Global Catalog Servers and FSMO

[Jon Wood]

Hi All

I have a Root and a child domain, each with 2 domain controllers. All
DC's are Global Catalog Servers. The FSMO roles are still defaulted
to the original servers. There is also only one site.

I understand the 2 options i have regarding FSMO placement and Global
Catalog Servers for a multi domain environment.

1, I know i can leave them as they are if all DC's are Global Catalog
Servers.

2, I also know i can split them out and make only 1 of the DC's per
domain a Global Catalog Server and put the infrastructure master on
the other DC in each Domain.

As i understand it Global Catalog Servers are relevant per site and
not Domain and generally only 2 per site for redundency. To many
Global Catalog Servers are overkill.

My questions is this:

I know that there is not necessarily anything wrong with the
configuration i have however, will my network benefit from reducing
the amount of Global Catalog Servers and moving the Infrastructure
Master away from the other FSMO's?

Other people thoughts and input would be great!

 

[Jimmy Andersson [MVP]]

Q223346 - FSMO Placement and Optimization on Windows 2000 Domain
Controllers:
[http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=KB;EN-US;Q223346]

Regards,
/Jimmy

 

[Jon Wood]

Hi Jimmy

Thanks for your reply

I have already read this article and it just confirms my comments
below. I know either of my solutions are ok technically and will
work. Im looking to optimize the infrastructure

Ignoring the solutions, what i really want to know is are there any
other benefits to be had from making a change and reducing the amount
of Global catalog servers from 4 to 2 and spliting out the FSMOS.

Any input would be really appreciated

Thanks

Jon

Q223346 - FSMO Placement and Optimization on Windows 2000 Domain
Controllers:
[http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=KB;EN-US;Q223346]

Regards,
/Jimmy
--
Jimmy Andersson, Q Advice AB
Microsoft MVP - Active Directory
---------- www.qadvice.com ----------

Hi All

I have a Root and a child domain, each with 2 domain controllers. All
DC's are Global Catalog Servers. The FSMO roles are still defaulted
to the original servers. There is also only one site.

I understand the 2 options i have regarding FSMO placement and Global
Catalog Servers for a multi domain environment.

1, I know i can leave them as they are if all DC's are Global Catalog
Servers.

2, I also know i can split them out and make only 1 of the DC's per
domain a Global Catalog Server and put the infrastructure master on
the other DC in each Domain.

As i understand it Global Catalog Servers are relevant per site and
not Domain and generally only 2 per site for redundency. To many
Global Catalog Servers are overkill.

My questions is this:

I know that there is not necessarily anything wrong with the
configuration i have however, will my network benefit from reducing
the amount of Global Catalog Servers and moving the Infrastructure
Master away from the other FSMO's?

Other people thoughts and input would be great!

 

[Cary Shultz [MVP]]

-----Original Message-----
Hi Jimmy

Thanks for your reply

I have already read this article and it just confirms my comments
below. I know either of my solutions are ok technically and will
work. Im looking to optimize the infrastructure

Ignoring the solutions, what i really want to know is are there any
other benefits to be had from making a change and reducing the amount
of Global catalog servers from 4 to 2 and spliting out the FSMOS.

Any input would be really appreciated

Thanks

Jon


"Jimmy Andersson [MVP]" <[email protected]> wrote

Q223346 - FSMO Placement and Optimization on Windows 2000 Domain
Controllers:
[http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp? ID=KB;EN-US;Q223346]

Regards,
/Jimmy
--
Jimmy Andersson, Q Advice AB
Microsoft MVP - Active Directory
---------- www.qadvice.com ----------

Hi All

I have a Root and a child domain, each with 2 domain controllers. All
DC's are Global Catalog Servers. The FSMO roles are still defaulted
to the original servers. There is also only one site.

I understand the 2 options i have regarding FSMO placement and Global
Catalog Servers for a multi domain environment.

1, I know i can leave them as they are if all DC's are Global Catalog
Servers.

2, I also know i can split them out and make only 1 of the DC's per
domain a Global Catalog Server and put the infrastructure master on
the other DC in each Domain.

As i understand it Global Catalog Servers are relevant per site and
not Domain and generally only 2 per site for redundency. To many
Global Catalog Servers are overkill.

My questions is this:

I know that there is not necessarily anything wrong with the
configuration i have however, will my network benefit from reducing
the amount of Global Catalog Servers and moving the Infrastructure
Master away from the other FSMO's?

Other people thoughts and input would be great!

