Active Directory Administration Essentials PDF

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Chapter 1 Windows Server 2003 Whats New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Introduction ....................................................
A Chapter-by-Chapter Roadmap to the Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Windows 2003 Editions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Windows 2003, Standard Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Features Common to Three Windows 2003 Editions Active Directory (AD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Network Load Balancing (NLB) . . . . . . . . . . . . Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 . . . . . . . Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) . . . . . . . . . . Remote Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Remote Desktop for Administration . . . . . . . . . Server Event Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Manage Your Server Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Help File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Volume Shadow Copy for Shares . . . . . . . . . . IP Security (IPSec) over NAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . Microsoft .NET Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Windows 2003, Enterprise Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . Windows 2003, Datacenter Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . Windows 2003, Web Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Windows 2003 32-Bit and 64-Bit Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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3 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 6 9 10 10 10 10 11 12 13 13 15 16 16 18 18 20
Windows 2003 Hardware Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Real-World Windows 2003 Hardware Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Driver Signing . . . . . . . . . . . Driver Rollback . . . . . . . . . . Automatic Updates . . . . . . . . Software Updates with SUS IIS Remote Administration Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Keeping Your System Updated and Secure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
IIS Improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
.....................................
Should You Deploy?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Onward to Windows 2003 AD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
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Chapter 2 Whats New in Windows Server 2003 Active Directory . . . . . . 23
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
.. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 24 28 29 30 30 30 32 34 35 38 39 40 42
Working with Domain Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Analyzing Your Current Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . If You Have Combined Win2K and NT 4.0 BDCs If You Have All Win2K DCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . If You Have All NT 4.0 Domain Controllers . . . . Decision Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Getting to Interim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sidebar: Why Does Interim Mode Exist? . . If You Have No Windows-based Domains . . . . Domain Level Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Domain Functional Level Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Working with Forest Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Windows 2003 Forest Functional Level Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Preparing for the Upgrade
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Using Adprep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Running Adprep /forestprep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Running Adprep /domainprep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Next: Window 2003 AD Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
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Chapter 3 Whats New in Windows 2003 Active Directory Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
New Administration Console Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Drag-and-Drop Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Multiple Select Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saved Queries Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Installation and Initial Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GPMC Basic Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the GPMCs New Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Defining the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Win2Ks Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Windows 2003s Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What a Federation Does and Doesnt Offer Creating Cross-Forest Trusts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 45 46 49 50 50 51 54 54 55 56
Group Policy Management Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
New Forest Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Next: Delegation and Security in Windows 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
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Chapter 4 Inside Windows Server 2003 Forests and DNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Securing Forest Trusts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Cross-Forest Trust Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Authentication Firewall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SID Filtering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DNS Health Checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Windows 2003 DNSLINT . . . . . . . . Conditional Forwarding . . . . . . . . . . . Setting Up Conditional Forwarding . Stub Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating Stub Zones . . . . . . . . . . . Conditional Forwarding vs. Stub-Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 64 69 70 71 72 75 76 79 80
Windows 2003 DNS Additions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Next: Windows 2003 Security Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
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Chapter 5 Windows Server 2003 Security Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Securing the Wire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Shoring Up with SMB Signing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Win98 Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NT 4.0 Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Win95 Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Manipulating the Servers to Not Require SMB Signing Shoring Up with Secure Channel Signing . . . . . . . . . . . Shoring Up with LDAP Signing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shoring Up by Eliminating NTLM and LM . . . . . . . . . . . Enabling NTLMv2 Authentication at the Client . . . . . . . . NTLMv2 for NT 4.0 Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NTLMv2 for Win9x Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Disabling NTLM and LM at the Domain Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 82 83 83 85 86 87 88 89 89 89 90 93
ACL Viewing and Editing Improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Security Principals Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Schema Updates and Modifications
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Next: Backup, Restore, and Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
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Chapter 6 Backup, Restore, and Recovery for Windows Server 2003 and Active Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Using the RC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Deploying EMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 107 111 112 112 113 113 114 115 116 118 Understanding Out-of-Band Management Configuring the SAC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Understanding !SAC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Additional EMS Thoughts . . . . . . . . Performing an AD Backup and Restore . AD Backup Essentials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Performing a System State Backup . . Creating an AD Map . . . . . . . . . . . . AD Nonauthritative Restore . . . . . . . . . . AD Authoritative Restore . . . . . . . . . . . The New Windows 2003 Backup API . .
Enabling ASR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Replicating DCs from Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Next: New Tools and Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
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Chapter 7 Command-Line, Support, and Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Windows 2003 Built-In Command-Line Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Built-In Command-Line Event-Log Tools Eventcreate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eventquery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eventtriggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Built-In AD Management Tools . . . . . . Dsadd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dsadd User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dsquery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dsquery User . . . . . . . . . . . . . Support Tools Installation . . . . AD Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dcdiag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dcdiag with Replication Dcdiag with Dcpromo . Replmon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 125 127 128 129 130 130 131 131 132 135 135 135 136 137 139 139 141 142 142 144
Windows 2003 Support Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Windows 2003 Resource Kit Utilities
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Active Directory Users and Computers Enancement Tools Acctinfo.dll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rcontrolad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Event Manipulation Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Custreasonedit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EventCombMT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Next: Special Domain Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
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Chapter 8 Special Domain Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
FSMO Role Review and Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Knowing Role Holders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dumpfsmos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Replmon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transferring Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Role Transfer Through the GUI . . . . . . . . Role Transfer Through the Command Line Seizing Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 149 149 150 150 151 153
Cleaning Up the AD Metabase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Metabase Clean-Up Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Renaming DCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

DC Rename Through the GUI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 DE Rename Through the Command Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Renaming Domains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Domain Rename A History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 Windows 2003 Domain Rename An Alternative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 Windows 2003 Domain Rename How To . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Final Thoughts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 Thank You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 Dedication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 Contact Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Chapter 1
Windows Server 2003 Whats New

Introduction
If youre downloading this eBook, you probably want to know why you should care about Microsofts latest server OS Windows Server 2003 (Windows 2003). Inside, youll discover which features might be important to you and why. Whether youre a Windows 2000-with-Active Directory (AD) expert or a Windows NT administrator whos been reading all the trade journals about Microsofts new server family this book is for you. To get the most from this eBook, you should have a working knowledge of Win2K and some AD experience. However, if youre new to AD, you can still make good use of the information that you find here. Windows 2003 brings much thats either new or improved to the table. I discuss the new features and improvements in some depth. In addition, I discuss key topics that many Windows texts fail to cover, such as AD backup and recovery. I occasionally compare Windows 2003 to Win2K to illustrate both the similarities and the important new differences between the two server OSs.
n Note
This book differs from several currently available Windows 2003 books in that its based on experience with the actual product not with beta code and outdated screens. The advantage to you is that you wont be missing any late-breaking information.
A Chapter-by-Chapter Roadmap to the Book

To begin, let me give you a chapter-by-chapter roadmap for the book: Chapter 1: Windows Server 2003 Whats New Chapter 1 introduces Windows 2003s notable new non-AD-related features. Youll want to become familiar with what Windows 2003 offers in preparation for the in-depth discussions of Windows 2003 and AD. In addition, knowing these features can help you make a solid business case for deploying Windows 2003. Chapter 2: Whats New in Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Chapter 2 covers the different AD domain and forest modes. You might be familiar with Windows 2000s Mixed and Native modes. Windows 2003 adds a new mode specific to this new server OS. In this chapter, I discuss how to prepare your existing domains for Windows 2003 with AD. Chapter 3: Whats New in Windows Server 2003 Management Chapter 3 introduces some excellent Windows 2003 management features, including new Active Directory Users and Computers features and the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC). I
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Windows 2003: Active Directory Administration Essentials
also review how to use ADs advanced management features to tie together your Windows 2003, Win2K, and NT domains. Chapter 4: Inside Windows Server 2003 Forests and DNS Chapter 4 explores Windows 2003s new cross-forest trusts demonstrating precisely how to control resources via the new Authentication Firewall and SIDFiltering techniques. Additionally, I cover whats new with Windows 2003 DNS: Conditional Forwarding, DNS Stub zones, and the new DNSLint tool. Chapter 5: Windows Server 2003 Security Enhancements Chapter 5 covers client side security with Windows 2003s new required server rules. I'll discuss the new ACL editor and explain how Windows 2003 deals with schema changes and revisions, along with other security enhancements. Chapter 6: Backup, Restore, and Recovery for Windows Server 2003 and Active Directory Chapter 6 discusses Windows 2003 AD backup and restore features, including the ins and outs of resurrecting objects after theyve been deleted. Youll want to know how Windows 2003 addresses this situation. Chapter 7: Command-Line, Support, and Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools Chapter 7 introduces Windows 2003s extensive set of tools. I cover the plethora of commandline tools, support tools, and the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit tools. Chapter 8: Windows Server 2003 Special Domain Operations Chapter 8 reviews a new Windows 2003 domain renaming feature. You can now rename both domain controllers (DCs) and complete domains. Should your organization name change from smallcollege.edu to huge-u.edu, for example, you wont be plagued by the old name remaining in the domain. Windows 2003 offers much thats new and even more thats improved. Over the next several months, Ill cover the key features in bite-sized chunks. So, welcome to Windows 2003 and AD. It wont be long until youre ready to go forth and deploy! Jeremy Moskowitz jeremym@moskowitz-inc.com If you want to contact me with specific Windows 2003 questions, Ill take a shot at answering them or directing you to a solid specific resource. However, I might not be able to research every question in depth.
Windows 2003 Editions

Like the Win2K and NT server OSs, Windows 2003 comes in several sizes. According to Microsoft, you can find a size for every type of business. Win2K offers three servers editions and one client. Windows 2003 offers four server editions and no client that is, the client comes in the form of Windows XP Professional. Table 1.1 presents the different versions of Win2K Server and Windows 2003 and their clients side by side. The two most commonly deployed Windows 2003 server editions will probably be Windows 2003, Standard Edition and Windows 2003, Enterprise Edition. You might well be asked
Chapter 1 Command Shell Scripting Basics
to influence a purchasing decision between the two. Knowing which features each edition offers can help you and your company make the best business decision.
n Note
Windows 2003, Standard Edition might be just the ticket for most businesses day-to-day needs. However, to weigh which server edition might be right for your business, examine the features listed in the following text.
Table 1.1
Win2K and Windows 2003 servers and clients
Windows 2000
Departmental server General use server Mission-critical server One-stop-shop server for all business needs Web server Preferred client Win2K Server Win2K Advanced Server Win2K Datacenter Server Win2K Small Business Server None Win2K and Windows XP work equally well
Windows 2003
Windows 2003, Standard Edition Windows 2003, Enterprise Edition Windows 2003, Datacenter Edition Windows 2003, Small Business Server Edition Windows 2003, Web Edition Windows XP supports extra features and optimization.
I explore the different Windows 2003 server editions to give you an overview of each servers capabilities, beginning with Windows 2003, Standard Edition to establish a baseline. I then list the features common to Windows 2003, Standard Edition, Windows 2003, Enterprise Edition, and Windows 2003, Datacenter Server, before I continue with individual edition overviews.
Windows 2003, Standard Edition

According to Microsoft, Windows 2003, Standard Edition targets departments and small businesses with IT departments for use as a general purpose server. It performs the usual server functions of ensuring that users can access data in all forms (e.g., through file and print services), housing database systems, running complex business processes, and providing a communications gateway, such as a VPN. Windows 2003, Standard Edition can accommodate Four-way Symmetric Multiprocessing (SMP) machines, which means that the Standard Edition servers can contain up to four processors. Windows 2003, Standard Edition can accommodate up to 4GB of memory no matter how many processors you have in the system. Youll enjoy the room.
Tip
Windows 2003 introduces a new feature that if you have enough RAM to support it lets you eliminate your Windows swap file completely. Consider using this feature only if you have enough RAM to do without your swap file completely. In Task Manager, view the Performance tab. Inspect the Commit Charge entry to see if the peak commit is less than the physical memory. If it is, you should be able to eliminate the swap file.
Windows 2003, Standard Edition is the follow-on to Win2K Server. In theory, you can simply pop the Windows 2003, Standard Edition CD-ROM into existing Win2K servers and upgrade them in place. However, note the caution below.
Caution
Only upgrade your Win2K servers to Windows 2003 with a change-management plan.
Features Common to Three Windows 2003 Editions

