Building the Foundations for a Highly Available Windows Server Architecture

This chapter is from the book

Building High Availability Windows Server 2003 Solutions

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This chapter is from the book

This chapter is from the book 

Building High Availability Windows Server 2003 Solutions

Learn More Buy

Installation of Bridgehead Servers and the Child Domain

This section outlines the steps required to build the bridgehead servers for the main hub site (HQ) and promote the domain controllers into the child domain AD.MCITY.CTY. The process is outlined in the next section. You typically do not need to specifically set up bridgehead servers on small domains (with less than 100 domain controllers).

The first procedure to perform on the bridgehead or sub-domain controllers is the configuration of DNS, particularly forwarding. The process is similar to the configuration of DNS in the root domain.

1. Name the Child Domain DCs: Upon completion of the server installations, the child domain controllers are given miscellaneous names, and they are a member of the workgroup created when you installed the support server. Change the names of the child domain controllers to the names provided in your Active Directory Architecture. For the HQ hub, the server names are HQSDC01 and HQSDC02. It is important to remember to rename the servers to their DC names prior to running DC promo. The names cannot be changed after promotion of these servers to domain controllers, and they have to be destroyed if the names are incorrect. Do not change the workgroup when changing the names.

2. Configure TCP/IP on HQSDC01: Log on to the server designated to be promoted first (HQSDC01) as Administrator. Open the TCP/IP properties of the NIC and enter the parameters listed in Table 6.6.

Table 6.6 TCP/IP Configuration of SDC01 Domain Controller

Resources (SDC01)	Configuration
IP	10.10.20.27
Subnet Mask	255.255.252.0
Default Gateway	10.10.20.1
Preferred DNS	10.10.20.27
Alternate	10.10.20.30




3. Configure TCP/IP on HQSDC02: Log on to the server designated to become the second DC to be promoted (HQSDC01) as Administrator. Open the TCP/IP properties of the NIC and enter the parameters listed in Table 6.7.

Table 6.7 TCP/IP Configuration of SDC02 Domain Controller

Resources (SDC01)	Configuration
IP	10.10.20.30
Subnet Mask	255.255.252.0
Default Gateway	10.10.20.1
Preferred DNS	10.10.20.30
Alternate	10.10.20.27




4. Install DNS: Log on as Administrator to the server designated to be promoted first (HQSDC01), and install DNS on this server. This is achieved by opening Control Panel, Add or Remove Programs, and Add/Remove Windows Components; this launches the Windows Components Wizard. Select Networking Services in the wizard and click the Details button. In the Networking Services Dialog box, check the option to install DNS. Complete the procedures and, when prompted by the installation procedure for the Windows Server operating system CD, provide a CD or browse to the I386 folder under the STDINST share on the installation server.

5. Complete the install: Finish the process of installing DNS on the server. Repeat the process for all hub child domain controllers (prior to promotion).

Configure Forwarding. Log on as Administrator to the server designated to be promoted first domain controller (HQSDC01), and open the DNS console to configure forwarding:

1. Right-click the server name and select Properties.

2. Select the Forwarders tab.

3. Check the option Enable Forwarders.

4. Enter the IP addresses for the forest root servers, HQRDC01, HQRDC02, and DRRDC01 (the root domain controller at the DR site).

5. Check the option Do Not Use Recursion.

6. Click Apply and close the DNS console.

7. Verify forwarding by performing a NSLOOKUP on AD.MCITY. CTY. The lookup should fail because the zone for the AD domain is not yet created. However, you should see whether the query correctly forwarded to one of the root DCs. If you get a timeout on the request, then forwarding is not set up correctly. Check the forwarder settings and, if you are still getting a timeout, go down to the network layer and make sure the child DCs can ping the root DCs.

Repeat these steps on all child domain controllers.

