Demote and Promote DC over the WAN

[Majid Hameed]

I have a DC in a remote location. I would like to demote
it. I remember reading an MS article stating I should
not demote or promote a DC over a WAN link (ie. remote
location). Instead, I should bring the DC back to the
home location where the main DC server is and demote it
from within the LAN link. Please let me know if this is
true and if so where the article is. Please let me know
if anyone knows if this DCPROMO issue over the WAN for
Windows 2000 Adv. Server that has resolved through an
article or Service Pack.

 

[ptwilliams]

I would assume that that is only a recommendation because of the
characteristic of WAN links being less reliable. I would also assume that
this matters not with demotion. It also wouldn't matter at all if there are
other DCs (and properly configured sites) at the remote location.

I guess I'd rather promote and allow for a full replication on a LAN than
have to wait for it to occur over a 64k line ;-)

--

Paul Williams
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I have a DC in a remote location. I would like to demote
it. I remember reading an MS article stating I should
not demote or promote a DC over a WAN link (ie. remote
location). Instead, I should bring the DC back to the
home location where the main DC server is and demote it
from within the LAN link. Please let me know if this is
true and if so where the article is. Please let me know
if anyone knows if this DCPROMO issue over the WAN for
Windows 2000 Adv. Server that has resolved through an
article or Service Pack.

 

[Trust No One®]

I have a DC in a remote location. I would like to demote
it. I remember reading an MS article stating I should
not demote or promote a DC over a WAN link (ie. remote
location). Instead, I should bring the DC back to the
home location where the main DC server is and demote it
from within the LAN link. Please let me know if this is
true and if so where the article is. Please let me know
if anyone knows if this DCPROMO issue over the WAN for
Windows 2000 Adv. Server that has resolved through an
article or Service Pack.

I haven't read every Microsoft AD doc available (an impossible task surely),
but I've been through quite a few and I can't say I remember seeing this
recommendation.

I've done a few dcpromos to remove DC's from AD and I've done this on links
as low as 32K CIR with no problems. There is some replication traffic, but
only to replicate off any changes to the local AD database since the last
replication cycle to a neighbouring domain controller. These "deltas" are
normally large enough to be a problem unless your circuit is a total "wet
piece of string". If you think about it, the DC has been has been
successfully replicating over the link during its lifetime, so why should
the replication due to the DCPROMO be a problem?

If you are still concerned about it you can always force a replication using
repadmin, then shutdown the DC and do a manual metadata cleanup. However I
always prefer to do things the "graceful" way and though I've never come to
grief with the manual metadata cleanup, there is always a first time

hth

 

[Trust No One®]

Trust No One® wrote:

These "deltas" are normally large enough to be a problem
unless your circuit is a total "wet piece of string".

Sorry,

The above sentence should of course read

'These "deltas" are _not_ normally large enough to be a problem unless your
circuit is a total "wet piece of string"'

--
Peter <X-Files Fan>
Please Note: Emailed replies cc'd / bcc'd , containing HTML or attachments
auto-binned as spam

:

 

[Trust No One®]

I have a DC in a remote location. I would like to demote
it. I remember reading an MS article stating I should
not demote or promote a DC over a WAN link (ie. remote
location). Instead, I should bring the DC back to the
home location where the main DC server is and demote it
from within the LAN link. Please let me know if this is
true and if so where the article is. Please let me know
if anyone knows if this DCPROMO issue over the WAN for
Windows 2000 Adv. Server that has resolved through an
article or Service Pack.

Sigh... I misread your post slightly. I'm having a so so day

My previous reply pertained only to demoting a DC over a WAN link, which is
not generally an issue unless you have a really bad circuit.

As regards promoting a DC, this is a different ballgame due to the initial
replication traffic volume. The Microsoft branch office deployment guide
does recommend building DCs at the hub (using a dedicated staging site if
necessary) so the initial replication does not take place over low speed
circuits. The staged DC(s) can then be shipped to the remote locations.

The issue is resolved in Windows 2003 which introduces "Install from media"
where you can install a new DC (to an existing domain) using a system state
backup from another DC in the same domain; this system state backup can be
stored on CD/DVD or a local hard drive. IFM removes the "hit" of the initial
replication during a DCPROMO and can remove the need for a dedicated staging
site.

AFAIK there is no requirement to ship a remote DC back to the home location
to demote it - see my earlier posts.