Now that Ive introduced Windows 2003, Standard Edition, let me briefly review features common to several of the server editions. The Windows 2003, Standard Edition, Windows 2003, Enterprise Edition, and Windows 2003, Datacenter Server Edition servers provide a gaggle of new or updated features. In the following text, I discuss some of these features. Windows 2003, Web Editions features are significantly different, as I point out later in this chapter. (Windows 2003, Small Business Server Edition hasnt yet been released. The server will include many features, such as a built-in version of Exchange. However, specifications arent currently available.)
n Note
I mention the features that Microsoft introduced in the various Win2K Server editions for comparison only.
Active Directory (AD)

Win2K Server brought us AD. Although the first iteration of AD wasnt designated AD 1.0, it sometimes seemed to be missing features. That situation has changed in Windows 2003 with what I call Active Directory 1.1. As was true with Win2K, DCs still house AD components, respond to client authentication requests, and share the AD database. I discuss these basic units of AD and the newest AD features in Chapter 2, Chapter 3, and Chapter 8. Windows 2003 offers too many new AD features to list here.
Network Load Balancing (NLB)

Win2K Server didnt support NLB. However, Windows 2003, Standard Edition supports two-node NLB. Windows 2003, Enterprise Edition and Windows 2003, Datacenter Edition support additional nodes, as youll see where theyre covered individually. (My research indicates that Windows 2003, Web Edition doesnt support NLB.)
Chapter 1 Windows Server 2003 Whats New
Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0

Windows 2003 IIS 6.0 offers improved architecture and improved speed. The increased speed is impressive. The Lockdown Wizard is now included rather than being a downloadable add-on.
Internet Connection Firewall (ICF)

All Windows servers now have a basic stateful Internet firewall, which Figure 1.1 shows. ICF can block or permit traffic by specific traffic type or to specific ports. The big brother of this built-in feature is Microsofts Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2000. Although ICF isnt industrial strength, it performs basic security functions.
Remote Access
Microsoft has improved Windows remote access. Specifically, remote access includes a useful new feature the Network Access Quarantine Control feature that lets you quarantine users. Briefly, heres how the feature works: If client systems dont run software that you specify, such as a service pack or a virus scanner, those client systems are quarantined and cant access your network.
Figure 1.1
The Internet Connection Firewall
Tip
The remote access quarantine is a bit difficult to work with. You can download the complete details at the following URL: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/docs/quarantine.doc
Remote Desktop for Administration (Terminal Services in Remote Administration mode)

Win2K introduced many of us to the world of Terminal Services. Youll recall that Win2K has two modes for Terminal Services Full Terminal Services mode (also called Application server mode) and Terminal Services Administration Mode (also called Remote administration mode). The latter mode let two administrators remotely administer the server as if they were practically standing at the console. With Win2K, you could choose one of the two modes mentioned or choose not to select a terminal services mode. After loading Terminal Services mode, Win2K requires a reboot. In contrast, Windows 2003 by default loads the necessary files for the equivalent of Terminal Services Administration Mode. To finish enabling Terminal Services Administration Mode, you need only select the Remote Desktop check box on the Remote tab of the servers System Properties, which Figure 1.2 shows.
Figure 1.2
Enabling Remote Desktop
Server Event Tracking

Microsoft has tried to ensure that latest server editions are the most reliable ever. In the past, many users shut down and restarted their servers for various reasons, some of them inappropriate. With NT, for example, it might often have made sense to reboot a server on a Saturday night to clear out the memory and prevent server crashes the following week. With Windows 2003, Microsoft
intends to prove to everyone including your management that the servers will stay up until administrators take them down. To that end, Microsoft has included a small reporting window into which administrators can type precisely why they choose to shut down a server. The EventcombMT tool from the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit can parse the logs from all servers and highlight why administrators reboot servers.
n Note
I discuss more Resource Kit tools in Chapter 7: Command-Line, Support, and Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools.
Figure 1.3 shows a Windows 2003 Event tracking Shut Down Windows screen. In the Shutdown Event Tracker Option segment of the dialog box, you can specify by category why youre shutting the server down.
Figure 1.3
Windows 2003 event-tracking Shut Down Windows screen
Figure 1.4 shows the option selected in Figure 1.3, including the comment field that lets you enter more detailed information about why you shut down the server. The record of server shutdowns might be valuable both to you and to Microsoft.
Figure 1.4
Shutdown Event Tracker comment field
You might not want to use the Shutdown Event Tracker. Figure 1.5 shows the policy you use to disable the mechanism. You can enable and disable Shutdown Event Tracker through the Group Policy Object Editor.
Tip
You might find the mechanism for disabling the shutdown event annoying, especially in a testing environment in which machines are rebooted all the time. You might want to turn this feature off for some servers, but certainly not for all. With that in mind, you can use these steps to turn off the Server Event Tracking on a particular server. 1. 2. 3. Click Start, Run, and type in GPEDIT.MSC. Traverse to Computer Settings, System, Display Shutdown Event Tracker. Disable the policy.
Figure 1.5
The Display Shutdown Event Tracker policy
Manage Your Server Wizard

Windows 2003 updates the Manage Your Server Wizard. Even if the Win2K wizards turned you off, give the Windows 2003 wizards a shot. You might still choose to do your day-to-day tasks manually, but know that the Windows 2003 wizards often offer a faster way to accomplish a task. For example, the Manage Your Server Wizard that Figure 1.6 shows lets you easily add or remove a server role.
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Figure 1.6
The Manage Your Server Wizard
Help File
Figure 1.7 shows the Windows 2003 Help file, which youll find highly useful. Microsoft and the entire Online Help team have outdone themselves in the level of detail provided at each turn of the virtual page. I usually click the Index button (circled in the screen shot), then track down what I need instead of relying on the (somewhat slow) Search facility.
Volume Shadow Copy for Shares

In conjunction with an XP client, this feature lets users roll back a data file to a particular point in time or restore a deleted file.
IP Security (IPSec) over NAT

IPSec is a superior way to secure wired communications between any client and server. In the past, the problem has been that if either machine were behind a NAT or NAT-style router or firewall, IPSec didnt work 100 percent. Windows 2003s IPSec over NAT feature can encrypt both the header and payload parts of a packet over NAT. IPSec over NAT is an excellent new feature for servers in DMZs or in other areas that use NAT.
Microsoft .NET Framework

The .NET Framework lets programmers do new magic and much of that new magic will take the form of Web services and IIS. System administrators and AD administrators wont need to use
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or know much about the .NET Framework. Because the framework is already deployed inside the OS, its one less thing you need to address today.
Figure 1.7
The Windows 2003 Help file
Windows 2003, Standard Edition might offer all the server firepower you need to run your business. However, as I explore Windows 2003, Enterprise Edition, youll see that it offers considerably more.
Windows 2003, Enterprise Edition

Windows 2003, Enterprise Edition can accommodate from 1 to 8 processors and up to 32GB of memory. In addition to the general increase in hardware support, you might find support for key features that your business needs. Consider whether your business could benefit now (or might benefit soon) from one of the features listed here.
Tip
If you think you might not use all the Windows 2003, Enterprise Edition features immediately but might use them in the future, its best to invest the dollars up front and get Enterprise Edition today, rather than deploying Windows 2003, Standard Edition. Why? Because you cant upgrade from Windows 2003, Standard Edition to Windows 2003, Enterprise Edition. Choosing wisely at this stage is paramount.
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Windows 2003, Enterprise Edition offers more scalability features than either Windows 2003, Standard Edition or Win2K AS. Clustering has been increased from the four nodes available in Win2K AS to eight nodes. NLB has increased from the four nodes available in Win2K AS to eight nodes. Terminal Services offers a new load-balancing feature in the new Terminal Services Session Directory. The feature provides a front-end NLB that lets clients easily find an available Terminal Server in a Terminal Server farm. Microsoft will support the Microsoft Metadirectory Services (MMS) add-on, a centralized service meant to bridge the gap between disparate directories such as AD and iPlanet. Apparently, Microsoft is designing the Windows 2003 version of MMS for deployment upon Enterprise Edition servers only. Still other Windows 2003, Enterprise Edition features are available only if your hardware can leverage those features. The features listed below require high-end servers. Hot-add memory lets you add memory to a server while its running and allocate that memory to the rest of the server. Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA) is a hardware-specific feature that returns low-level information from the hardware to NUMA-compliant applications. This returned data can fine-tune NUMA-aware applications in real time based on the systems total stress level.
Windows 2003, Datacenter Edition

Windows 2003, Datacenter Edition is Microsofts big-boy OS. Datacenter Edition integrates OEM hardware tightly with Microsoft software to guarantee specific levels of uptime. Because Windows 2003, Datacenter Server is available only from OEMs, it might be the least often deployed of the Windows 2003 servers. Nevertheless, when you see it deployed, youll recognize its tremendous power. Windows 2003, Datacenter Edition supports up to 32 processors and up to 64GB of RAM. The clustering capability equals that of the Windows 2003, Enterprise Edition (eight nodes), which is greater than that of its Win2K Datacenter counterpart (four nodes). The Datacenter Edition adds one special hardware hook hyperthreading support. Hyperthreading lets certain Intel processors perform almost double duty. In fact, the Datacenter Edition server can abstract a single processor and make it appear and work as if it were really two physical processors. On some single-processor hyperthreading systems, Windows appears to be using two processors.
n Note
For more information about the Windows 2003, Datacenter Edition server program, visit the URL below. http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/evaluation/overview/datacenter.mspx
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Windows 2003, Web Edition

Windows 2003, Web Edition is totally new among the Windows server progeny. Microsoft has one short-term goal in selling this server: to compete with Linux at least in the Web services market. Linux is popular among Web systems, and Microsofts Windows 2003, Web Edition is meant to tackle this growing threat head on. Like the Windows 2003, Datacenter Edition, Windows 2003, Web Edition is not for sale through retail channels. To purchase a Windows 2003, Web Edition server, you must work with specific Windows 2003, Web Edition partners (e.g., Hewlett Packard HP, Dell, IBM, NEC, Unisys). Windows 2003, Web Edition isnt as packed with features as other server family members. In fact, you can quickly grasp the nature of this edition by considering what it cant do. Windows 2003, Web Edition cant be a DC (however, it can be a domain member) is limited to 2GB of memory and two processors cant be clustered doesnt support NLB lacks services for Macintosh lacks Windows Media Services lacks Remote Installation Services (RIS) doesnt support 64-bit Itanium-family processors doesnt support Hot-Add memory doesnt support NUMA doesnt support ICF
Windows 2003, Web Edition is both the least costly and the least flexible of the server family. Its single purpose is to serve Web pages.
Tip
You can find more information about Windows 2003 at the following URL: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/evaluation/overview/web.mspx
Windows 2003 32-Bit and 64-Bit Processing

Microsoft plans to revise its Windows 2003 server line for the new 64-bit Itanium processors. In fact, some pieces of the 64-bit puzzle are available today. Clearly, 64-bit computing should jump processing muscle forward much as the change from 16-bit to 32-bit computing jumped it forward several years ago. Microsoft is betting on the Itanium-family of processors, including Itanium 1 and Itanium 2. With that in mind, Table 1.2 shows you what each 64-bit version can handle.
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Table 1.2
Windows 2003 64-bit capabilities
Product Windows 2003, Standard Edition Windows 2003, 64-Bit Enterprise Edition Windows 2003, 64-Bit Datacenter Edition Windows 2003, Web Edition Windows XP Pro, 64-Bit Edition Processors Wont be available in a 64-bit edition. 18 8 64 12 2 (Itanium 1 or Itanium 2) RAM 64GB Maximum 512GB Maximum 2GB Maximum 16 GB
Tip
You can find more information about XP Professional 64-bit edition at the following URL: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/64bit/techinfo/planning/techoverview/default.asp
Windows 2003 Hardware Requirements

Your move to a Windows 2003 installation must start with adequate hardware. Microsoft has published specifications for minimum required hardware, which Table 1.3 shows.
Table 1.3
Minimum hardware requirements for Windows 2003 installations
Standard CPU Type Speed RAM Disk Pentium II 133MHz 128MB 1.5GB Enterprise Pentium II 133MHz 128MB 1.5GB Enterprise 64-Bit Itanium 1 733MHz 128MB 2.0GB Web Pentium II 133MHz 128MB 1.5GB Datacenter Contact a Datacenter vendor for details.
n Note
Although processor speed and processor type arent strictly enforced when you attempt to install, the amount of RAM is. For example, if you dont have 128MB of RAM, you cant load Windows 2003 on a Pentium-class system.
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Real-World Windows 2003 Hardware Requirements

