Which DC will be used to download Group Polciies

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Guest

If i have multiple DC's in a site,

1) is there any particular mechanism which clients use to choose a
particular DC for a) Logon and b) to download Group Polciies ? (given that
the weight / cost are the same)

2) Is a GC preferred in any way than a regular DC ?

3) Is a particular FSMO Master role server preferred ?

I am told and read every where it is randsom but i am assuming here is some
logic ..(I know to some extent the logic an Exchange 200x server uses to
query Dc's / Is that the same as a regular Client chooses to logon and
connect to SYSVOL for group policies ?)

thanks in advance
 
patilp said:
If i have multiple DC's in a site,

1) is there any particular mechanism which clients use to choose a
particular DC for a) Logon and
Click to expand...


Take a look at this two KB describing process f locating DC by workstation:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314861
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/247811
b) to download Group Polciies ? (given that
the weight / cost are the same)
Click to expand...

Workstation will use logon DC to get GPO data from the SYSVOL volume -
it can query PDC emulator in some cases for ADM files.
2) Is a GC preferred in any way than a regular DC ?
Click to expand...
No - GC plays a little different role as a source of partial information
about every object in domain\forest - it is not preferred in any way
before other DCs however it can be queried by workstation
3) Is a particular FSMO Master role server preferred ? No


I am told and read every where it is randsom but i am assuming here is some
logic ..(I know to some extent the logic an Exchange 200x server uses to
query Dc's / Is that the same as a regular Client chooses to logon and
connect to SYSVOL for group policies ?)
Click to expand...

No - this is not random process, there is a logic which takes site, DC's
DNS records data etc. under consideration and depends on this data is
picking up some DC from available servers.

Under this URL You will find some additional information about how DC is
located by a client:
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...server/reskit/en-us/distrib/dsbc_nar_azuo.asp
 
I guess i should have made the question clearer..

All the references that you have given do not explicitly explain which
specific DC will be choosen if there are multiple DC's satisfying the SAME
criteria

For Example - in a Site / 2 DC's exist / Client also in the same site / LDAP
query for DC's will result in 2 DC's / Which one will the client choose ?
(Under the assumption that the weight / cost are the same in DNS)

I am trying to work on a problem where given everything similar more clients
seem to choose one DC as a LOGONSERVER and also download GPO. I have tried to
compare the differencves between these servers but not sure what else to look
for.

I have taken netmon / netlogon debug logs / filemon etc to see what is
different / nothing is pointing to give a clue /

My aim is to some how load balance or ateast understand the selection
process..

Let me know if i missed any thing in specific in the references that point
out the answer i am looking for .

Thanks
 
patilp said:
I guess i should have made the question clearer..

All the references that you have given do not explicitly explain which
specific DC will be choosen if there are multiple DC's satisfying the SAME
criteria
Click to expand...
AFAIK it's random
 
I guess i should have made the question clearer..

All the references that you have given do not explicitly explain which
specific DC will be choosen if there are multiple DC's satisfying the SAME
criteria

For Example - in a Site / 2 DC's exist / Client also in the same site / LDAP
query for DC's will result in 2 DC's / Which one will the client choose ?
(Under the assumption that the weight / cost are the same in DNS)

I am trying to work on a problem where given everything similar more clients
seem to choose one DC as a LOGONSERVER and also download GPO. I have tried to
compare the differencves between these servers but not sure what else to look
for.

I have taken netmon / netlogon debug logs / filemon etc to see what is
different / nothing is pointing to give a clue /

My aim is to some how load balance or ateast understand the selection
process..

Let me know if i missed any thing in specific in the references that point
out the answer i am looking for .

Thanks
Click to expand...


See if tip 4527 » How can I manage which Windows 2000 domain controller a client contacts?
in the 'Tips & Tricks' at http://www.jsifaq.com helps.
 
Patilp,

When a client workstation boots up, it gets DFS referrals for the SYSVOL
share. The way a DFS referral is built is the following:

1) All the DCs in the site are listed first (in random order)
2) All the DCs outside the local site are listed next (in random order)
a) If site links are configured correctly with costs the least expensive out
of site DCs are listed after step (1) (in random order of course)
b) More expensive DSs are listed next in random order and so on, until all
the DCs are listed in the referral

You can view this information on the client by running DFSUTIL /PKTINFO to
see which is the active target. You can also browse to \\domain.com and right
click on the SYSVOL share, select properties and select the DFS tab. Here are
able to change the active link target.

I found two documents particularly helpful in explaing the process:

Windows 2003 Technical Reference - DFS sectio
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pr...Ref/7cb7e9f7-2090-4c88-8d14-270c749fddb5.mspx

Windows 2000 Startup and Logon Traffic Analysi
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windows2000serv/deploy/confeat/w2kstart.mspx

Regards,

Bart
 
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