WINDOWS ACTIVE DIRECTORY INTERVIEW QUESTIONS -PART 1

What is Active Directory ?

Active Directory is a Meta Data. Active Directory is a data base which store a data base like your user
information, computer information and also other network object info. It has capabilities to manage and
administor the complite Network which connect with AD.
>What is domain ?
Windows NT and Windows 2000, a domain is a set of network resources (applications, printers, and so
forth) for a group of users. The user need only to log in to the domain to gain access to the resources,
which may be located on a number of different servers in the network. The 'domain' is simply your
computer address not to confused with an URL. A domain address might look something like
211.170.469.
>What is domain controller ?
A Domain controller (DC) is a server that responds to security authentication requests (logging in,
checking permissions, etc.) within the Windows Server domain. A domain is a concept introduced in
Windows NT whereby a user may be granted access to a number of computer resources with the use of a
single username and password combination.
>What is LDAP ?
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol LDAP is the industry standard directory access protocol, making
Active Directory widely accessible to management and query applications. Active Directory supports
LDAPv3 and LDAPv2.
>What is KCC ?
KCC ( knowledge consistency checker ) is used to generate replication topology for inter site replication
and for intrasite replication.with in a site replication traffic is done via remote procedure calls over ip, while
between site it is done through either RPC or SMTP.
>Where is the AD database held? What other folders are related to AD?
The AD data base is store in c:\windows\ntds\NTDS.DIT.
>What is the SYSVOL folder?
The sysVOL folder stores the server's copy of the domain's public files. The contents such as group
policy, users etc of the sysvol folder are replicated to all domain controllers in the domain.
>What are the Windows Server 2003 keyboard shortcuts ?
Winkey opens or closes the Start menu. Winkey + BREAK displays the System Properties dialog box.
Winkey + TAB moves the focus to the next application in the taskbar. Winkey + SHIFT + TAB moves the
focus to the previous application in the taskbar. Winkey + B moves the focus to the notification area.
Winkey + D shows the desktop. Winkey + E opens Windows Explorer showing My Computer. Winkey + F
opens the Search panel. Winkey + CTRL + F opens the Search panel with Search for Computers module
selected. Winkey + F1 opens Help. Winkey + M minimizes all. Winkey + SHIFT+ M undoes minimization.
Winkey + R opens Run dialog. Winkey + U opens the Utility Manager. Winkey + L locks the computer.

>Where are the Windows NT Primary Domain Controller (PDC) and its Backup Domain Controller
(BDC) in Server 2003 ?
The Active Directory replaces them. Now all domain controllers share a multimaster peer-to-peer read
and write relationship that hosts copies of the Active Directory.
>I am trying to create a new universal user group. Why cant I ?
Universal groups are allowed only in native-mode Windows Server 2003 environments. Native mode
requires that all domain controllers be promoted to Windows Server 2003 Active Directory.
>What is LSDOU ?
Its group policy inheritance model, where the policies are applied toLocal machines, Sites, Domains and
Organizational Units.
>Why doesnt LSDOU work under Windows NT ?
If the NTConfig.pol file exist, it has the highest priority among the numerous policies.
>Whats the number of permitted unsuccessful logons on Administrator account?
Unlimited. Remember, though, that its the Administrator account, not any account thats part of the
Administrators group.
> Whats the difference between guest accounts in Server 2003 and other editions?
More restrictive in Windows Server 2003.
> How many passwords by default are remembered when you check "Enforce Password History
Remembered"?
Users last 6 passwords.
> Can GC Server and Infrastructure place in single server If not explain why ?
No, As Infrastructure master does the same job as the GC. It does not work together.
> Which is service in your windows is responsible for replication of Domain controller to another
domain controller.
KCC generates the replication topology.
Use SMTP / RPC to replicate changes.
> What Intrasite and Intersite Replication ?
Intrasite is the replication with in the same site & intersite the replication between sites.
> What is lost & found folder in ADS ?
Its the folder where you can find the objects missed due to conflict.
Ex: you created a user in OU which is deleted in other DC & when replication happed ADS didnt find the
OU then it will put that in Lost & Found Folder.