Minimum requirements might work well for a test machine or two, but true production systems require a bit more firepower. Table 1.4 shows my recommended minimum hardware requirements for real-world systems.
Table 1.4
Real-world minimum hardware requirements for Windows 2003 installations
Standard CPU type Speed RAM Disk Pentium 4 2GHz 256MB 1GB 9GB + Storage for data Enterprise Pentium 4 2GHz 256MB 1GB 9GB + Storage for data Enterprise 64-Bit Itanium 1 or Itanium 2 733MHz 256MB 1GB 9GB + Storage for data Web Pentium 4 2GHz 256MB 512MB 9GB + Storage for data Contact a Datacenter vendor for details. Datacenter
Keeping Your System Updated and Secure

Microsoft is packing in Windows 2003 features toward the goal of keeping the network up and running and available to user requests. Windows can go belly up but usually it doesnt just happen. For example, frequently damage occurs when bad drivers are installed despite the OSs attempts to address the problem. Although loading an imperfect driver doesnt always mean curtains for the OS, it can result in the blue screen of death that Microsoft refers to as a bugcheck. If your network experiences problems, you can send a message to Microsoft in several ways. One way is through the new error-reporting mechanism, which Figure 1.8 shows. You can specify that an error report be sent when the Windows OS fails and when other loaded programs fail. You can select those programs through the Choose Programs button that Figure 1.8 shows. As you can see, the default selection involves all Microsoft programs and Windows components. In most environments, you might want to keep error reporting enabled. Im not sure how Microsoft is going to evolve this feature to offer better support; however, I can see the company using it to improve the product or link your error reports with your activation ID so that Microsofts support services can better assist you if you call for support. (Those who are paranoid can disable the error-reporting feature.)
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Figure 1.8
Enabling or disabling error reporting in System Properties
Driver Signing
Driver signing isnt new with Windows 2003, but its a highly useful feature. This feature lets you block drivers that havent undergone Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) testing and signing. The default sets up Driver Signing to warn you when youre about to load an unsigned driver, as Figure 1.9 shows. I recommend that you consider raising the level on all your servers to Block Never install unsigned driver software .
Driver Rollback
Even if a driver that shouldnt have been loaded is loaded, you have another chance to excise it from your system. You can use the Driver Rollback feature that Figure 1.10 shows to roll back the current driver to the most recent previously installed driver.
n Note
The Driver Rollback feature isnt designed to keep histories of all the drivers for a device that youve ever loaded. It remembers only your most recent previously installed driver.
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Figure 1.9
Selecting the Driver Signing level in System Properties
Figure 1.10
Driver Rollback feature in Device Manager
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Automatic Updates
Windows 2003 now allows automatic updating when patches become available between service packs. You can choose between different modes that can help you keep your Windows 2003 servers updated, as Figure 1.11 shows.
Figure 1.11
Configuring Automatic Updates in System Properties
Software Updates with SUS

Despite the capabilities of the Automatic Update feature, the most effective way to manage Microsofts patch updates is to disable the Automatic Update service and set up Microsoft Software Update Services (SUS), which Figure 1.12 shows. Using SUS helps ensure that new Microsoft patches are well integrated into your environment. You can test the patches you want to update in a test lab, then distribute the patches you need to your servers and clients. You could load SUS on a Windows 2003 or Win2K server or DC, then use group policy to distribute instructions to target machines about how to download and install the patches. For more information, see the Windows and .NET Magazine Network Security Administrator article at http://www.secadministrator.com/articles/index.cfm?articleid=37938 or my article at http://www.mcpmag.com/features/article.asp?editorialsid=336
Tip
You can leverage the power of Microsofts free SUS to specify which patches you want to send to your systems. Its a simple task for an Administrator to test the proposed patch offline in the test lab, then select which patches will go to servers and clients. SUS is available for download from Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/64bit/techinfo/planning/techoverview/default.asp
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Figure 1.12
Microsoft SUS
IIS Improvements
Microsoft Internet Information (IIS) Services 6.0 is a wholesale IIS overhaul. In a nutshell, IIS 6.0 is faster more secure easier to administer Did I mention that its faster? IIS 6.0 is so much faster than previous IIS versions that its speed is hard to describe. Why is it faster? Microsoft has moved the HTTP processor from user mode to kernel mode, a move that makes IIS 6.0 dramatically faster. Space constraints keep me from delving into and describing all the IIS 6.0 architecture and security changes. For an in-depth look at the changes, be sure to read Brett Hills Windows & .NET Magazine article IIS Overhauled in Version 6.0, which youll find at the following URL: http://www.winnetmag.com/windowsserver2003/index.cfm?articleid=38285
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IIS Remote Administration Mode

If you want to set up your servers so you can administer them remotely from any Web browser anywhere in the world you can do so by enabling Remote Administration Mode. You must go to Add/Remove Windows Components, then traverse to Application Server, Internet Information Services, World Wide Web Service, and Remote Administration (HTML), as Figure 1.13 shows.
Figure 1.13
Setting Up Remote Administration
When youre ready to use Remote Administration Mode, go to http://<servername >:8089. Youll be prompted for credentials. After youre in, poke around to see what you can do from a Web browser. Figure 1.14 indicates some of what you can accomplish after you set up Remote Administration Mode.
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Figure 1.14
Remote Administration Mode
Tip
You cant load Remote Administration if the target server is a DC.
Should You Deploy?

Now that Windows 2003 is generally available, its certainly worth a look. But how can you decide whether youre ready to deploy it? Youll have to ask yourself some questions about the current state of your network to see whether, after you commit to Windows 2003, the installation will remain an uphill battle. You can begin your assessment by asking yourself these questions: Am I currently running on older hardware? If yes, evaluate your hardware to make sure it wont prohibit the upgrade to Windows 2003. Do I have many custom applications or Web applications? With every new OS release, application incompatibilities can be a problem. With that in mind, youll need to test and retest each custom application if you want it to run on Windows 2003. Moreover, given the dramatic changes Microsoft has made to IIS 6.0, if you have Web applications, you need to ensure that they wont break after you upgrade to IIS 6.0.
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What will deployment cost? Do you have a Microsoft licensing agreement that lets you upgrade to Windows 2003? If so, youll pay only the labor costs of performing the application tests and the upgrade not the software costs. If you dont have a licensing agreement that lets you upgrade to Windows 2003, try to figure out how many licenses youll need. Be especially careful after you introduce your first Windows 2003 DC. Im not an expert on Microsoft licensing, but my understanding is that after you introduce your first Windows 2003 DC, youll need to get current on all your Client Access Licenses (CALs). Definitely check with your Microsoft licensing representative to get the full scoop on the upgrade costs.
Tip
The article at the following URL provides some information about Microsoft licensing: http://www.winnetmag.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=24033
Onward to Windows 2003 AD

In terms of Windows 2003 features, Ive barely scratched the surface. Some of the features Ive described are skin deep but useful. Others offer dramatic improvements over previous capabilities. Yet other features kick in when you use Windows 2003 as an AD DC, as I explore in Chapter 2: Whats New in Windows Server 2003 Active Directory and Chapter 3: Whats New in Windows Server 2003 Management.
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Chapter 2:
Whats New in Windows Server 2003 Active Directory

Introduction
Chapter 1: Windows Server 2003 Whats New introduced some of the many compelling features Windows Server 2003 (Windows 2003) brings to the table. Windows 2003 includes a faster, more secure, and re-architected Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 remote access quarantine through the Network Access Quarantine Control feature server event tracking through Shutdown Event Tracker greater scalability with more processors greater scalability with more cluster nodes You can make a strong case for upgrading to Windows 2003 based on those features alone. If you simply walked around with the Windows 2003 CD-ROM and upgraded all your Windows 2000 member servers, you would have a field day exploring what you can accomplish with the new features. Of course, you wont want to walk around with the CD-ROM and perform those upgrades (youd be likely to get into trouble). Nevertheless, Figure 2.1 shows the first screen youll encounter when the time to upgrade comes.
Figure 2.1
Windows 2003 CD-ROM initial screen
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In my opinion, the real magic of Windows 2003 lies in the new Active Directory (AD)-specific features you gain after you complete your upgrade. This chapter explores what capabilities those features provide and discusses how to prepare to use them.
Working with Domain Levels

To prepare for Windows 2003 AD, you must first ask yourself two questions: Which kinds of domain controllers (DCs) do I have and which kinds of DCs do I want to deploy? The answers to these questions might include Windows NT 4.0 BDCs, Win2K DCs, and Windows 2003 DCs. Youll want to begin by stepping back and analyzing your current network configurations.
Analyzing Your Current Network

Your network might contain all NT 4.0 DCs some Win2K DCs and some NT 4.0 BDCs all Win2K DCs no Windows-based domains (i.e., no network or a non-Windows network such as Banyan or Novell) Each of these situations gives rise to some specific opportunities and concerns. I explore each scenario in the following text.
n Note
Although it makes sense to list the scenario of having all NT 4.0 DCs first (as I did above), I discuss that scenario last. Moving from all NT 4.0 DCs to Windows 2003 has some unique considerations. Nevertheless, those of you who have all NT 4.0 DCs will benefit from reading through the material that precedes the discussion of that particular upgrade.
If You Have Combined Win2K and NT 4.0 BDCs

If you started out with NT 4.0 DCs and introduced a Win2K DC or two, you might remember the process. You had to begin with an NT 4.0 PDC and upgrade it directly into your Win2K Server. You probably made a backup of the PDC, then slipped in the Win2K CD-ROM with your fingers crossed. For 99 percent of the users who approached the upgrade this way, everything went well. For the other 1 percent of the users, the process involved sweaty palms as they rolled back the upgrade and tried to figure out what the problem was. After you completed the PDC upgrade, you had your first Win2K DC. In addition, Win2K advantageously put you directly into whats called Mixed Mode. Now that Im discussing how to analyze your particular scenario, let me remind you how to discover or verify your networks mode. To check your current configurations mode, run Active Directory Domains and Trusts, which Figure 2.2 shows.
Chapter 2 Whats New in Windows Server 2003 Active Directory
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Figure 2.2
Active Directory Domains and Trusts
In the list of domains that appears, select the name of the domain whose mode you want to check and right-click Properties. The domain mode should appear. If you have any NT 4.0 BDCs, youre probably in Mixed Mode, as is the case with Domain B, which Figure 2.3 shows.
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Figure 2.3
Ascertaining a domains mode
Mixed Mode supports both Win2K and pre-Win2K DCs, which means that you can still add and remove NT 4.0 BDCs as needed. This capability is a good thing. You might have legacy applications that require you to keep NT 4.0 BDCs around until you find a Win2K or Windows 2003 solution. Of course, much of the capability that you have with all Win2K DCs is missing in Win2K and NT Mixed Mode. (The next section details which capabilities you add if you make the switch to all Win2K DCs.) However, with the first Win2K DC, you get Group Policy support for Win2K and XP Professional clients IntelliMirror support for Win2K and XP Professional clients domain management capability through either Active Directory Users and Computers (Win2K) or User Manager for Domains (NT 4.0)
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Tip
For an in-depth discussion of Group Policy and IntelliMirror, see my book Windows 2000: Group Policy, Profiles, and IntelliMirror. You can find information about the book at the URL below. http://www.sybex.com/sybexbooks.nsf/2604971535a28b098825693d0053081b /d15f21a26eaeed8588256bca0062a12f!OpenDocument&Highlight=0,moskowitz
The promised land, as far as Win2K is concerned, is to get rid of all your NT 4.0 BDCs and have homogeneous Win2K DCs. Interestingly, new Windows 2003 domains are born into Win2K Mixed Mode. You can see Domain As initial mode Win2Ks Mixed Mode in the Windows 2003 domains Active Directory Domains and Trusts screen, which Figure 2.4 shows.
Figure 2.4
A new Windows 2003 domains initial mode
Therefore, if you build a new Windows 2003 domain from scratch, you could still, if you wanted to, introduce additional NT 4.0 BDCs. This capability might be helpful should you have legacy applications, such as a specialized account lookup program or a specialized piece of remote access equipment, that must reside on a BDC.
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If You Have All Win2K DCs s

