2nd DC

[Roy]

Hi

How can I install a 2nd DC and what do I have to do in
order to make sure that if the 1st DC is down or broken,
the 2nd DC covers it and all users can log into the
network and do their works as usual ?

TIA

Roy

 

[Simon Geary]

You install the second DC by running dcpromo on it and following the prompts
to make it an additional domain controller for an existing domain.
Once this is done, you need to make sure that the new DC is also a global
catalogue and a DNS server (assuming your first DC is the only DNS server
available). Clients will also need to have their settings updated (by DHCP
if available) to make them aware of the new DNS server.

This should pretty much cover the authentication side of things for most
basic networks but in more general terms you need to look at whatever else
runs on your first DC and see if it can be duplicated to the second one.

 

[Herb Martin]

You install the second DC by running dcpromo on it and following the prompts
to make it an additional domain controller for an existing domain.
Once this is done, you need to make sure that the new DC is also a global
catalogue and a DNS server (assuming your first DC is the only DNS server
available). Clients will also need to have their settings updated (by DHCP
if available) to make them aware of the new DNS server.

By adding the additional DNS server with the current one
so that one is Preferred and the other is Alternate. (Order
doesn't really matter, so put the most reliable first or if you
have a lot of clients put half each way.)

This should pretty much cover the authentication side of things for most
basic networks but in more general terms you need to look at whatever else
runs on your first DC and see if it can be duplicated to the second one.

One other issue for legacy clietns Win9x/NT: Make sure they
have the AD Client Upgrade (aka DSClient) applied to them.

Otherwise there are cases where the legacy clients are dependent
on the PDC Emulator, e.g., password change required for logon.