> What is Garbage collection ?

Garbage collection is the process of the online defragmentation of active directory. It happens every 12
Hours.
> What System State data contains ?
Contains Startup files,
Registry
Com + Registration Database
Memory Page file
System files
AD information
Cluster Service information
SYSVOL Folder
>What is the difference between Windows 2000 Active Directory and Windows 2003 Active
Directory? Is there any difference in 2000 Group Polices and 2003 Group Polices? What is meant
by ADS and ADS services in Windows 2003?
Windows 2003 Active Directory introduced a number of new security features, as well as convenience
features such as the ability to rename a domain controller and even an entire domain
Windows Server 2003 also introduced numerous changes to the default settings that can be affected by
Group Policy - you can see a detailed list of each available setting and which OS is required to support it
by downloading the Group Policy Settings Reference.
ADS stands for Automated Deployment Services, and is used to quickly roll out identically-configured
servers in large-scale enterprise environments. You can get more information from the ADS homepage.
>I want to setup a DNS server and Active Directory domain. What do I do first? If I install the DNS
service first and name the zone 'name.org' can I name the AD domain 'name.org' too?
Not only can you have a DNS zone and an Active Directory domain with the same name, it's actually the
preferred way to go if at all possible. You can install and configure DNS before installing Active Directory,
or you can allow the Active Directory Installation Wizard (dcpromo) itself install DNS on your server in the
background.
>How do I determine if user accounts have local administrative access?
You can use the net localgroup administrators command on each workstation (probably in a login script
so that it records its information to a central file for later review). This command will enumerate the
members of the Administrators group on each machine you run it on. Alternately, you can use the
Restricted Groups feature of Group Policy to restrict the membership of Administrators to only those users
you want to belong.
>Why am I having trouble printing with XP domain users?
In most cases, the inability to print or access resources in situations like this one will boil down to an issue
with name resolution, either DNS or WINS/NetBIOS. Be sure that your Windows XP clients' wireless
connections are configured with the correct DNS and WINS name servers, as well as with the appropriate

NetBIOS over TCP/IP settings. Compare your wireless settings to your wired LAN settings and look for
any discrepancies that may indicate where the functional difference may lie.
>What is the ISTG? Who has that role by default?
Windows 2000 Domain controllers each create Active Directory Replication connection objects
representing inbound replication from intra-site replication partners. For inter-site replication, one domain
controller per site has the responsibility of evaluating the inter-site replication topology and creating Active
Directory Replication Connection objects for appropriate bridgehead servers within its site. The domain
controller in each site that owns this role is referred to as the Inter-Site Topology Generator (ISTG).
>What is difference between Server 2003 vs 2008?
1. Virtualization. (Windows Server 2008 introduces Hyper-V (V for Virtualization) but only on 64bit
versions. More and more companies are seeing this as a way of reducing hardware costs by running
several 'virtual' servers on one physical machine.)
2. Server Core (provides the minimum installation required to carry out a specific server role, such as for
a DHCP, DNS or print server)
3. Better security.
4. Role-based installation.
5. Read Only Domain Controllers (RODC).
6. Enhanced terminal services.
7. Network Access Protection - Microsoft's system for ensuring that clients connecting to Server 2008 are
patched, running a firewall and in compliance with corporate security policies.
8. PowerShell - Microsoft's command line shell and scripting language has proved popular with some
server administrators.
9. IIS 7 .
10. Bitlocker - System drive encryption can be a sensible security measure for servers located in remote
branch offices. >br> The main difference between 2003 and 2008 is Virtualization, management. 2008
has more in-build components and updated third party drivers.
11. Windows Aero.
>What are the requirements for installing AD on a new server?
1 The Domain structure.
2 The Domain Name .
3 storage location of the database and log file.
4 Location of the shared system volume folder.
5 DNS config Methode.
6 DNS configuration.