After you leave the last NT 4.0 BDC in the dust, you can make the switch toWin2Ks Native Mode, which introduces additional useful features. Universal Group support This feature lets you assign groups from any domain to any other domain if the domains are in the same forest. Total Win2K-style replication Without any NT LAN Manager (NTLM)-style replication to BDCs and with all your Win2K DCs using native AD replication, the replication process will now be more efficient. Additional capacity for security principals Additional capacity lets you grow the database that holds users past the SAMs restriction of about 40MB. (Youre still restricted even with one NT 4.0 BDC.) If you need this greater capacity, you know it! SidHistory This feature lets a single account have multiple SIDs. (This capability is useful if you perform an NT 4.0-to-Win2K or an NT 4.0-to-Windows 2003 migration. Users might need to show alternate credentials to access data in their old domain.) Advanced Group nesting You can now use multiple levels of nesting between different group types. Additionally, you can change the scope of domain local groups to domain global groups by clicking one button. To make the switch to Native Mode on a Win2K domain, just click Change Mode, which Figure 2.3 shows. Youll be asked to confirm that you want to change the mode. If you answer Yes, the Domain operation mode changes with little fanfare, as Figure 2.5 shows.
Figure 2.5
Changing the domains operation mode to Native Mode
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Your Win2K domain is now in Win2K Native Mode, which lets you add Windows 2003 as well as Win2K DCs. Keep in mind, however, that Windows 2003 in Win2K Native Mode doesnt allow NT 4.0 BDCs.
Caution
When you make the switch to Win2K Native Mode, you effectively abandon any remaining NT 4.0 BDCs. They wont receive updates from your Win2K domain. If you dont disconnect the NT BDCs, they might introduce network errors (e.g., they might validate deleted users access to your network).
If You Have All NT 4.0 Domain Controllers

Now we can discuss a unique case: You have all 4.0 NT DCs and youre considering switching directly to Windows 2003. Youre not required to first upgrade your NT 4.0 domain (and therefore your NT 4.0 BDCs) to Win2K DCs before you move to Windows 2003. What do you need to know as you consider whether to skip the step of having Win2K DCs? First, if you have all NT 4.0 DCs, you can still upgrade any NT 4.0 member server to either Win2K or Windows 2003. You might choose an upgrade for servers such as your SQL servers, Systems Management Server (SMS) servers, IIS servers, and Oracle servers. If you dont have any Win2K or Windows 2003 DCs, youll encounter NT 4.0s inherent limitations, which include a SAM size restricted to about 40MB no Group Policy no IntelliMirror capability a single point of failure (If the PDC goes down, no users or administrators can update account information or change passwords.) the old replication model (BDCs pull from PDCs at scheduled intervals.) the need to reformat a BDC to remove its role as a DC
n Note
A third-party tool, such as Algin Technologys U-Promote, can in most cases help you promote or remove an NT 4.0 BDCs DC status, leaving it a plain server. As with any tool, use U-Promote only if you have current backups on hand.
Tip
You can upgrade an NT 4.0 Server to either Windows 2003, Standard Edition or Windows 2003, Enterprise Edition. However, you can upgrade NT 4.0 Server, Enterprise Edition only to Windows 2003, Enterprise Edition.
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Decision Point At this point, if youre running all NT 4.0 DCs, youre ready to decide whether to bypass the Win2K DC step completely. You know that you can jump from NT 4.0 straight into Windows 2003 but what else should you consider? If you know that Win2K DCs wont ever and I mean ever be involved in your journey to Windows 2003 AD, you can take advantage of a special domain mode, Interim Mode. Interim Mode is useful in the unique scenario comprised of NT 4.0 BDCs and Windows 2003 DCs no Win2K DCs allowed.
Caution
Interim Mode works only with NT 4.0 BDCs and Windows 2003 DCs.
Getting to Interim Mode If you currently have 100 percent NT DCs and want to introduce your first Windows 2003 DC, how do you move into Interim Mode? You select it when you use the Active Directory Installation Wizard to upgrade an NT 4.0 domains PDC. You choose the forest functional level for forests that wont contain Win2K DCs, as Figure 2.6 shows.
Why Does Interim Mode Exist?

Interim Mode compensates for a specific limitation of both Win2K Mixed Mode and Win2K Native Mode (one that doesnt occur with either NT domains or the Windows 2003 equivalent of Native Mode). The problem lies in group account memberships. NT 4.0 domains let you maintain more than 5000 members in a security group for example, in a Domain Global Group. However, after youve introduced Win2K DCs, the group account membership situation changes because Win2K DCs cant handle more than 5000 members in a group. Windows 2003, on the other hand, can handle more than 5000 members in a group just as NT can. Therefore, you can combine NT 4.0 BDCs and Windows 2003 DCs and use Interim Mode. Interim Mode also provides better replication specifically between other Windows 2003 DCs.
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Figure 2.6
Choosing Interim Mode
n Note
The Active Directory Installation Wizard dialog box is titled Forest Functional Level. I discuss Forest Functional Levels later in this chapter. If you select Windows Server 2003 interim here, youre also changing the domain level to Windows 2003 Interim domain level.
When you upgrade an NT 4.0 PDC (to upgrade your NT 4.0 domain), Dcpromo will run automatically. As you can see above, the text lets you know that the setting is right for you only if youll never have Win2K DCs. Also, notice the statement in the lower left-hand corner of the dialog box: Note: both options allow the forest to have Windows NT 4.0 domain controllers. In fact, you can include NT 4.0 BDCs until you make the switch to Win2K Native Mode or the Windows 2003 equivalent (described below). After the upgrade is complete, you can see Interim Mode again, in Windows 2003s Active Directory Users and Trusts, which Figure 2.7 shows.
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Figure 2.7
DOMAINC upgraded to Interim Mode
If You Have No Windows-based Domains

If you have no Windows-based domains whatsoever (i.e., in the case of a fresh Windows 2003 domain installation), youll probably start with 100 percent Windows 2003 DCs. In that case, you would bring up your first Windows 2003 Server, run Dcpromo, and create your first domain. Assuming you wont need any NT 4.0 BDCs or Win2K DCs, you can get all the benefits of a homogeneous domain with Windows 2003 DCs at Windows 2003s domain functional level. First, however, because you create a Windows 2003 domain as a Win2K Mixed Mode domain, youll need to bump up the domains functional level. You raise the level through Active Directory Domains and Trusts by right-clicking the domain name and selecting Raise Domain Functional Level, which Figure 2.8 shows.
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Figure 2.8
Raising a domains functional level
Next, you can select the functional level you want to support, as Figure 2.9 shows. Your choices are to support a domain with Win2K DCs and Windows 2003 DCs or a domain with 100 percent Windows 2003 DCs.
Figure 2.9
Selecting an available domain functional level
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Select the domain functional level you want, then click Raise. You can bump one level to Windows 2000 native or two levels to Windows Server 2003.
Caution
Raising the level is irreversible. That is, if you select Windows 2000 native, you cant go back to Windows 2000 mixed. If you select Windows Server 2003, you cant go back to either Windows 2000 native or Windows 2000 mixed.
After a domain is at Windows 2003s domain functional level, you get the following major additional features. InetOrgPerson becomes a user principal (I discuss this feature in Chapter 5: Windows Server 2003 Security Enhancements). Update logon timestamp: This feature lets administrators easily determine when a specific user logged on and to which DC. Youll find this information helpful for auditing purposes. I discuss this feature and a tool that helps you examine the attribute involved in Chapter 7: Command Line, Support Tools, and Resource Kit Tools. Domain rename feature (I discuss this feature in Chapter 8: Special Domain Operations).
Domain Level Review

You might find the different domain levels a little confusing. Table 2.1 offers a quick summary of Win2K and Windows 2003 domain levels.
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Table 2.1
Win2K and Windows 2003 domain levels
Mode or Functional Level Win2K Mixed Mode Machines Allowed Win2K DCs, Windows 2003 DCs, and NT 4.0 BDCs
When useful When you have an application on an NT BDC on which your business depends
Features Group Policy and IntelliMirror for Win2K Professional and XP Professional clients
Notes Both Win2K and Windows 2003 domains are created in Mixed Mode. NT 4.0 BDCs can participate in Win2K Mixed Mode. NT 4.0 BDCs are excluded from this mode.
Win2K Native Mode
Win2K DCs and Windows 2003 DCs
When you have a new Win2K domain, a new Windows 2003 domain, or a Win2K domain with new Windows 2003 DCs When youre upgrading an NT 4.0 domain and have NT 4.0 BDCs
Universal Group Support, SidHistory, SAM limit gone replaced by 100 percent Win2K-style replication Group size of 5000+ users, enhanced Windows 2003 replication to other Windows 2003 DCs
Windows 2003 Interim Level
Windows 2003 DCs and NT 4.0 BDCs
You can choose this mode only if youre upgrading an NT 4.0 PDC with a Windows 2003 CD-ROM. Win2K DCs are excluded from this mode. Win2K DCs and NT 4.0 BDCs are excluded from this mode.
Windows 2003 Functional Level
Windows 2003 DCs
When youre creating 100 percent new Windows 2003 domains without any older DC types
See the text below
Domain Functional Level Diagram

Understanding precisely when you can progress to each domain level can be a bit daunting. The graphic in Figure 2.10 should help guide you whether you have an NT 4.0 domain, a Win2K domain, or a Windows 2003 domain.
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Figure 2.10
Upgrading from NT 4.0 or Win2K to Windows 2003
Windows NT 4.0 Domain
Upgraded NT 4.0 to Windows 2000 domain
New Windows 2003 domain
Windows 2000 Mixed Mode Domain
Windows 2000 Native Mode Domain
Windows 2000 to Windows 2003 domain upgrade Upgraded Windows NT 4.0 to Windows 2003 domain New (option 2) Windows 2003 domain Upgraded Windows NT 4.0 to Windows 2003 domain (option 1)
Windows 2000 to Windows 2003 domain upgrade
Windows 2000 Mixed Mode Domain
Windows 2000 Native Mode Domain
Windows 2003 Functional Level
Windows 2003 Interim Mode Domain
Caution
Let me remind you once more that domain upgrades arent reversible. If you select Win2Ks Native Mode, you cant go back to Win2Ks Mixed Mode. If you select Windows 2003s Interim Level or Windows 2003s Functional Level, you cant go back to either Win2Ks Native Mode or Win2Ks Mixed Mode.
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Working with Forest Levels

In the previous section, you saw that a Win2K domain and a Windows 2003 domain could each have its own domain-wide level. The same is true for a Windows 2003 forest. You create a new Windows 2003 forest at Win2Ks forest functional level.
Tip
Interestingly, a Win2K forest just is no distinction is made between particular modes. Only Windows 2003 forests make a distinction between Win2Ks forest functional level and Windows 2003s forest functional level.
However, to get to the best features that Windows 2003 AD offers, you must first reach Windows 2003s forest functional level. To do so, you must ensure that all DCs are Windows 2003 all domains are switched to Windows 2003s domain functional level After youve completed that preparation, you can take it one step further. That is, you can throw the switch to bring the entire forest to Windows 2003s forest functional level the Holy Grail of Windows 2003 AD. To raise the forest level, right-click the Active Directory Domains and Trusts root and select Raise Forest Functional Level, which Figure 2.11 shows.
Figure 2.11
Raising the forest functional level
After youve selected Raise Forest Functional Level, youll see the current functional level of the forest, which Figure 2.12 shows. That level should be Windows 2000. If you run Win2K, Windows Server 2003 will be the only functional level available.
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Figure 2.12
Selecting Windows 2003s forest functional level
If you chose to perform an NT 4.0 upgrade into an Interim level domain and forest, you have two options: Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003. Note, however, that youll need to throw Windows 2003s domain functional level switch in each domain before Windows 2003s forest functional level is valid. Simply click Raise on the domain functional level you want, and youre done.
Caution
As is true in raising a domains level, after you raise a forests level, you cant reverse the move. That is, if you start with Win2Ks forest functional level and you select Windows 2003s forest functional level, you cant go back to Win2Ks forest functional level.
Windows 2003 Forest Functional Level Features

