Primary and secondary DC?

[Guest]

Hello,
I’m looking for some advice on consolidating servers within our enterprise.
Currently I have 1 primary DC managing 1800 users with 400 possible
simultaneous logons. This server is hosting DNS, DHCP and IIS for the one
building which it is located.

I’m looking at putting another server in one of the middle schools. This
second server will add 600 additional users and 40 additional simultaneous
logons. I would like have both buildings on the same domain. And their is a
1GB link between the 2 buildings.
My question or questions are as follows.

1.What are the advantages/disadvantages of having 2 domains?

2. Ideally I would like to have 1 domain with a primary and secondary DC.
It is my impression that with pri. and sec. domain controllers running, it
one fails, the other will pick up. Is this correct?

3.With 1 domain and pri. And sec. controllers, will the closest server in
nanoseconds win out in authentication?

I’m ignorant…
Thanks
jason

 

[Gabe Matteson]

There isn't a reason to have more than one domain in this situation. In
windows 2000, windows 2003 domains, there isn't a primary and secondary dc
as there were in NT 4.0. Each domain controller functions as a multimaster
role, which means each dc has a full copy of the database and can handle all
queries to it. The only difference in 2000 and 2003 is that there can only
be one server that has one of the 5 fsmo roles (one acting as a pdc to
emulate nt4). if one of your domain controllers blew up then all the clients
would automatically fail over to the second domain controller allowing you
to rebuild the one that failed at your leasiure. (for it to handle
authentications you have to set that server as a global catalog server)
(keep in mind, if this does happen then all of the 5 roles will have to be
transfered over, the first domain controller installed in a new domain is
the primary server for these roles, research FSMO roles, they provide
services such as allowing ONLY ONE domain controller to process information
such as group policy changes or schema changes so that everything stays in
sync).
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/197132

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/324801

As to the fail over time, I don't have the answer for you although it will
rely upon your dns infrastructure, can't be more than a few seconds.

hope that helps,
-gabe