>What is LDP?
LDP : Label Distribution Protocol (LDP) is often used to establish MPLS LSPs when traffic engineering is
not required. It establishes LSPs that follow the existing IP routing, and is particularly well suited for
establishing a full mesh of LSPs between all of the routers on the network.
>What are the Groups types available in active directory ?
Security groups: Use Security groups for granting permissions to gain access to resources. Sending an email message to a group sends the message to all members of the group. Therefore security groups
share the capabilities of distribution groups.
Distribution groups: Distribution groups are used for sending e-main messages to groups of users. You
cannot grant permissions to security groups. Even though security groups have all the capabilities of
distribution groups, distribution groups still requires, because some applications can only read distribution
groups.
>Explain about the groups scope in AD ?
Domain Local Group: Use this scope to grant permissions to domain resources that are located in the
same domain in which you created the domain local group. Domain local groups can exist in all mixed,
native and interim functional level of domains and forests. Domain local group memberships are not
limited as you can add members as user accounts, universal and global groups from any domain. Just to
remember, nesting cannot be done in domain local group. A domain local group will not be a member of
another Domain Local or any other groups in the same domain.
Global Group: Users with similar function can be grouped under global scope and can be given
permission to access a resource (like a printer or shared folder and files) available in local or another
domain in same forest. To say in simple words, Global groups can be use to grant permissions to gain
access to resources which are located in any domain but in a single forest as their memberships are
limited. User accounts and global groups can be added only from the domain in which global group is
created. Nesting is possible in Global groups within other groups as you can add a global group into
another global group from any domain. Finally to provide permission to domain specific resources (like
printers and published folder), they can be members of a Domain Local group. Global groups exist in all
mixed, native and interim functional level of domains and forests.
Universal Group Scope: These groups are precisely used for email distribution and can be granted
access to resources in all trusted domain as these groups can only be used as a security principal
(security group type) in a windows 2000 native or windows server 2003 domain functional level domain.
Universal group memberships are not limited like global groups. All domain user accounts and groups can
be a member of universal group. Universal groups can be nested under a global or Domain Local group in
any domain.
>What is REPLMON ?
The Microsoft definition of the Replmon tool is as follows; This GUI tool enables administrators to view the
low-level status of Active Directory replication, force synchronization between domain controllers, view the
topology in a graphical format, and monitor the status and performance of domain controller replication.
>What is ADSIEDIT ?
ADSIEDIT :ADSIEdit is a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in that acts as a low-level editor
for Active Directory. It is a Graphical User Interface (GUI) tool. Network administrators can use it for
common administrative tasks such as adding, deleting, and moving objects with a directory service. The
attributes for each object can be edited or deleted by using this tool. ADSIEdit uses the ADSI application
programming interfaces (APIs) to access Active Directory. The following are the required files for using
this tool: ADSIEDIT.DLL ADSIEDIT.

>What is NETDOM ?
NETDOM is a command-line tool that allows management of Windows domains and trust relationships. It
is used for batch management of trusts, joining computers to domains, verifying trusts, and secure
channels.
>What is REPADMIN?
This command-line tool assists administrators in diagnosing replication problems between Windows
domain controllers.Administrators can use Repadmin to view the replication topology (sometimes referred
to as RepsFrom and RepsTo) as seen from the perspective of each domain controller. In addition,
Repadmin can be used to manually create the replication topology (although in normal practice this
should not be necessary), to force replication events between domain controllers, and to view both the
replication metadata and up-to-dateness vectors.
>How to take backup of AD ?
For taking backup of active directory you have to do this : first go START -> PROGRAM ->ACCESORIES
-> SYSTEM TOOLS -> BACKUP OR Open run window and ntbackup and take systemstate backup when
the backup screen is flash then take the backup of SYSTEM STATE it will take the backup of all the
necessary information about the syatem including AD backup , DNS ETC.
>What are the DS* commands ?
The following DS commands: the DS family built in utility .
DSmod - modify Active Directory attributes.
DSrm - to delete Active Directory objects.
DSmove - to relocate objects
DSadd - create new accounts
DSquery - to find objects that match your query attributes.
DSget - list the properties of an object
>What are the requirements for installing AD on a new server?
An NTFS partition with enough free space.
An Administrator's username and password.
The correct operating system version.
A NIC Properly configured TCP/IP (IP address, subnet mask and - optional - default gateway).
A network connection (to a hub or to another computer via a crossover cable) .
An operational DNS server (which can be installed on the DC itself) .
A Domain name that you want to use .
The Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 CD media (or at least the i386 folder) .