After you make the irreversible move to Windows 2003s forest functional level, you get a gaggle of new Windows 2003 AD features. Some features are under-the-hood enhancements, and others are features you can deploy to solve specific business problems. Here are some enhancements you get under the hood with Windows 2003s forest functional level: Linked Value Replication (LVR) improvements Under Win2K, you encountered a problem in replicating the membership of group accounts. If Stacey in the USA and Ralph in Great Britain modified the Nurses group membership at about the same time (a user initiated a second change before the replication function completed the first change), you could only guess which change would win in AD. Now those changes merge successfully.
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Global Catalog (GC) indexing improvements Under Win2K, if you wanted to manually add a value to be contained inside the GC server (e.g., social security number), you could do so. , each GC would essentially dump its index and start re-indexing, which could cause massive network traffic among the DCs. Global Catalog servers now retain their indexes when a new attribute is added; the index adds only the change. Intersite Topology Generator (ISTG) improvements Under Win2K, you faced a practical limit. At some point between 200 and 250 AD sites, you had to perform some special magic to add more sites. Oftentimes, adding more sites involved consultants and was expensive. Now, you can have literally thousands of AD sites without the system even breaking a sweat. Here are some additional major features that Windows 2003s forest functional level offers: Domain rename feature This feature sounds straightforward and self-explanatory; however, using the feature requires some background, as I explore in Chapter 8: Special Domain Operations. Cross-Forest Trust If your forest is at Windows 2003s forest functional level and another company (or an unrelated organizational segment of your company) also has a Windows 2003s forest functional level forest, you can minimize the potential number of trusts by creating one cross-forest trust. I explore cross-forest trusts in Chapter 3: Whats New in Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Management. Defunct Schema Object In Win2K, if you had a schema addition and wanted to make a change, you had exactly zero options to fix the problem. Windows 2003s forest functional level changes the score a bit. I explore this feature in the next chapter as well.
Preparing for the Upgrade

If you currently have a Win2K forest with one or more Win2K domains, youll probably want to upgrade them to Windows 2003 domains in a Windows 2003 forest. Ive reviewed the domain and forest levels; now its time to discuss preparing for the upgrade. When you have Win2K domains, you use the Win2K schema. To use Windows 2003 domains, you must upgrade to the Windows 2003 schema. To upgrade your existing Win2K domains to Windows 2003 domains, youll first need to have the right tool which youll then run several times. That tool is Active Directory Prep (Adprep). Youll find Adprep.exe on the \i386 directory of the Windows 2003 CD-ROM. You can choose to run Adprep directly from the CD-ROM or copy it to a network share or floppy.
Using Adprep
Adpreps purpose is to upgrade the schema to Windows 2003 levels and give it a new revision number. Youll need to run Adprep multiple times: Run Adprep /forestprep one time on the schema master of the root domain of the Win2K forest Run Adprep /domainprep one time for each domain on the infrastucture master of each domain For example, if you have four domains, youll run Adprep five times: once for the forest and once for each domain, as Figure 2.13 shows.
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Figure 2.13
Running Adprep
corp.com
europe.corp.com KEY Run ADPREP /Domainprep on infrastructure master of each domain Run ADPREP /Forestprep on the schema master of the forest buffalo.na.corp.com
na.corp.com
Running Adprep /forestprep

To prepare the Win2K forest, you must run Adprep /forestprep on the schema master of the forest. Make sure that you have the proper service pack level loaded (see the Caution below).
Caution
You should have at least Win2K Service Pack 2 (SP2) loaded on all DCs before you continue. Win2K SP3 is preferred. You can proceed, however, with even SP1 (plus hotfixes).
Pop the Windows 2003 CD-ROM into the schema master, and run Adprep /forestprep. When you do, youll see Adprep update the schema incrementally from Version 13 of Win2K to Version 30 of Windows 2003, as the output in Listing 2.1 shows.
Tip
If your schema starts at a number greater than 14, someone might have already performed this step with a Windows 2003 beta or release candidate (RC).
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Listing 2.1
Output from Adprep schema update
X:\I386>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). [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 ENTER to quit. Opened Connection to SERVERB SSPI Bind succeeded Current Schema Version is 13 Upgrading schema to version 30 Connecting to SERVERB Logging in as current user using SSPI Importing directory from file C:\WINNT\System32\sch14.ldf Loading entries................................. 111 entries modified successfully. [some output removed for readability] The command has completed successfully Connecting to SERVERB Logging in as current user using SSPI Importing directory from file C:\WINNT\System32\sch29.ldf Loading entries................................. 6 entries modified successfully. The command has completed successfully Connecting to SERVERB Logging in as current user using SSPI Importing directory from file C:\WINNT\System32\sch30.ldf Loading entries................ 15 entries modified successfully. The command has completed successfully ........................................... Adprep successfully updated the forest-wide information. X:\I386>
Running Adprep /domainprep

Youre now ready to run Adprep /domainprep. Microsoft recommends that you run the tool on each domains infrastructure master. You should see the output that Figure 2.14 shows.
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Figure 2.14
Adprep /domainprep output
Youre now ready to upgrade your Win2K domain to Windows 2003. You can start with the recommended upgrade method: that is, begin with the PDC of the root domain, then upgrade each PDC in each domain. On the other hand, you could actually choose a Win2K DC and start your upgrade there.
Next: Window 2003 AD Management

In this chapter, Ive reviewed the differences between NT, Win2K, and Windows 2003 especially regarding AD domain and forest levels and the functions that each level provides. In Chapter 3: Whats New in Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Management, youll see what you can achieve after the upgrade. As I continue, Ill assume that youre working in Windows 2003s full forest functional mode. To prepare, take the steps that this chapter outlined in your test lab. Ill introduce the new administration console and administration features, discuss cross-forest trusts, and begin to explore some of the management features that Windows 2003 AD offers. I hope youre riveted to your seat awaiting the next chapter!
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Chapter 3:
Whats New in Windows 2003 Active Directory Management

In Chapter 2, I discussed the ins and outs of the compatibilities between Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows Server 2003 (Windows 2003). I explored several domain modes in both Win2K and Windows 2003 and several forest levels in Windows 2003. In this chapter, I review some of Windows 2003s key new features, including the additional functionality in the Active Directory Users and Computers console, the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC), and the ability to set up forest trusts. Some features dont require Windows 2003s domain functional level or Windows 2003s forest functional level; others do. I point out where and when you can use specific features.
New Administration Console Features

As soon as you load your first Windows 2003 domain controller (DC), youre armed with the latest set of administration tools. In Win2K, the key management tool for Active Directory (AD) has been the Active Directory Users and Computers console. Updated with several useful features, the console remains your main tool. You can ensure youre running the Windows 2003 version of the Active Directory Users and Computers by using Help, About. The About Active Directory Users and Computers dialog box should display version is 5.2.x, as Figure 3.1 shows. (The version will probably change as Microsoft introduces Windows 2003 service packs.)
Figure 3.1
Checking the Active Directory Users and Computers version
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Drag-and-Drop Function
One of the most requested features for this version of Windows was a drag-and-drop function within Active Directory Users and Computers. In Win2Ks version of the Active Directory Users and Computers tool, you could move objects around the AD only by right-clicking them, selecting Move, and selecting the destination. This option is still available in Windows 2003, as Figure 3.2 shows.
Figure 3.2
Moving objects through Active Directory Users and Computers
However, with Windows 2003, you now have the requested additional option. You can simply drag a user account or multiple user accounts from one folder or organizational unit (OU) to another folder or OU.
n Note
In Windows 2003s Active Directory Users and Computers, you can still move items by rightclicking and selecting Move rather than by using the new drag-and-drop feature.
Tip
I continue to use the Win2K-style method of right-clicking and moving the objects rather than dragging them. I fear moving an entire group of users or an OU from one corner of AD to another inadvertently. Continuing to right-click and move my items is a bit slower, but doing so reassures me that Ive made a deliberate move.
Chapter 3 Whats New in Windows 2003 Active Directory Management
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Multiple Select Function

The next-most-requested feature for Windows 2003 also involves the Active Directory Users and Computers console. That is, the ability to select multiple items within Active Directory Users and Computers (e.g., 10 users) and change some element of all the items information (e.g., changing all the users business addresses to a different location). To make such a change in AD previously, you had to either individually plunk the information into each users account or write an AD-enabled script, such as a Visual Basic (VB) script, to zip through each account you wanted to change and add the data. Neither approach was appealing. Active Directory Users and Computers new functionality makes some formerly difficult tasks, including this one, easy. To try this feature, simply hold down the shift key and select multiple accounts, right-click after youve selected the last account, and select Properties. Youll then see a special Properties On Multiple Objects dialog box, which Figure 3.3 shows.
Figure 3.3
Selecting multiple users in Active Directory Users and Computers
46
As Figure 3.3 shows, the Properties On Multiple Objects dialog box reminds you that you have multiple users selected. You click the tab that contains the information you want to change, then select the check box for the information youre modifying (e.g., address, account expiration date). Figure 3.4 shows the available tabs and the Logon Hours dialog box that appears if you select to change users logon hours.
Figure 3.4
Changing properties for multiple objects at once
When you click OK, you leave intact all the current information each account contains but replace the information you entered after selecting the appropriate check box. The new multipleselect capability of Active Directory Users and Computers is a great time-saver.
Saved Queries Function

One common problem with Win2Ks Active Directory Users and Computers has been that the console wasnt meant to perform repetitive tasks. For example, you might want to locate all users who met certain criteria within a specific OU or across the entire domain. In Win2K, if you wanted to locate all users whose accounts were in the Sales OU who hadnt logged on in the past 30 days, for example, you faced a difficult task. Typically, youd have to hand-craft an Active Directory Service Interfaces (ADSI) script through VBScript to perform this search. Windows 2003s Active Directory Users and Computers makes short work of this once-tedious task with a new feature called Saved Queries. For this example, lets find everyone in the Sales OU with user in his or her name. You can create and save new queries by right-clicking the Saved Queries folder and selecting New, then Query. Name your query and begin to select the criteria for your search by clicking Define Query.
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Locate and select the category of AD object category for your search, such as Users or Printers. Figure 3.5 shows how you create a custom search.
Figure 3.5
Search options for locating objects in AD
When you find the category you want to search, select it, and fill in the matching criteria. Figure 3.6 displays the query to find all users with the word user in the name field.
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Figure 3.6
Query to find users with the word user in the name
When the search has completed, you can immediately access the results. Figure 3.7 shows the list of users with the word user in the name field.
Figure 3.7
Displayed results of a saved query
Youll find the ability to create and save new queries useful. With this feature, Windows 2003s Active Directory Users and Computers has taken a practical step forward.
Group Policy Management Console

In addition to the enhanced Active Directory Users and Computers console, another major management advancement comes as a free download from Microsoft. The GPMC is an add-on for Windows 2003 and Windows XP Professional. The GPMCs goal is to provide an enhanced view of and better management features for Group Policy.
49
n Note
You can download the GPMC from Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=f39e9d60-7e41-4947-82f53330f37adfeb&displaylang=en
In Win2K (and in Windows 2003 without the GPMC loaded), you need to know where each Group Policy is maintained in relation to each domain and OU and sometimes in relation to each AD site. The complexity of what you need to know can make managing Group Policy confusing. The GPMC strives to provide a Group Policy-centric view of the environment a birds-eye view of Group Policy Objects (GPOs).
Installation and Initial Use

Installation is pretty routine. Simply download the Windows Installer (.msi) file from Microsoft and place it where you want to perform your Group Policy management. For this example, Ive loaded it on my Windows 2003 server. After youve loaded the GPMC, you can start the console a couple of ways. Loading the GPMC effectively disables the former way of manipulating Group Policy. If you attempt to manipulate GPOs in the usual Win2K fashion, a dialog box offers you only one choice to click Open and launch the console, as Figure 3.8 shows.
Figure 3.8
Manipulating GPOs after the GPMC is loaded
Alternatively, you can use an icon to launch the GPMC. An icon titled Group Policy Management appears automatically when you select Start, Programs, Administrative Tools.
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GPMC Basic Use

One benefit of the GPMC is that you can see all your GPOs at once. Simply expand the tree to find your forests, domains, and OUs. Youll also see a special folder called Group Policy Objects, which Figure 3.9 shows.
Figure 3.9
The GPMCs Group Policy-centric view
You create new GPOs through the GPMC. After you create a GPO, you can edit it by rightclicking it and selecting Edit. Doing so launches the Group Policy Editor, which you can then use to set the policies you want to implement.
The GPMCs New Functions

You might be asking yourself why you would want to switch to another tool to do things you already accomplish another way. The GPMC brings a lot more functionality than youll find in the base Windows 2003 product. The new GPMC features you should explore and evaluate include backup and recovery of GPOs. This much-needed feature simplifies what was previously a highly laborious task. increased reporting. Now you can get HTML-based reports that show the settings inside a GPO. Resultant Set of Policy modeling. This modeling feature lets you determine what policies a user will be assigned if he or she moves, for example, from one OU to another OU. This modeling capability works only if you're connected to a Windows 2003 DC in the domain in which you're trying to perform the modeling. The GPMC is packed with features that you wont want to miss. I cant review every feature, so be sure to download the GPMC and see what it has to offer. I think youll be pleasantly surprised.
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n Note
Ill fully explore the GPMC in the upcoming revision of Windows 2000: Group Policy, Profiles and IntelliMirror titled Windows Server: Group Policy, Profiles and IntelliMirror. For information about the current edition and about the revision as soon as its available, go to http://www.sybex.com/sybexbooks.nsf/2604971535a28b098825693d0053081b /d15f21a26eaeed8588256bca0062a12f!OpenDocument&Highlight=0,moskowitz
New Forest Options

