Authentication Problem

[Bob Feller]

My company has 4 locations, all running Windows 2000 server.
Apparently all the locations are using the DC in the main office for
authentication. If the DC here goes down, no one can authenticate.
Isn't each location suposed to authenticate on their own DC?
If any more information is needed, please let me know, and I'll try to
answer.

Thanks

 

[Andrew Mitchell]

My company has 4 locations, all running Windows 2000 server.

Are all servers DC's? If it's a single domain you should also make them all
global catalog servers as well.

Apparently all the locations are using the DC in the main office for
authentication. If the DC here goes down, no one can authenticate.

Where are your DNS's located? If you only have a DNS in the main office you
will have this problem. You are probably best having an AD integrated DNS in
each site as well.

Isn't each location suposed to authenticate on their own DC?

Only if your sites are correctly defined. You need to use the AD Sites and
Services applet to define your sites and subnets associated with them, then
assign DC's to each of the sites. This is not the root cause of your problem
though. In such a situation, if one DC goes down the clients will talk to
another DC.

I'd be looking for DNS problems.

 

[Cary Shultz [A.D. MVP]]

Bob Feller,

There are several reasons why this could be happening. I would suppose that
you have not properly set up Sites in the Active Directory Sites and
Services MMC. This would be the first step in resolving this issue.

You might want to do a search in this newsgroup as I have very often give
brief ( and others not so brief ) general overviews of what Sites do for you
( essentially: control AD Replication and assist user logons ).

HTH,

Cary

 

[Sameer V]

to have users use their local DC's for authentication, you will have to
create separate sites for each location under active directory sites and
services

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windows2000serv/technologies/ac
tivedirectory/maintain/opsguide/part1/adogd06.mspx

 

[Guest]

Make sure your DC in all locations are replicating
correcly and there are trust relationships established
between the domain controllers....