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Windows 2003 R2 SEHi,Have installed an additional AD controller and promoted it to be the principal controller. Everything works fine. However I noticed that the (new) principal controller does not have the Global Server Catalog in the NTDS settings of this server ticked although the secondary does.Is it a best practice to have both servers as having the Global Server Catalog?What are the advantages and disadvantages?Any problems likely by just tocking this on the new server ?I noticed for example, if one of the servers goes down, users cannot log in through the AD. This could be explained by not having this box ticked.Thanks for any help.
Hello and welcome to JustAnswer. I look forward to assisting you today with your question and providing the best answer possible.Going to try to keep this simple:No, it is not best practice to have a Global Server Catalog on more than one server. The disadvantage to this, is network traffic will be increased significantly. If you have a small network (less than 100 users) than it would be OK to have it on multiple servers, as this would create redundancy if one of the servers were to fail. That would be the only real advantage to having multiple servers with the catalog, but again, only if you are running a small network.In your case, I would just leave the Global Server Catalog on the original server as long as there are no short term plans to replace said server.Let me know if you have any other questions. If you are satisfied with the info given, please rate my answer as I appreciate the feedback.Thanks!Remember, if for any reason you’re unsatisfied, we can continue our conversation until you’ve received the information you’re looking for. If I haven’t answered your question, please let me know and I’ll be happy to answer any other follow-up questions you might have.
If I undersatnd you, since I only have 30 users, it would it best for redundancy purposes to have the catalog on both servers.
Another idea would be to transder the Global Catalogue to the newer server. What do you think?
With the size of your network only being 30 users, I would place it on both servers.If there are plans to greatly increase the number of users, the best plan of action would be to transfer the catalog to the new server. But from what you have told me of your network size, placing it on both servers will not be an issue.Remember, if for any reason you’re unsatisfied, we can continue our conversation until you’ve received the information you’re looking for. If I haven’t answered your question, please let me know and I’ll be happy to answer any other follow-up questions you might have.
And so all I need to do is tick the box on the new server and wait for the calog to be copied.
No need to advise users beforehand?
It's always worth mentioning to your users that a change to the server will be taking place. I would let them know there is a possibility network speeds may be slightly reduced during this time, but they ideally should not notice any difference.Yep, just tick the box and hit OK.Remember, if for any reason you’re unsatisfied, we can continue our conversation until you’ve received the information you’re looking for. If I haven’t answered your question, please let me know and I’ll be happy to answer any other follow-up questions you might have.
Experience: BS in IT from University of Massachusetts Lowell, 10+ years working on computer related problems