Win2K has been missing something that our friends in the Novell world have: the ability to prune and graft portions of the directory service. Although Windows 2003 doesnt introduce pruning and grafting, it does offer one new patch that solves part of the problem.
Defining the Problem

In Win2K, you could upgrade an NT 4.0 domain into a current Win2K forest. For example, if you had already established your Win2K forest and wanted to add an NT 4.0 domain, it was quite easy. Take the example of the Corp.com Win2K tree and the currently uninvolved NT 4.0 Sales domain, which Figure 3.10 shows.
Figure 3.10
An NT 4.0 domain not yet in an existing Win2K domain
corp.com SALES
europe.corp.com
You can upgrade the Sales PDC, instruct it to join an existing forest, and simply choose which domain you want to be the parent. Figure 3.11 and Figure 3.12 show possible upgrade options. Figure 3.11 shows the Sales domain becoming Sales.corp.com, a child of Corp.com.
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Figure 3.11
Option 1 Sales becomes Sales.corp.com, a child of Corp.com
corp.com
europe.corp.com
sales.corp.com upgraded NT 4.0 domain; maintains old NetBIOS name of SALES
Figure 3.12 shows another upgrade option for the NT 4.0 Sales domain. The Sales domain becomes Sales.europe.corp.com, a child of the Europe.corp.com domain.
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Figure 3.12
Option 2 Sales becomes Sales.europe.corp.com, a child of Europe.corp.com
corp.com
europe.corp.com
sales.europe.corp.com upgraded NT 4.0 domain; maintains old NetBIOS name of SALES
These two NT 4.0 domain upgrade options are useful, but they go only so far. Specifically, what happens if you already have two Win2K domain trees and no longer have any NT 4.0 domains? Such a scenario is quite prevalent in many corporations (e.g., when a merger has occurred). Someone has already performed the NT 4.0-to-Win2K upgrade in a domain without choosing a Win2K parent. Later, an administrator wants to place that upgraded (now Win2K) domain (or domain tree) in an existing forest. In Win2K, you cant just join two existing Win2K domains or domain trees together. Lets look again at the diagram in Figure 3.10. Imagine that the NT 4.0 Sales domain has been upgraded to Win2K without a parent domain having been chosen. The resulting situation would resemble the scenario that Figure 3.13 represents.
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Figure 3.13
Two Win2K domains that cant simply be joined
corp.com
sales.jeremyco.com upgraded NT 4.0 domain; maintains old NetBIOS name of SALES
europe.corp.com
Forest corp.com
Forest sales. jeremyco.com
Win2Ks Solution
The Win2K method for working around the inability to prune and graft isnt pretty. You set up external trust relationships between the unrelated domains. The external trusts work exactly like NT 4.0 trusts. However, like NT 4.0 trusts, the mechanism uses NT LAN Manager (NTLM) authentication, which means the connection isnt very secure. Additionally, every time you want a new domain in either forest to be able to share information with other domains, you must create another trust relationship manually. An external trust lets you share basic account information through the trust in the same way that NT 4.0 domains let you share such information. For example, after an external trust is put in place, you can apply NTFS permissions in one domain that also restrict users from another domain.
Windows 2003s Solution

Windows 2003 brings a new concept to the table: forest trusts. Cross-forest trusts let you loosely tie together two (or more) unrelated forests. You tie the forests together at each forests root domain. Figure 3.14 shows an example of three unrelated forests tied together with cross-forest trusts.
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n Note
In Windows 2003, forests have names just as domains have names. The forest has the same name as the root of the domain of that forest, as Figure 3.14 shows.
Figure 3.14
Cross-forest trusts
Cross Forest Trust #1 Cross Forest Trust #2
corp.com
bigu.edu
europe.corp.com
Forest corp.com
Forest sales. jeremyco.com
science.bigu.edu Forest bigu.edu
registrar.bigu.edu
When you tie multiple forests together with cross-forest trusts, the resulting set of relationships has a special name. Its called a federation of forests.
What a Federation Does and Doesnt Offer

Cross-forest trusts bring something to the table that Win2K external trusts cant offer: Kerberos-based authentication between forests. Because the trust is 100 percent Kerberos-based, it can leverage how AD works in ways that NT 4.0 could not. With the ability to leverage AD, administrators and users get some big benefits. Administrators no longer need to worry about manually creating a new trust between established domains and a new domain should a new domain pop up. Because the new domain is automatically trusted, no new trusts are necessary. Users also get a benefit that is, they can log on from any domain in any forest. However, users must know their user principal name (UPN) to log on if they travel to any domain located beneath one of the roots, as the following examples demonstrate. If Fred from Corp.com traveled to the Domain sales.jeremyco.com, he should be able to see Corp.com in the drop-down box. This option is available because Fred is logging on from a domain thats one of the root domains.
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However, if a user in Registrar.bigu.edu traveled to Europe and wanted to log in at a machine in Europe.corp.com, he would have to use his UPN logon name, joe@registrar.bigu.edu, to log on successfully. He couldnt use his usual method of picking his home domain from the Ctrl+Alt+Del drop-down box when he logged on. It simply doesnt appear. Therefore, I recommend that users become familiar with their UPN logon names so they can log on from wherever they are.
Caution
Training your users to use the UPN-style logon could be an uphill battle if theyre used to the ease of a drop-down box.
Administrators face a similar situation. That is, if administrators want to set ACL permissions on users across the cross-forest trust, the administrators must know the full UPN name of any accounts they want to manipulate. This shortcoming could make cross-forest trusts a bit annoying.
n Note
To learn more about UPN logon names, go to http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;243280 or to http://www.winnetmag.com/WindowsServer2003/Index.cfm?ArticleID=38280.
Creating Cross-Forest Trusts

To create cross-forest trusts (and then a federation of forests), you must first make sure that the forests are at Windows 2003s forest functional level. As you recall, Windows 2003s forest functional level means that you have no NT 4.0 or Win2K DCs youve pulled the switch in each domain to ensure that its in Windows 2003s domain functional mode youve also pulled the switch in the forest to ensure that its at Windows 2003s forest functional level If every forest that you want to federate is at Windows 2003s forest functional level, youre ready to continue. In the following example, I create a cross-forest trust between a forest that contains Domaina.com and a forest that contains Corp.Com.
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Tip
You can perform the work from whichever domain you choose, as long as its from the root of one of the forests.
Begin by running Active Directory Domains and Trusts. Then, for the domain from which youre working, select the domains Properties, click the Trusts tab, and select New Trust. Selecting New Trust launches the New Trust Wizard, as Figure 3.15 shows. You use the New Trust Wizard to create all sorts of trusts, including cross-forest trusts.
Figure 3.15
The New Trust Wizard
You can now design your cross-forest trust, which you can set up as a one-way or two-way trust. Be prepared for multiple wizard pages. Although I wont explore all of the pages here, Ill review highlights and examine the results of some choices you make.
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After the splash screen, the wizard displays the Trust Type page, which Figure 3.16 shows. You can select to set up a traditional NTLM External trust or a Kerberos Forest trust (i.e., a cross-forest trust). If you choose the NTLM External trust, the work you do here will be between just two specific domains and wont span the entirety of forests. It will be precisely the same as an NT-style trust, and you wont have any trust transitivity. (Kerberos supports transitive trusts. That is, if Domain A trusts Domain B and Domain B trusts Domain C, Domain A trusts Domain C.)
Figure 3.16
Selecting trust type
Next, the wizard displays the Direction of Trust screen, which Figure 3.17 shows. As its title indicates, on this screen you select the direction of the trust. The trust can be inbound to your forest or inbound to the other forest or the trust can work both ways. You might choose to make the trust one way to share resources in one direction only. For example, you might have file servers in Forest A that Forest B must be able to access. However, Forest B might not need access to file servers in Forest A. In those circumstances, a one-way cross-forest trust might be just the ticket. Typically, however, youll be setting up two-way cross-forest trusts.
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Figure 3.17
Selecting trust direction
I omit the next screen, Sides of Trust, which lets you create both sides of the trust in one step. That is, instead of creating one half of the trust, then having the administrator of the other forest create the other side of the trust, you can simply give the system the other forests credentials (if you have them) and create both sides of the trust at once. This creation option is a handy timesaver, as long as you have the administrative information you need. The wizard then displays the Outgoing Trust Authentication Level Specified Forest screen, which lets you determine which user accounts can go through the trust. I discuss this selection option, called the Authentication Firewall, in Chapter 4: Inside Windows Server 2003 Forests and DNS. Finally, the wizard displays a summary of your selections on the Trust Selections Complete screen, which Figure 3.18 shows. On this example screen, you can see that Im setting up a cross-forest trust between two root domains: Domaina.com and Corp.com.
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Figure 3.18
Trust Selections Complete summary screen
After the trust has been set up, Windows 2003 can automatically validate it. You choose the validation step on the screen that appears after you click Next on the screen that Figure 3.18 shows. The validation takes only a minute, and it ensures that after the initial trust is set up, its valid and working properly from both forests.( Occasionally, one side of the trust can be built without the other side being built properly. This step ensures that the trust works correctly both ways.) After youve finished setting up your trust, you can see the fruits of your labor inside Active Directory Domains and Trusts on the Properties screen, which Figure 3.19 shows.
Figure 3.19
The new cross-forest trusts properties
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Because youre looking at Domaina.coms properties, you can see an inbound and outbound cross-forest trust to Corp.com. Administrators in either forest can now choose accounts in the other forest and set permissions granting or restricting access to resources on the servers each owns. Additionally, users can log on to any forest. Again, users can use the drop-down menu when they log on to any root domain, as Figure 3.20 shows. (You can see the other root domains from your domain and vice versa.)
Figure 3.20
Drop-down logon menu
n Note
You can see both root domains listed in the drop-down menu. However, what you see isnt the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN), such as Corp.com. Youll see only Domaina.coms and Corp.coms NetBIOS names that is, DOMAINA and DOMAINC respectively. This can be tricky if users are expecting to find the FQDN name for logon purposes.
Caution
If users want to log on to computers in domains below any of the root domains (outside of their own forest), theyll have to know their UPN name, such as john@child-domainl.com.
I want to add a brief caveat regarding Windows 2003 and cross-forest trusts. The cross-forest trust goes a long way to tie together existing Windows 2003 forests. However, forest trusts dont tie together the GCs of disparate forests. Today, you simply have no way to magically tie the GCs together and this limitation is bad news for those of you who use Exchange 2000 or who plan to use the upcoming Exchange 2003. Because the GCs arent tied together, Exchange has no unified Global Account List. Essentially, you must still manage each forests Exchange independently.
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n Note
Microsoft Identity Integration Server 2003 (formerly Metadirectory Services) is an up-andcoming way to put some magic back into managing Exchange across different forests. Microsoft Identity Integration Server 2003 looks promising.
Forests, then, are basically still separate, but cross-forest trusts between their roots make them federations that can share data and other resources.
Next: Delegation and Security in Windows 2003

Although Win2K is truly leaps and bounds beyond NT 4.0, Win2K has some deficiencies that Windows 2003 addresses. Ive discussed three advantages that you gain with Windows 2003: updates to Active Directory Users and Computers that make AD easier to manage the new GPMC cross-forest trusts In Chapter 4, Ill pick up where Im leaving off. Ill explore how you can determine who can use the new cross-forest trusts and more.
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Chapter 4:
Inside Windows Server 2003 Forests and DNS

In Chapter 3, I discussed the management aspects of Windows Server 2003 (Windows 2003). I explored new Active Directory Users and Computers console functions, including the drag-and-drop feature, the multiple-select feature, and the saved-queries feature. I introduced the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) and forest trusts, including cross-forest trusts. In this chapter, I continue to delve into cross-forest trusts, and I introduce new DNS features.
Securing Forest Trusts