>Explain about Trust in AD ?

To allow users in one domain to access resources in another, Active Directory uses trusts. Trusts inside a
forest are automatically created when domains are created.
The forest sets the default boundaries of trust, not the domain, and implicit, transitive trust is automatic for
all domains within a forest. As well as two-way transitive trust, AD trusts can be a shortcut (joins two
domains in different trees, transitive, one- or two-way), forest (transitive, one- or two-way), realm
(transitive or nontransitive, one- or two-way), or external (nontransitive, one- or two-way) in order to
connect to other forests or non-AD domains.
Trusts in Windows 2000 (native mode)
One-way trust One domain allows access to users on another domain, but the other domain does not
allow access to users on the first domain.
Two-way trust Two domains allow access to users on both domains.
Trusting domain The domain that allows access to users from a trusted domain.
Trusted domain The domain that is trusted; whose users have access to the trusting domain.
Transitive trust A trust that can extend beyond two domains to other trusted domains in the forest.
Intransitive trust A one way trust that does not extend beyond two domains.
Explicit trust A trust that an admin creates. It is not transitive and is one way only.
Cross-link trust An explicit trust between domains in different trees or in the same tree when a
descendant/ancestor (child/parent) relationship does not exist between the two domains.
Windows 2000 Server supports the following types of trusts:
Two-way transitive trusts.
One-way intransitive trusts.
Additional trusts can be created by administrators. These trusts can be:
Shortcut
Windows Server 2003 offers a new trust type the forest root trust. This type of trust can be used to
connect Windows Server 2003 forests if they are operating at the 2003 forest functional level.
Authentication across this type of trust is Kerberos based (as opposed to NTLM). Forest trusts are also
transitive for all the domains in the forests that are trusted. Forest trusts, however, are not transitive.
>Difference between LDIFDE and CSVDE?
CSVDE is a command that can be used to import and export objects to and from the AD into a CSVformatted file. A CSV (Comma Separated Value) file is a file easily readable in Excel. I will not go to length
into this powerful command, but I will show you some basic samples of how to import a large number of
users into your AD. Of course, as with the DSADD command, CSVDE can do more than just import users.
Consult your help file for more info.

LDIFDE is a command that can be used to import and export objects to and from the AD into a LDIFformatted file. A LDIF (LDAP Data Interchange Format) file is a file easily readable in any text editor,
however it is not readable in programs like Excel. The major difference between CSVDE and LDIFDE
(besides the file format) is the fact that LDIFDE can be used to edit and delete existing AD objects (not
just users), while CSVDE can only import and export objects.
>What is tombstone lifetime attribute ?
The number of days before a deleted object is removed from the directory services. This assists in
removing objects from replicated servers and preventing restores from reintroducing a deleted object.
This value is in the Directory Service object in the configuration NIC.
>What are application partitions? When do I use them ?
AN application diretcory partition is a directory partition that is replicated only to specific domain
controller.Only domain controller running windows Server 2003 can host a replica of application directory
partition.
Using an application directory partition provides redundany,availability or fault tolerance by replicating
data to specific domain controller pr any set of domain controllers anywhere in the forest.
>How do you create a new application partition ?
Use the DnsCmd command to create an application directory partition.
To do this, use the following syntax:
DnsCmd ServerName /CreateDirectoryPartition FQDN of partition
>How do you view all the GCs in the forest?
C:\>repadmin /showreps domain_controller where domain_controller is the DC you want to query to
determine whether it?s a GC.
The output will include the text DSA Options: IS_GC if the DC is a GC.
>Can you connect Active Directory to other 3rd-party Directory Services? Name a few options.
Yes, you can use dirXML or LDAP to connect to other directories.
In Novell you can use E-directory.
>What is IPSec Policy
IPSec provides secure gateway-to-gateway connections across outsourced private wide area network
(WAN) or Internet-based connections using L2TP/IPSec tunnels or pure IPSec tunnel mode. IPSec Policy
can be deployed via Group policy to the Windows Domain controllers 7 Servers.
>What are the different types of Terminal Services ?
User Mode & Application Mode.
>What is RsOP
RsOP is the resultant set of policy applied on the object (Group Policy).
>What is the System Startup process ?
Windows 2K boot process on a Intel architecture.