Delegate the AD DNS domain to HQSDC01. To delegate the child domain, you need to open the DNS console on the root DC HQRDC01. This can be achieved by opening the DNS console on the service admin workstation that has an account in the root domain:

1. Select the MCITY.CTY domain and right-click. Select New Delegation. The New Delegation Wizard launches. Click Next.

2. In the Delegated domain field, enter the name of the domain to be delegated, namely AS (the FQDN is, thus, AD.MCITY.CTY). Click Next.

3. On the Name Servers page, click Add. This lets you enter the name of the DNS server that hosts the sub-domain. Enter the FQDN of the server in the server FQDN field and attempt to resolve the IP address of the server. If you cannot resolve the name (which is likely to be the case at this point), then enter the known IP address for the HQSDC01 server. Click OK and then click Next.

4. Click Finish to create the delegation.

Create the DNS zone on HQSDC01. To create the primary DNS zone for AD, perform the following steps (this process is not repeated on HQSDC02 or any other server destined to become a DC in the HQ hub):

1. Start DNS and right-click the HQSDC01 icon.

2. Select New Zone. The New Zone Wizard launches. Click Next.

3. Select the option to create a standard Primary zone and click Next.

4. Select Forward Lookup zone and click Next.

5. Enter AD.MCITY.CTY as the name of the zone and click Next.

6. Keep the default DNS file name (it should be AD.MCITY.CTY.dns) for the zone file name, and click Next.

7. If prompted for Dynamic Update configuration, choose the option to allow dynamic updates. Click Next.

8. Complete the process by selecting Finish.

Create the Child Domain Controller and Domain on HQSDC01. To create the child domain, perform the following steps:

1. Click Start, Run, and type DCPROMO on HQSDC01.

2. Choose the options for creating a domain controller for a new domain; that is, select the domain controller for a new domain option. Click Next.

3. Select the option Create a New Child Domain in an Existing Domain Tree, and then click Next.

4. Enter the Enterprise Administrator credentials (MCITY\Administrator), and in the Domain box, enter AD.MCITY.CTY.

5. Provide MCITY.CTY as the parent domain.

6. Enter AD as the child domain and click Next.

7. Click Next to accept the default NetBIOS name AD.

8. Choose the default path for the SYSVOL folder on the RAID-5 array. However, the drive letter should point to the RAID-5 array on (D, E, or F) and not C:\ (for example, E:\Windows\...). Choose the path options provided for the NTDS Active Directory database and its log files, changing only the drive letters to point to the RAID 5 volume as previously mentioned (see Chapter 4).

9. Click OK if you receive a message indicating the DNS server for the domain was not found. This occurs if there is no A record for the domain yet.

10. Accept permissions compatible with Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003.

11. Enter the Directory Services Restore Mode Administrator password (this should be a complex password, so choose something like 4NTDS@ MCITY). Remember the server's local Administrator password becomes the password required to log on to the DC after promotion.

Review the settings and click Finish to begin the process. Restart the server when prompted. Enable Active Directory Integration of the AD Zone. To enable Active Directory integration for the zone, do as follows:

1. Open the DNS console and expand the root server HQSDC01 icon.

2. Expand the Forward Lookup Zones folder and select the HQ. MCITY.CTY zone. Right-click this zone and select Properties.

3. The Properties dialog box for AD opens. On the General tab, select the Change button on the Type option. The Change Zone Type dialog box launches.

4. Select the option to change the zone to Active Directory Integrated and click OK.

Verify HQSDC01 Name Registration. To verify name registration, perform the following actions:

1. Open the DNS console and expand the root server HQSDC01 icon.

2. Expand the Forward Lookup Zones folder and select the AD.MCITY.CTY zone.

3. Verify whether _msdcs, _sites, _tcp, and _udp sub-domains are registered under AD.MCITY.CTY.

4. If these sub-domains are not registered, then start a command prompt and type NET STOP NETLOGON. Wait for the service to stop and then type NET START NETLOGON.