.

Howdy! Howdy!

I might jump in for a second. Jimmy, hope that you do
not mind.

Jon, while you definitely can reduce the number of GCs
from four to two ( reducing the number per domain from
two to one ) consider that in so doing this you are
losing redundancy. I would guess that you would have to
know what is more important: reducing the additional
network bandwidth usage or having two Global Catalog
Servers per domain. Since only you are at your location
and know your environment the best only you can truly
make that decision. All things being equal, I would opt
for two GCs per domain.

As for the splitting of the FSMO Roles, I find that
*GENERALLY* it is not necessary! However, if you do
decide to do this please consider that you should try to
keep the two Domain-wide FSMO roles of PDC Emulator and
RID Master on the same DC.

Just to refresh everyone's memory, there are five FSMO
roles. There are two at the Forest level ( Schema Master
and Naming Master ) and three at the Domain level ( PDC
Emulator, RID Master and Infrastructure Master ). These
three Domain wide roles are present in each and every
Domain in the Forest.

Remember that you can use the ADUC and ADDT MMCs to
transfer the FSMO roles to another DC or you can use
NTDSUtil to transfer/seize the roles. There is actually
a third MMC that you would have to use to transfer the
Schema Master but that is a bit more complicated as you
have to register a .dll!

You are also correct in that you can not have just one GC
in each domain on the same DC that holds the Domain wide
FSMO role of Infrastructure Master. This is due
to "phantoms". In a single domain this issue does not
apply. Once you add a second domain in a domain tree
then it becomes very important to know this.

HTH,

Cary

 

[Jimmy Andersson [MVP]]

Cary, I absolutely don't mind!

I second Cary's post. Most important thing is to evaluate if bandwidth is
more important than redundancy. Personally I always try to have at least 2
GCs per domain.

Regards,
/Jimmy
--
Jimmy Andersson, Q Advice AB
Microsoft MVP - Active Directory
---------- www.qadvice.com ----------

-----Original Message-----
Hi Jimmy

Thanks for your reply

I have already read this article and it just confirms my comments
below. I know either of my solutions are ok technically and will
work. Im looking to optimize the infrastructure

Ignoring the solutions, what i really want to know is are there any
other benefits to be had from making a change and reducing the amount
of Global catalog servers from 4 to 2 and spliting out the FSMOS.

Any input would be really appreciated

Thanks

Jon


"Jimmy Andersson [MVP]" <[email protected]> wrote

Q223346 - FSMO Placement and Optimization on Windows 2000 Domain
Controllers:
[http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp? ID=KB;EN-US;Q223346]

Regards,
/Jimmy
--
Jimmy Andersson, Q Advice AB
Microsoft MVP - Active Directory
---------- www.qadvice.com ----------


Hi All

I have a Root and a child domain, each with 2 domain controllers. All
DC's are Global Catalog Servers. The FSMO roles are still defaulted
to the original servers. There is also only one site.

I understand the 2 options i have regarding FSMO placement and Global
Catalog Servers for a multi domain environment.

1, I know i can leave them as they are if all DC's are Global Catalog
Servers.

2, I also know i can split them out and make only 1 of the DC's per
domain a Global Catalog Server and put the infrastructure master on
the other DC in each Domain.

As i understand it Global Catalog Servers are relevant per site and
not Domain and generally only 2 per site for redundency. To many
Global Catalog Servers are overkill.

My questions is this:

I know that there is not necessarily anything wrong with the
configuration i have however, will my network benefit from reducing
the amount of Global Catalog Servers and moving the Infrastructure
Master away from the other FSMO's?

Other people thoughts and input would be great!

.

Howdy! Howdy!

I might jump in for a second. Jimmy, hope that you do
not mind.

Jon, while you definitely can reduce the number of GCs
from four to two ( reducing the number per domain from
two to one ) consider that in so doing this you are
losing redundancy. I would guess that you would have to
know what is more important: reducing the additional
network bandwidth usage or having two Global Catalog
Servers per domain. Since only you are at your location
and know your environment the best only you can truly
make that decision. All things being equal, I would opt
for two GCs per domain.

As for the splitting of the FSMO Roles, I find that
*GENERALLY* it is not necessary! However, if you do
decide to do this please consider that you should try to
keep the two Domain-wide FSMO roles of PDC Emulator and
RID Master on the same DC.