1. Power-On Self Tests (POST) are run.

2. The boot device is found, the Master Boot Record (MBR) is loaded into memory, and its program is run.
3. The active partition is located, and the boot sector is loaded.
4. The Windows 2000 loader (NTLDR) is then loaded.
The boot sequence executes the following steps:
1. The Windows 2000 loader switches the processor to the 32-bit flat memory model.
2. The Windows 2000 loader starts a mini-file system.
3. The Windows 2000 loader reads the BOOT.INI file and displays the operating system selections (boot
loader menu).
4. The Windows 2000 loader loads the operating system selected by the user. If Windows 2000 is
selected, NTLDR runs NTDETECT.COM. For other operating systems, NTLDR loads BOOTSECT.DOS
and gives it control.
5. NTDETECT.COM scans the hardware installed in the computer, and reports the list to NTLDR for
inclusion in the Registry under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE_HARDWARE hive.
6. NTLDR then loads the NTOSKRNL.EXE, and gives it the hardware information collected by
NTDETECT.COM. Windows NT enters the Windows load phases.
>How do you change the DS Restore admin password ?
In Windows 2000 Server, you used to have to boot the computer whose password you wanted to change
in Directory Restore mode, then use either the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Local User and
Groups snap-in or the command net user administrator * to change the Administrator password.
Win2K Server Service Pack 2 (SP2) introduced the Setpwd utility, which lets you reset the Directory
Service Restore Mode password without having to reboot the computer. (Microsoft refreshed Setpwd in
SP4 to improve the utility?s scripting options.)
In Windows Server 2003, you use the Ntdsutil utility to modify the Directory Service Restore Mode
Administrator password.
To do so, follow these steps:
1. Start Ntdsutil (click Start, Run; enter cmd.exe; then enter ntdsutil.exe).
2. Start the Directory Service Restore Mode Administrator password-reset utility by entering the
argument ?set dsrm password? at the ntdsutil prompt: ntdsutil: set dsrm password.
3. Run the Reset Password command, passing the name of the server on which to change the password,
or use the null argument to specify the local machine.
For example, to reset the password on server testing, enter the following argument at the Reset DSRM
Administrator Password prompt: Reset DSRM Administrator Password: reset password on server testing
To reset the password on the local machine, specify null as the server name:
Reset DSRM Administrator Password: reset password on server null
4. You?ll be prompted twice to enter the new password. You?ll see the following messages:

