been defragmented offline (compacted), can be much smaller than
the NTDS.DIT file on its peers.
However, defragmenting the NTDS.DIT file isn’t something you should really need to do.
Normally, the database self-tunes and automatically tombstoning the records then sweeping
them away when the tombstone lifetime has passed to make that space available for additional
records.
Defragging the NTDS.DIT file probably won’t help your AD queries go any faster in the long
run.
So why defrag it in the first place?
One reason you might want to defrag your NTDS.DIT file is to save space, for example if you
deleted a large number of records at one time.
To create a new, smaller NTDS.DIT file and to enable offline defragmentation, perform the
following steps:
Back up Active Directory (AD).
Reboot the server, select the OS option, and press F8 for advanced options.
Select the Directory Services Restore Mode option, and press Enter. Press
Enter again to start the OS.
W2K will start in safe mode, with no DS running.
Use the local SAM’s administrator account and password to log on.
You’ll see a dialog box that says you’re in safe mode. Click OK.
From the Start menu, select Run and type cmd.exe
In the command window, you’ll see the following text. (Enter the commands in bold.)
C:\> ntdsutil
ntdsutil: files
file maintenance:info
....
file maintenance:compact to c:\temp
You’ll see the defragmentation process. If the process was successful, enter quit to return to
the command prompt.
Then, replace the old NTDS.DIT file with the new, compressed version. (Enter the commands
in bold.)
C:\> copy c:\temp\ntds.dit %systemroot%\ntds\ntds.dit
Restart the computer, and boot as normal.
8. What is tombstone period
Tombstones are nothing but objects marked for deletion. After deleting an object in
AD the objects will not be deleted permanently. It will be remain 60 days by default
(which can be configurable) it adds an entry as marked for deletion on the object and
replicates to all DC’s. After 60 days object will be deleted permanently from all Dc’s.
9. what is white space and Garbage collection
refer question 7
10. what are the monitoring tools used for Server and Network Heath. How to define
alert mechanism
Spot Light , SNMP Need to enable .
11. How to deploy the patches and what are the softwares used for this process
Using SUS (Software update services) server we can deploy patches to all clients in
the network. We need to configure an option called “Synchronize with Microsoft
software update server” option and schedule time to synchronize in server. We need to
approve new update based on the requirement. Then approved update will be deployed
to clients
We can configure clients by changing the registry manually or through Group policy
by adding WUAU administrative template in group policy
12. What is Clustering. Briefly define & explain it
Clustering is a technology, which is used to provide High Availability for mission
critical applications. We can configure cluster by installing MCS (Microsoft cluster
service) component from Add remove programs, which can only available in
Enterprise Edition and Data center edition.
In Windows we can configure two types of clusters
NLB (network load balancing) cluster for balancing load between servers. This
cluster will not provide any high availability. Usually preferable at edge servers like
web or proxy.
Server Cluster: This provides High availability by configuring active-active or
active-passive cluster. In 2 node active-passive cluster one node will be active and one
node will be stand by. When active server fails the application will FAILOVER to
stand by server automatically. When the original server backs we need to FAILBACK
the application
Quorum: A shared storage need to provide for all servers which keeps information
about clustered application and session state and is useful in FAILOVER situation.
This is very important if Quorum disk fails entire cluster will fails
Heartbeat: Heartbeat is a private connectivity between the servers in the cluster,
which is used to identify the status of other servers in cluster.
13. How to configure SNMP
SNMP can be configured by installing SNMP from Monitoring and Management tools
from Add and Remove programs.
For SNMP programs to communicate we need to configure common community name
for those machines where SNMP programs (eg DELL OPEN MANAGER) running.
This can be configured from services.msc--- SNMP service -- Security
14. Is it possible to rename the Domain name & how?
In Windows 2000 it is not possible. In windows 2003 it is possible. On Domain
controller by going to MYCOMPUTER properties we can change.
15. What is SOA Record
SOA is a Start Of Authority record, which is a first record in DNS, which controls the
startup behavior of DNS. We can configure TTL, refresh, and retry intervals in this
record.
16. What is a Stub zone and what is the use of it.
Stub zones are a new feature of DNS in Windows Server 2003 that can be used to
streamline name resolution, especially in a split namespace scenario. They also help
reduce the amount of DNS traffic on your network, making DNS more efficient
especially over slow WAN links.
17. What are the different types of partitions present in AD
Active directory is divided into three partitions
Configuration Partition—replicates entire forest
Schema Partition—replicates entire forest
Domain Partition—replicate only in domain
Application Partition (Only in Windows 2003)
18. What are the (two) services required for replication
File Replication Service (FRS)
Knowledge Consistency Checker (KCC)
19. Can we use a Linux DNS Sever in 2000 Domain
We can use, But the BIND version should be 8 or greater
20. What is the difference between IIS Version 5 and IIS Version 6
Refer Question 1
21. What is ASR (Automated System Recovery) and how to implement it
ASR is a two-part system; it includes ASR backup and ASR restore. The ASR Wizard,
located in Backup, does the backup portion. The wizard backs up the system state,
system services, and all the disks that are associated with the operating system
components. ASR also creates a file that contains information about the backup, the
disk configurations (including basic and dynamic volumes), and how to perform a
restore.
You can access the restore portion by pressing F2 when prompted in the text-mode
portion of setup. ASR reads the disk configurations from the file that it creates. It
restores all the disk signatures, volumes, and partitions on (at a minimum) the disks
that you need to start the computer. ASR will try to restore all the disk configurations,
but under some circumstances it might not be able to. ASR then installs a simple
installation of Windows and automatically starts a restoration using the backup created
by the ASR Wizard.
22. What are the different levels that we can apply Group Policy
We can apply group policy at SITE level---Domain Level---OU level
23. What is Domain Policy, Domain controller policy, Local policy and Group policy
Domain Policy will apply to all computers in the domain, because by default it will be
associated with domain GPO, Where as Domain controller policy will be applied only
on domain controller. By default domain controller security policy will be associated
with domain controller GPO. Local policy will be applied to that particular machine
only and effects to that computer only.
24. What is the use of SYSVOL folder
Policies and scripts saved in SYSVOL folder will be replicated to all domain
controllers in the domain. FRS (File replication service) is responsible for replicating
all policies and scripts
25. What is folder redirection?
Folder Redirection is a User group policy. Once you create the group policy and link it
to the appropriate folder object, an administrator can designate which folders to
redirect and where To do this, the administrator needs to navigate to the following
location in the Group Policy Object:
User Configuration\Windows Settings\Folder Redirection
In the Properties of the folder, you can choose Basic or Advanced folder redirection,
and you can designate the server file system path to which the folder should be
redirected.
The %USERNAME% variable may be used as part of the redirection path, thus
allowing the system to dynamically create a newly redirected folder for each user to
whom the policy object applies.
