Hi John,
You will want to create an Active Directory site for each of the locations.
This means Chicago will have its own site (it would probably be best to use
the default site for Chicago and just rename the existing default site) as
will each of the five other offices. So, you will end up with six sites in
all.
You will also need to create subnet objects for each of the subnets used on
your network. Subnet objects are linked to a site and define what subnet(s)
makeup the site.
Each of the five remote sites should be connected to the Chicago office
using their own IP site link (again, renaming the default IP site link and
using it as the connection between the Chicago site and one of the other
remote sites). You can leave the default site link cost of 100. So, you will
end up with five site links. Configuring the site links this way will make
it so that the remote sites attempt to replicate with a domain controller in
the Chicago site (as long as a domain controller is available in the Chicago
site). If your network topology is not a hub and spoke design, (i.e. you
have more connections than just one from each of the remote offices to the
Chicago office) then let me know - the site link design may need
modification.
Here is a step-by-step guide to creating sites, site links, and subnets:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/planning/activedirectory/adsites.asp
Be aware that after you create sites you will manually need to move the
domain controllers to the correct sites (don't worry about clients - they
will figure it out on their own the next time they start up). You can find
the step-by-step in the above link or here:
Automatic Detection of Site Membership for Domain Controllers
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=214677
Also be aware that once you create sites the replication topology/frequency
will change. You may need to modify the replication schedule/interval
depending on your environment. By default, links are available 24/7 and the
replication interval is every 3 hours. The following KB article contains
steps to change these default values:
HOW TO: Configure Site Link Replication in Windows 2000
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=321253
For more info on Active Directory replication have a look at this:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/samplechapters/dsbh/dsbh_rep_yphn.asp
By the way, I'm assuming that each of the Windows 2000 Servers at the remote
sites are already configured as domain controllers.
Oh, one last thing, if you only have a single domain in your forest you
should check to see that all your domain controllers are configured as
global catalog servers. That way global catalog traffic will not have to
cross the WAN. If you have multiple domains in your forest there are other
issues you have to consider (like not making the infrastructure master a
global catalog server) so let me know if that is the case. Here is a KB
article on how to configure global catalog servers:
How to promote a domain controller to a global catalog server
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=296882
I think that about covers it.
Just let me know if you would like anything
explained further!
Mike
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Mike Aubert
MCSE, MCSD, MCDBA
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