5. Please type password for DS Restore Mode Administrator Account:

6. Please confirm new password:
Password has been set successfully.
7. Exit the password-reset utility by typing ?quit? at the following prompts:
8. Reset DSRM Administrator Password: quit
ntdsutil: quit
Upgrading from NT to 2003. The only things that are NT are the PDC and BDCs; everything else is
2000 or 2003 member servers. My question is, when I upgrade my NT domain controllers to 2003, will I
need to do anything else to my Windows 2000/2003 member servers that were in the NT domain?
Your existing member servers, regardless of operating system, will simply become member servers in
your upgraded AD domain. If you will be using Organizational Units and Group Policy (and I hope you
are), you'll probably want to move them to a specific OU for administration and policy application, since
they'll be in the default "Computers" container immediately following the upgrade.
>How do I use Registry keys to remove a user from a group?
In Windows Server 2003, you can use the dsmod command-line utility with the -delmbr switch to remove
a group member from the command line. You should also look into the freeware utilities available from
www.joeware.net . ADFind and ADMod are indispensable tools in my arsenal when it comes to searching
and modifying Active Directory.
>Why are my NT4 clients failing to connect to the Windows 2000 domain?
Since NT4 relies on NetBIOS for name resolution, verify that your WINS server (you do have a WINS
server running, yes?) contains the records that you expect for the 2000 domain controller, and that your
clients have the correct address configured for the WINS server.
>How do you view replication properties for AD partitions and DCs?
By using replication monitor
go to start > run > type repadmin
go to start > run > type replmon
>Why can't you restore a DC that was backed up 4 months ago?
Because of the tombstone life which is set to only 60 days.
>Different modes of AD restore ?
A nonauthoritative restore is the default method for restoring Active Directory. To perform a
nonauthoritative restore, you must be able to start the domain controller in Directory Services Restore
Mode. After you restore the domain controller from backup, replication partners use the standard
replication protocols to update Active Directory and associated information on the restored domain
controller.
An authoritative restore brings a domain or a container back to the state it was in at the time of backup
and overwrites all changes made since the backup. If you do not want to replicate the changes that have
been made subsequent to the last backup operation, you must perform an authoritative restore. In this
one needs to stop the inbound replication first before performing the An authoritative restore.

>How do you configure a stand-by operation master for any of the roles?
# Open Active Directory Sites and Services.
# Expand the site name in which the standby operations master is located to display the Servers folder.
# Expand the Servers folder to see a list of the servers in that site.
# Expand the name of the server that you want to be the standby operations master to display its NTDS
Settings.
# Right-click NTDS Settings, click New, and then click Connection.
# In the Find Domain Controllers dialog box, select the name of the current role holder, and then click OK.
# In the New Object-Connection dialog box, enter an appropriate name for the Connection object or
accept the default name, and click OK.
>What's the difference between transferring a FSMO role and seizing ?
Seizing an FSMO can be a destructive process and should only be attempted if the existing server with
the FSMO is no longer available.
If you perform a seizure of the FSMO roles from a DC, you need to ensure two things:
the current holder is actually dead and offline, and that the old DC will NEVER return to the network. If
you do an FSMO role Seize and then bring the previous holder back online, you'll have a problem.
An FSMO role TRANSFER is the graceful movement of the roles from a live, working DC to another live
DC During the process, the current DC holding the role(s) is updated, so it becomes aware it is no longer
the role holder
>I want to look at the RID allocation table for a DC. What do I do?
dcdiag /test:ridmanager /s:servername /v (servername is the name of our DC)
>What is BridgeHead Server in AD ?
A bridgehead server is a domain controller in each site, which is used as a contact point to receive and
replicate data between sites. For intersite replication, KCC designates one of the domain controllers as a
bridgehead server. In case the server is down, KCC designates another one from the domain controller.
When a bridgehead server receives replication updates from another site, it replicates the data to the
other domain controllers within its site.
>What is the default size of ntds.dit ?
10 MB in Server 2000 and 12 MB in Server 2003 .
>Where is the AD database held and What are other folders related to AD ?
AD Database is saved in %systemroot%/ntds. You can see other files also in this folder. These are the
main files controlling the AD structure.