In Chapter 3, you saw that a cross-forest trust might be required if you had already upgraded various Windows NT domains or Windows 2000 domains to Windows 2003 and wanted to join them. In the example that Figure 4.1 shows (also presented in Chapter 3), you can see that Im tying together three separate Windows 2003 forests: the Corp.com forest, the Sales.jeremyco.com forest, and the Bigu.edu forest.
Figure 4.1
An organizations cross-forest trusts
Cross Forest Trust #1 Cross Forest Trust #2
corp.com
bigu.edu
Forest corp.com
Forest sales. jeremyco.com Forest bigu.edu science.bigu.edu registrar.bigu.edu
europe.corp.com
As I noted in Chapter 3, tying the forests together doesnt magically join the Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server or Exchange Server 2003 account lists. Rather, the cross-forest trust accomplishes one thing: It gives forest trust member domains easy access to each others domain resources. However, how secure is a cross-forest trust?
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Cross-Forest Trust Security

When you create a cross-forest trust, you basically agree to let users in other domains in trusted forests access your forests resources. However, you can probably imagine situations in which you dont necessarily trust all the accounts in the other forests equally. Figure 4.1 shows a cross-forest trust situation in which you might want to restrict access selectively. A university and two corporations are tied together. Although the cross-forest trust lets any account within any of the trusting forests attempt to access resources in the other trusted forests, you might want to impose particular limitations. For example, lets assume that youre the administrator of the Corp.com domain. After the cross-forest trust has been established, you want to protect your forest from curious students at Bigu.edu who might want to pry. Youve properly locked down access to your Corp.com resources, including file servers, printers, and other entities that leverage your Active Directory (AD) to maintain user accounts rights to various resources. However, unless youve spent time analyzing each share to ensure that it doesnt have Everyone: Full Control (or even Everyone: Read) access, you might not be fully protected. The setup that Figure 4.1 shows lets users in Bigu.edu try to authenticate on your domain controllers (DCs) and access your resources. What if the results of your efforts to lock down specific resources havent been 100 percent effective? For example, what if another administrator inadvertently permits the Everyone group access to resources for which access should be restricted? Youd still be vulnerable to attacks from Bigu.edu.
Authentication Firewall
To protect your resources from attacks that users in other trusted domains might launch, you can set up selective authentication through what Microsoft calls an authentication firewall. Setting up an authentication firewall lets you block certain SIDs from authenticating across the cross-forest trust. The users whose SIDs you block wont be able to authenticate on your network resources. In the example in Figure 4.1, you could block all Bigu.edu student SIDs from traversing the cross-forest trust, but still let the Bigu.edu faculty member SIDs do so. This approach would prevent students from taking a whack at Corp.com resources, but let the faculty members authenticate to Corp.com servers and access Corp.com resources. Selective authentication isnt turned on by default. That is, if you accept the defaults when you set up a cross-forest trust, youll need to enable selective authentication to establish the authentication firewall. When you use the New Trust Wizard to create your cross-forest trust, you choose the scope of authentication through the Outgoing Trust Authentication Level Local Forest dialog box options, which Figure 4.2 shows.
Chapter 4 Inside Windows Server 2003 Forests and DNS
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Figure 4.2
Outgoing Trust Authentication Level Local Forest option
The terminology in the dialog box that Figure 4.2 shows is a bit confusing. The dialog box text doesnt state that your choice here indicates whether youll be deploying an authentication firewall to block certain SIDs from other domains from getting inside your forest. If you select Forest-wide authentication, the default, you let all users in the cross-forest trust traverse all the forests. If you select Selective authentication, thereby creating an authentication firewall, you can then manually add access for specific users. If you accept the default (Forest-wide authentication) when you use the New Trust Wizard, which Figure 4.2 shows, a user who logs on to a domain in another forest that trusts your forest through a cross-forest trust can see the resources you have. Figure 4.3 shows that by using the Net View command, that user can see the shares on a specific machine.
Figure 4.3
The Forest-wide authentication option
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If, after your forest trust is built, you decide to further lock down resources and enable an authentication firewall, you must then use Active Directory Domains and Trusts to change the mode. After you open Active Directory Domains and Trusts, right-click the domain. Select the Trusts tab, the name of the trust, and Properties. Then click the Authentication tab and select Selective authentication as Figure 4.4 shows.
Figure 4.4
Choosing Selective authentication through Active Directory Domains and Trusts
As soon as you choose selective authentication, you can see the immediate consequences for users who try to gain access through the trust, which Figure 4.5 shows. Access is denied.
Figure 4.5
User access after you choose the Selective authentication option
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After your authentication firewall is in place, no one in domains outside your forest (i.e., in foreign domains and forests) can get access to any resources through the trust. To then open up the authentication firewall, you need to selectively poke holes in its security. That way, you can dictate precisely wholl be given access to the resources in your forest. You set up selective access through the Active Directory Users and Computers console. First, you must enable Advanced Features, which Figure 4.6 shows.
Figure 4.6
Advanced Features in the Active Directory Users and Computers console
Tip
Turn on the Advanced Features in Active Directory Users and Computers to manipulate who can pass through the authentication firewall.
After you enable Advanced Features, you can specify security for specific objects. Youll set the filtering directly upon the computer resource to which a foreign user needs access. In Figure 4.7, you can see that Ive enabled the Administrator account from a foreign domain DOMAINC to access resources on server VMSERVER2.
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Figure 4.7
Selecting the cross-forest trust users who can access this server
After you assign the Allowed to Authenticate right to a selected user, that user can see the resources to which access was denied previously. As Figure 4.8 shows, the user can see resources across the forest trust.
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Figure 4.8
A server available to specific users through the authentication firewall
SID Filtering
Another technique to prevent neer-do-wells from accessing your resources is SID filtering. SID filtering can help prevent potential attacks. Imagine this scenario: A domain administrator in another domain that your domain trusts wants to attack you. The attacker might be a domain administrator within the same forest. Although that possibility sounds frightening and might be unlikely, its theoretically possible. If you wonder how such an attack might occur, recall that Win2Ks Native Mode domains and Windows 2003 Functional Level domains support the SID history feature. The idea behind SID history is that a user account can be populated with more than one SID the SID of the user account plus other SIDs. The user account is usually populated with additional SIDs when someone migrates accounts with the SID history feature turned on. SID history is often useful for example, when you migrate user accounts from many domains and consolidate them into a few domains. SID history lets a user present an alternate set of credentials to gain access to network resources. Users might need to present their old credentials to access resources (e.g., Exchange or Microsoft SQL Server) in their former domains. An unscrupulous domain administrator could take an account in his or her domain and use the account to attack your domain. The administrator would accomplish the attack by hijacking the SIDs from the trusting domain (the NT domain) and putting them in the SID history attribute of his or her user object. The administrator then becomes the user with the hijacked SID thereby impersonating (i.e., spoofing) a user in your domain. If the administrator spoofs the account of a domain administrator in your domain, he or she could do a lot of damage.
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Win2K Service Pack 2 (SP2) introduced SID filtering to protect against this potential attack. Enabling SID filtering wont stop an administrator bent on being destructive from trying this attack; he or she can still hijack the SID. But your domain will ignore any SIDHistory attributes, which renders such an attack ineffective. Windows 2003 has the same functionality enabled by default. To disable or re-enable SID filtering in Windows 2003, you use the Netdom command. For more information, read the Microsoft Knowledge Base article Forged SID Could Result in Elevated Privileges in Windows 2000, available at the following URL: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=289243
n Note
SID filtering is sometimes complex. To learn more about it, in particular how to use SID filtering to prevent elevation-of-privilege attacks, go to http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/administration/security/sidfilter.asp
Tip
In addition to selective authentication and SID filtering, you can place another level of security upon a forest trust by using top-level name (TLN) restrictions. Windows 2003 uses domain name suffix routing to provide name resolution between forests connected by trust relationships. TLN restrictions let you enable, disable, or exclude suffixes to control cross-forest routing. For in-depth information about TLN restrictions, read the article Windows 2003 Forest Trusts at http://www.winnetmag.com/windowsserver2003/index.cfm?articleid=38436.
Windows 2003 DNS Additions

DNS is essential to the health of Windows networks. What air is to humans, DNS is to Win2K and Windows 2003. This section isnt about in-depth DNS troubleshooting, however, but about DNS features new to Windows 2003. Ill assume that youve already set up your DNS correctly and that you have a healthy AD that relies on your DNS infrastructure.
DNS Health Checks

You can perform a subzone spot check before you move forward to ensure that under your domain name, all four automatically generated subzones appear. The four automatically generated subzones appear preceded by an underscore, as Figure 4.9 shows.
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Figure 4.9
A domains four automatically generated subzones
Verifying that all four automatically generated subzones ( _msdcs, _sites, _tcp, and _udp) are present ensures that your domain has the records necessary to locate DCs, which clients must be able to do.
Windows 2003 DNSLINT

You can take your Windows 2003 DNS testing one step further by running a new tool that Microsoft makes available: DNSLint. DNSLint helps you make sure that youre running a clean DNS server. You can start by downloading DNSLint from http://download.microsoft.com/download/win2000srv /utility/q321045/nt5xp/en-us/dnslint.exe After you download DNSLint to a Windows 2003 server, you can run myriad commands. Be sure to read the documentation file included to understand all your options. However, to help diagnose common AD-related DNS errors, youll find it useful to run the DNSLINT command with the /ad switch, which Figure 4.10 shows.
Figure 4.10
Run DNSLint from the command line with the /ad switch
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When you run DNSLint with the /ad switch, you instruct DNSLint to produce an HTML report about the state of DNS affairs. This file will reveal any trouble spots in your DNS. Figure 4.11 shows a DNSLint report with a clean bill of health (the report would list any errors that DNSLint found).
Figure 4.11
DNSLint report
Conditional Forwarding
Before I discuss the new Windows 2003 conditional forwarding feature, let me briefly review standard forwarding. You enable Win2Ks standard forwarding on a server-by-server basis in the DNS applet. You simply right-click the computer name, select Properties, then select the Forwarders tab, as Figure 4.12 shows.
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Figure 4.12
Win2Ks Forwarders tab
n Note
Other non-Microsoft implementations of DNS, such as Internet Software Consortiums (ISCs) BIND 9.0, support conditional forwarding.
The forwarders address lets one DNS server ask other (possibly nonrelated) servers for the answer to a DNS question. For example, lets imagine that a client in a domain wants to discover Microsoft.coms address to get to its Web servers. A local AD domain (e.g., Corp.com) probably wouldnt know the answer. However, by leveraging the power of forwarders, this server can ask other servers that might know the answer and retrieve the answer for the client. The standard forwarding approach works well for a limited set of circumstances. However, standard forwarding doesnt address some situations. For example, imagine the company structure that the diagram in Figure 4.13 represents: two separate domains that have little to do with each other.
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Figure 4.13
An example companys DNS configuration
Internet Forward Forward
CORPNS1
RESEARCHDNS1
CORPSQL1
RESEARCHFILE1
corp.com
research.internal.com
However, lets suppose that from time to time, users in the separate domains must share resources. For example, the users in Corp.com occasionally need to connect to a computer named Researchfile1.research.internal.com. And the users at Research.internal.com occasionally need to connect to CorpSQL1.corp.com. The diagram in Figure 4.13 indicates that the DNS servers of Corp.com and Research.internal.com cant know about each other. If a client in Corp.com asked about locating the Research.internal.com computer in Research.internal.com, resolving that name wouldnt be easy. Figure 4.14 shows what happens when standard forwarding is set up.
Figure 4.14
DNS communications in the example company
Client says I need something over at reasearch.internal.com Internet Forward Forward
CORPNS1
RESEARCHDNS1
IBM Compatible CORPSQL1
CORPDNS1 Server says Check over here.
RESEARCHFILE1
corp.com
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With a standard forwarder, the Corp.com DNS server (CORPDNS1) probably wont get any response other than I cant find it from the servers to which it forwards. The reason is that the servers forward to a common point (the ISP or the Internet). In such a scenario, the two DNS servers cant see each other. Under Win2K, you could fix this problem but in a sloppy way. That is, you could have the Corp.com DNS server house a secondary-zone copy of Research.internal.com, and the Research.internal.com DNS server house a secondary-zone copy of Corp.com. However, this solution is messy because every time a new record is entered into DNS, a copy of that record must be sent to the other DNSs secondary-zone copy. Depending on how you have the zones configured, the updating can take extra administrative effort and more bandwidth. If you could tell the Corp.com DNS server where to look for Research.internal.com resources, you could solve this problem. Windows 2003s conditional forwarding lets you do exactly that, as Figure 4.15 shows.
Figure 4.15
DNS communications with conditional forwarding
CORPDNS1 Server says Check over here. Client says I need something over at reasearch.internal.com Forward
CORPNS1
Internet Forward
RESEARCHDNS1
IBM Compatible CORPSQL1 RESEARCHFILE1
corp.com
Conditional forwarding eliminates the need to house unnecessary secondary-zone DNS files in servers that really shouldnt have them. Conditional forwarders let you keep copies of only the DNS zone files you want without any extras.
Setting Up Conditional Forwarding