Just to refresh everyone's memory, there are five FSMO
roles. There are two at the Forest level ( Schema Master
and Naming Master ) and three at the Domain level ( PDC
Emulator, RID Master and Infrastructure Master ). These
three Domain wide roles are present in each and every
Domain in the Forest.

Remember that you can use the ADUC and ADDT MMCs to
transfer the FSMO roles to another DC or you can use
NTDSUtil to transfer/seize the roles. There is actually
a third MMC that you would have to use to transfer the
Schema Master but that is a bit more complicated as you
have to register a .dll!

You are also correct in that you can not have just one GC
in each domain on the same DC that holds the Domain wide
FSMO role of Infrastructure Master. This is due
to "phantoms". In a single domain this issue does not
apply. Once you add a second domain in a domain tree
then it becomes very important to know this.

HTH,

Cary

 

[Jon Wood]

Cary and Jimmy

As i have absolutely no Bandwidth issues at all(all running on GB
backbone across one site this is a no brainer)

Thanks for your input

Cary, I absolutely don't mind!

I second Cary's post. Most important thing is to evaluate if bandwidth is
more important than redundancy. Personally I always try to have at least 2
GCs per domain.

Regards,
/Jimmy
--
Jimmy Andersson, Q Advice AB
Microsoft MVP - Active Directory
---------- www.qadvice.com ----------

-----Original Message-----
Hi Jimmy

Thanks for your reply

I have already read this article and it just confirms my comments
below. I know either of my solutions are ok technically and will
work. Im looking to optimize the infrastructure

Ignoring the solutions, what i really want to know is are there any
other benefits to be had from making a change and reducing the amount
of Global catalog servers from 4 to 2 and spliting out the FSMOS.

Any input would be really appreciated

Thanks

Jon


"Jimmy Andersson [MVP]" <[email protected]> wrote

Q223346 - FSMO Placement and Optimization on Windows 2000 Domain
Controllers:
[http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp? ID=KB;EN-US;Q223346]

Regards,
/Jimmy
--
Jimmy Andersson, Q Advice AB
Microsoft MVP - Active Directory
---------- www.qadvice.com ----------


Hi All

I have a Root and a child domain, each with 2 domain controllers. All
DC's are Global Catalog Servers. The FSMO roles are still defaulted
to the original servers. There is also only one site.

I understand the 2 options i have regarding FSMO placement and Global
Catalog Servers for a multi domain environment.

1, I know i can leave them as they are if all DC's are Global Catalog
Servers.

2, I also know i can split them out and make only 1 of the DC's per
domain a Global Catalog Server and put the infrastructure master on
the other DC in each Domain.

As i understand it Global Catalog Servers are relevant per site and
not Domain and generally only 2 per site for redundency. To many
Global Catalog Servers are overkill.

My questions is this:

I know that there is not necessarily anything wrong with the
configuration i have however, will my network benefit from reducing
the amount of Global Catalog Servers and moving the Infrastructure
Master away from the other FSMO's?

Other people thoughts and input would be great!
.

Howdy! Howdy!

I might jump in for a second. Jimmy, hope that you do
not mind.

Jon, while you definitely can reduce the number of GCs
from four to two ( reducing the number per domain from
two to one ) consider that in so doing this you are
losing redundancy. I would guess that you would have to
know what is more important: reducing the additional
network bandwidth usage or having two Global Catalog
Servers per domain. Since only you are at your location
and know your environment the best only you can truly
make that decision. All things being equal, I would opt
for two GCs per domain.

As for the splitting of the FSMO Roles, I find that
*GENERALLY* it is not necessary! However, if you do
decide to do this please consider that you should try to
keep the two Domain-wide FSMO roles of PDC Emulator and
RID Master on the same DC.

Just to refresh everyone's memory, there are five FSMO
roles. There are two at the Forest level ( Schema Master
and Naming Master ) and three at the Domain level ( PDC
Emulator, RID Master and Infrastructure Master ). These
three Domain wide roles are present in each and every
Domain in the Forest.

Remember that you can use the ADUC and ADDT MMCs to
transfer the FSMO roles to another DC or you can use
NTDSUtil to transfer/seize the roles. There is actually
a third MMC that you would have to use to transfer the
Schema Master but that is a bit more complicated as you
have to register a .dll!

You are also correct in that you can not have just one GC
in each domain on the same DC that holds the Domain wide
FSMO role of Infrastructure Master. This is due
to "phantoms". In a single domain this issue does not
apply. Once you add a second domain in a domain tree
then it becomes very important to know this.

HTH,

Cary