ntds.dit

edb.log
res1.log
res2.log
edb.chk
When a change is made to the Win2K database, triggering a write operation, Win2K records the
transaction in the log file (edb.log). Once written to the log file, the change is then written to the AD
database. System performance determines how fast the system writes the data to the AD database from
the log file. Any time the system is shut down, all transactions are saved to the database.
During the installation of AD, Windows creates two files: res1.log and res2.log. The initial size of each is
10MB. These files are used to ensure that changes can be written to disk should the system run out of
free disk space. The checkpoint file (edb.chk) records transactions committed to the AD database
(ntds.dit). During shutdown, a "shutdown" statement is written to the edb.chk file.
Then, during a reboot, AD determines that all transactions in the edb.log file have been committed to the
AD database. If, for some reason, the edb.chk file doesn't exist on reboot or the shutdown statement isn't
present, AD will use the edb.log file to update the AD database. The last file in our list of files to know is
the AD database itself, ntds.dit. By default, the file is located in\NTDS, along with the other files we've
discussed
>What FSMO placement considerations do you know of ?
Windows 2000/2003 Active Directory domains utilize a Single Operation Master method called FSMO
(Flexible Single Master Operation), as described in Understanding FSMO Roles in Active Directory.
In most cases an administrator can keep the FSMO role holders (all 5 of them) in the same spot (or
actually, on the same DC) as has been configured by the Active Directory installation process.
However, there are scenarios where an administrator would want to move one or more of the FSMO roles
from the default holder DC to a different DC.
Windows Server 2003 Active Directory is a bit different than the Windows 2000 version when dealing with
FSMO placement.
In this article I will only deal with Windows Server 2003 Active Directory, but you should bear in mind that
most considerations are also true when planning Windows 2000 AD FSMO roles
>What do you do to install a new Windows 2003 R2 DC in a Windows 2003 AD?
If you're installing Windows 2003 R2 on an existing Windows 2003 server with SP1 installed, you require
only the second R2 CD-ROM.
Insert the second CD and the r2auto.exe will display the Windows 2003 R2 Continue Setup screen. If
you're installing R2 on a domain controller (DC), you must first upgrade the schema to the R2 version
(this is a minor change and mostly related to the new Dfs replication engine).
To update the schema, run the Adprep utility, which you'll find in the Components\r2\adprep folder on the
second CD-ROM.
Before running this command, ensure all DCs are running Windows 2003 or Windows 2000 with SP2 (or
later).
Here's a sample execution of the Adprep /forestprep

command: D:\CMPNENTS\R2\ADPREP>adprep /forestprep

ADPREP WARNING:
Before running adprep, all Windows 2000 domain controllers in the forest should be upgraded to
Windows 2000 Service Pack 1 (SP1) with QFE 265089, or to Windows 2000 SP2 (or later).
QFE 265089 (included in Windows 2000 SP2 and later) is required to prevent potential domain controller
corruption.
[User Action] If ALL your existing Windows 2000 domain controllers meet this requirement, type C and
then press ENTER to continue. Otherwise, type any other key and press ENT ER to quit.
C Opened Connection to SAV
DALDC01 SSPI Bind succeeded Current Schema Version is 30 Upgrading schema to version 31
Connecting to "SAVDALDC01" Logging in as current user using SSPI Importing directory from file
"C:\WINDOWS\system32\sch31.ldf" Loading entries... 139 entries modified successfully.
The command has completed successfully Adprep successfully updated the forest-wide information.
After running Adprep, install R2 by performing these steps:
1. Click the "Continue Windows Server 2003 R2 Setup" link, as the figureshows.
2. At the "Welcome to the Windows Server 2003 R2 Setup Wizard" screen, click Next.
3. You'll be prompted to enter an R2 CD key (this is different from your existing Windows 2003 keys) if the
underlying OS wasn't installed from R2 media (e.g., a regular Windows 2003 SP1 installation).
Enter the R2 key and click Next. Note: The license key entered for R2 must match the underlying OS
type, which means if you installed Windows 2003 using a volume-license version key, then you can't use
a retail or Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) R2 key.
4. You'll see the setup summary screen which confirms the actions to be performed (e.g., Copy files).
Click Next.
5. After the installation is complete, you'll see a confirmation dialog box. Click Finish
>What is OU ? Organization Unit is a container object in which you can keep objects such as user
accounts, groups, computer, printer . applications and other (OU).
In organization unit you can assign specific permission to the user's. organization unit can also be used to
create departmental limitation.
>Name some OU design considerations ?
OU design requires balancing requirements for delegating administrative rights - independent of Group
Policy needs - and the need to scope the application of Group Policy.
The following OU design recommendations address delegation and scope issues:
Applying Group Policy An OU is the lowest-level Active Directory container to which you can assign Group
Policy settings.
Delegating administrative authority
usually don't go more than 3 OU levels