5. Repeat steps 1 through 3 to verify the registration.

Verify DNS name resolution on HQRDC02. Before HQSDC02 can be promoted as an additional child DC, DNS first must be verified. This can be achieved as follows:

1. Log on to HQSDC02 as the Administrator.

2. Open the command prompt and type NSLOOKUP AD.MCITY.CTY and press Enter. You should see a resolution to AD.MCITY.CTY from 10.10.20.27.

If you are not able to resolve the domain, check to see whether the IP settings on HQSDC02 are correct. It should have 10.10.20.30 as its preferred DNS server address and 10.10.20.27 as the alternate. Do not proceed with the DCPROMO of HQSDC02 until DNS is working properly. DCPROMO the HQSDC02 server. To create the second domain controller, perform the following steps:

1. Click Start, Run, and type DCPROMO on HQSDC02.

2. Choose the options for creating an additional domain controller for an existing domain and click Next.

3. You are prompted for access to the child domain. Choose the Administrator account for AD. The Administrator password is the same as the server password before the DC was promoted.

4. Choose the default path for the SYSVOL folder on the RAID-5 array. However, the drive letter should point to the RAID-5 array on (D, E, or F) and not C:\. Choose the path options provided for the NTDS Active Directory database and its log files, changing only the drive letters to point to the RAID 5 volume as previously mentioned (see Chapter 4).

5. Enter the Directory Services Restore Mode Administrator password for this server (this should be a complex password; choose 4NTDS@MCITY). DCs can and should have the same Directory Services Restore Mode Administrator password to simplify administration.

Review the settings and then click Finish to begin the process. Restart the server when prompted. Verify HQSDC02 Name Registration. To verify name registration, perform the following actions:

1. Open the DNS console and expand the root server HQSDC02 icon.

2. Expand the Forward Lookup Zones folder and select the AD.MCITY.CTY zone.

3. Verify whether _msdcs, _sites, _tcp, and _udp sub-domains are registered under MCITY.CTY.

4. If these sub-domains are not registered, then start a command prompt and type NET STOP NETLOGON. Wait for the service to stop, and then type NET START NETLOGON.

5. Repeat steps 1 through 3 to verify the registration.

Move the Domain Operations Master Roles. HQSDC01 is a GC server and becomes the preferred bridgehead server (Active Directory does this automatically in Windows Server 2003). To lessen the load on this server, the RID operations master needs to be moved to HQSDC02. We also should move the IF and PDC roles to HQSDC02.

1. Start Active Directory User and Computers on HQSDC01.

2. Right-click the root node and select Connect to Domain Controller. Choose HQSDC02 and click OK. You are now on HQRSC02.

3. Right-click the AD.MCITY.CTY domain and select Operations Masters.

4. The RID Master Role appears first. Select Change to move it to HQSDC02. You are able to select the target computer from a list if necessary.

5. Click Yes to confirm the transfer.

Repeat these steps for the PDC Emulator and IF roles. Create ASR media for the Domain Controllers. The creation of the child domain and its controllers is now complete. System recovery using ASR media now must be performed on the domain controllers.

Quality Assurance and validation must be performed before continuing further. QA can be achieved by following these steps:

1. Open a command console and run DCDIAG /s:<domain controller name> /a /f<logfile> /ferr<errlogfile>. Perform the DCDIAG against both HQSDC01 and HQSDC02. The data generated by DCDIAG is piped to the default log file location on the workstation.

2. Perform DCDIAG several times a day and run DCDIAG at the enterprise level.

3. Open the replication monitor REPLMON, and check to see whether replication is occurring without errors between the domain controllers. You also can use REPADMIN to check the update vectors and force replication between the replication partners.

4. Finally, you can run DSQUERY against the domain controllers to see that all FSMO roles are intact.

Also, load the replication monitor and ensure infrastructure changes between the domains are replicating. (See Chapter 13 on using MOM for alerts and monitoring.) The Windows Server 2003 replication service (FRS) Management Pack can get this going for your in no time flat.