You need to set up conditional forwarding just as you set up standard forwarding for Win2K that is, conditional forwarding is unique to each Windows 2003 DNS server. Right-click the server name, select Properties, then click the Forwarders tab, as Figure 4.16 shows.
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Figure 4.16
Windows 2003s DNS Forwarders tab
To set up conditional forwarding for a DNS domain, select the domain name, click New, and type the name of the domain and the IP address. Figure 4.16shows that this server will forward all requests asking about resources in the Research.internal.com domain to 192.168.2.11.
Stub Zones
Stub zones are another feature new to Windows 2003 DNS. Like conditional forwarding, stub zones solve a problem. (Also like conditional forwarding, stub zones arent new to other non-Microsoft DNS implementations, such as BIND 9.0.) Figure 4.17 presents a DNS configuration that shows the need for stub zones.
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Figure 4.17
A second example companys DNS configuration
Internet
Forward
For wa rd
Forward
CORPNS1
INTERNALROOTDNS
RESEARCHDNS1
CORPSQL1
RESEARCHFILE1
corp.com
As Figure 4.17 shows, you have two unrelated domains asking a central Root DNS for information. Suppose a client request comes in from Corp.com asking about resources in Research.internal.com. You can read the conversation between the client and the DNS servers in Figure 4.18s internal captions.
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Figure 4.18
A successful lookup with manual delegations
Internet
Client says I need something over at reasearch.internal.com Forward Forward

INTERNALROOTDNS CORPNS1
INTERNALROOTDNS Server says I know where research.internal.com is let me point you toward a research.interal.com server that knows the answer and is authoritative for the zone.
For wa rd
CORPDNS1 Server says Follow the forward.
RESEARCHDNS1
Client A CORPSQL1 RESEARCHFILE1
corp.com
In this scenario, ClientA asks CorpDNS1.corp.com for the answer, which forwards to the InternalrootDNS server. The InternalrootDNS server then looks up in its table the list of servers that are authoritative for the Research.internal.com domain (i.e., servers that respond to Start of Authority SOA requests). However, what happens if Research.internal.com gets three more DNS servers each capable of responding to the SOA request? Such a scenario could evolve if Research.internal.com introduced three more DCs that run DNS in AD integrated mode. At this point, the InternalrootDNS server would know about the original ResearchDNS1 server only and not about the three newly introduced DNS servers. For the InternalrootDNS server to know about the new DNS servers in Research.internal.com, someone would have to manually update the InternalrootDNS server. That design isnt as responsive to change as you might need it to be. Stub zones introduce a new technique to help address this situation. Stub zones learn about new DNS servers introduced into other domains. Figure 4.19 shows the different communication that occurs if you use stub zones after the new DNS servers are introduced in Research.internal.com.
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Figure 4.19
Stub zones and DNS changes
Client says I need something over at reasearch.internal.com Forward

INTERNALROOTDNS CORPNS1
For wa rd
CORPDNS1 Server says Let me check my stub-zone for research.internal.com a definitive list of research.internal.com servers which are SOA for the zone.
Internet
Forward
Forward your request to a DNS server that is SOA for the zone.
RESEARCHDNS1 RESEARCHDNS2
Client A CORPSQL1 RESEARCHDNS3 RESEARCHFILE1
corp.com
Creating Stub Zones

You create a stub zone as you would create any DNS zone. That is, you right-click the server and create a new zone. Then, you select the zone type, as Figure 4.20 shows.
Figure 4.20
Creating new stub zones
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At this point, you can choose how widely you want to replicate the stub-zone information. You specify the zone for which you want to create a stub zone. You should then have a functioning stub zone.
Tip
If your stub zone doesnt activate right away, right-click Reload from Master to jump-start the stub zone.
Conditional Forwarding vs. Stub-Zones

Conditional forwarding and stub zones accomplish similar results. When should you choose one over the other? Conditional forwarding gets the job done. But if the servers you list in the Forwarders tab go down and new ones go up, you must manually update the list. Also, conditional forwarding must be configured individually on each DNS server you set up. One misconfiguration could cause problems for a while. In contrast, if you create a stub zone in the source domain for the target domain, DNS servers can go up and down at will in the target domain and the source domain is always updated. Additionally, you can make a stub zone AD-integrated. That means if you create the stub zone in the source domain once all AD integrated DNS servers will be aware that you want to use stub zones for certain target domains. You perform a one-time configuration and youre done.
Next: Windows 2003 Security Enhancements

In this chapter, I examined the security ramifications of cross-forest trusts and how to address some potential vulnerabilities, including by using selective authentication. I review how you set up an authentication firewall. After the authentication firewall is in place, you must do some manual labor to open each specific gate to let users in other forests gain access through cross-forest trusts. I also discussed some Win 2K DNS limitations and how Windows 2003 works around them with conditional forwarding and stub zones. In Chapter 5, Ill present Windows 2003 security enhancements. If you have older clients that you cant get rid of, Chapter 5 will be especially relevant to you. If you have all newer clients, youll learn what makes those clients more secure than ever.
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Chapter 5:
Windows Server 2003 Security Enhancements

In Chapter 4, I considered what happens when you merge two environments, including how to create secure forest trusts and deploy new Windows Server 2003 (Windows 2003) DNS features to make a merged environment workable. Although I discussed some security concerns particularly, how to keep all but those you choose from accessing the resources you need to protect Windows 2003 brings much more to the table for your protection effort. In this chapter, I cover some of the new security enhancements that you can use to ensure a more secure environment day to day. I review improvements in securing file shares and in ACL viewing and editing for better control of file permissions. I discuss the InetOrgPerson object and the ease of new schema modification functions that can help you take better advantage of AD. I also include a tip or two about how to shore up different parts of your Active Directory (AD) to make them a bit more secure.
Securing the Wire

Microsoft has a history of being burned by the vulnerability of its internetworking protocols. The protocol tradeoff is easy to understand: If you make protocols fast, light, and only cursorily secure, theyre speedier on the wire and you can deploy them more quickly and widely. However, unsecure protocols on your network can compromise your companys resources. With that in mind, Windows 2003 introduces both new restrictions and new options for some familiar scenarios. The changes in Windows 2003 means that you must better understand available security functions such as Server Message Block (SMB) signing, secure channel signing, Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) signing, and password authentication methods.
Shoring Up with SMB Signing

Not all users can drop their deployed desktops and switch to Windows XP Professional or Windows 2000 Professional. Legacy (aka downlevel) clients are all too familiar to IT staff. In fact, some organizations include clients that have not only different Windows OSs but also different service packs applied, which can make it especially difficult to ensure a baseline of protection across the network. Wherever it can, Windows 2003 endeavors to make things more secure than its predecessor. One way in which it attempts greater security is by using SMB connections. The SMB protocol comes into play when clients connect to shares. When you performed your first Dcpromo to Windows 2003, you saw the Active Directory Installation Wizard screen that Figure 5.1 shows.
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Figure 5.1
Warnings about downlevel machines
The screen in Figure 5.1 indicates that you might have problems with older downlevel machines. The good news is that connections to every Windows 2003 share will be signed (i.e., authenticated) each time a client makes a connection. Indeed, each SMB packet carries a unique signature that the recipient validates. Therefore, malicious users cant pretend to be what theyre not. The bad news, however, is twofold. First, older downlevel clients will fail to connect because they cant speak the revised protocols language. Second, when clients can use SMB signing, it will slow connections down a bit, probably by 10 percent to 15 percent. The real problem, however, is that because older downlevel clients cant perform SMB signing, they cant log on. To log on to the network, each client must connect to a domain controllers (DCs) Netlogon share. Therefore, each client must be able to perform SMB signing to that Netlogon share to validate to the network. Clients that cant perform SMB signing are out of luck. Because Windows 98 can respond to SMB signing, youll only need to troubleshoot problems. Also, you can make changes to address SMB signing for Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 95 clients.
Win98 Clients
Win98 clients, by default, can respond to SMB signing requests. This capability means that you dont have to change or set up anything on your Win98 clients for them to participate in domains with Windows 2003 DCs. However, if you have one or two Win98 clients that cant log on to Windows 2003 DCs or connect to Windows 2003 shares, the clients ability to respond to SMB signing might be disabled.
Chapter 5 Windows Server 2003 Security Enhancements
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To turn off a Win98 machines ability to respond to SMB signing, someone must manually add a registry value. Therefore, if you suspect a Win98 machine isnt responding to SMB signing requests, youll need to dive into the registry and look for the addition of either of two registry settings. Navigate to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\VNetsup subkey and look for an EnableSecuritySignature value of type REG_DWORD. The default is that this value is absent, which means SMB signing is enabled. To turn off SMB signing, you would create this value and set it to 0. Therefore, to re-enable SMB signing, set the value to 1 (Enable). The client will then respond to SMB signing. Also, look for an RequireSecuritySignature value of type REG_DWORD. The default is 0. Manually setting the value to 1 (Enable) requires that all SMB traffic be signed. Again, youre checking to see whether someone has created these values. If they exist, someone might well have specifically disabled a machines ability to respond to SMB signing.
NT 4.0 Clients
NT 4.0 Service Pack 3 (SP3) clients wont perform SMB signing by default. Youll have to enable SMB signing through the registry, as I discuss below. If youve already loaded your NT 4.0 clients with SP4 or later the clients can by default respond to SMB signing requests. Therefore, you wont need to set up or change anything on your NT 4.0 SP4 clients to have them participate in domains with Windows 2003 DCs. However, if you have one or two NT 4.0 clients with SP4 that cant log on to Windows 2003 DCs or connect to Windows 2003 shares, someone might have disabled the machines ability to respond to SMB signing in much the same way that I discussed relative to Win98. Enabling SMB signing on NT 4.0 SP3 machines and troubleshooting NT 4.0 SP4 or later machines that arent responding to SMB signing requests involves the same two registry values. For NT 4.0 SP3 machines, if the values dont exist, youll create them, then set both values to enable SMB signing. If the values do exist, set them to enable the feature. For NT 4.0 SP4 or later machines, you might create and set or re-set the values to re-enable the feature. Navigate to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanManServer \Parameters subkey and look for an EnableSecuritySignature value of type REG_DWORD. The default is that the value is absent, which means that the client will respond to SMB signing. A value of 0 means the client wont respond to SMB signing. To enable or re-enable SMB signing, set the value to 1 (Enable) the client will then respond to SMB signing. Also, look for a RequireSecuritySignature value of type REG_DWORD. The default is 0. Manually setting the value to 1 (Enable) requires that all SMB traffic be signed.
Win95 Clients
As the Active Directory Installation Wizard screen in Figure 5.1 indicated, Win95 clients cant log on to Windows 2003 DCs. If Win95 clients attempt to log on, they get the message that Figure 5.2 shows.
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Figure 5.2
Message returned if a Win95 client attempts to log on to a Windows 2003 network
To get your Win95 clients up to speed, youll need to load the Active Directory Client Extension (ADC; aka Directory Service Client DS Client). The DS Client apparently isnt on the Windows 2003 CD, but you can find it on any Win2K CD-ROM, in the \CLIENTS\Win9x directory. To run DSClient.exe, youll need to have Internet Explorer (IE) 4.0 or later loaded. Figure 5.3 shows the Directory Service Client Setup Wizard that you can use to load DS Client onto Win95.
Figure 5.3
Directory Service Client Setup Wizard
After you load the DS Client, Win95 machines wont need any additional registry settings to respond to SMB-signed traffic. In other words, just load the DS Client on your Win95 clients, and youre in like Flynn.
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Manipulating the Servers to Not Require SMB Signing

What if you cant get your clients up to speed? Specifically, what if you cant reach some client combination of Win98 NT 4.0 with SP4 Win95 with ADC and you still need to have your clients log on to Windows 2003 DCs and connect to Windows 2003 file shares? You have a final option: You can configure the domain to not require SMB signing. However, this approach is definitely a last resort because it really decreases the intended security. Nevertheless, if you must disable SMB signing, click Start, Programs, Domain Controller Security Policy. Navigate to Windows Settings\Security Settings\Local Policies\Security Options. Locate Microsoft network server: Digitally sign communications (always), which Figure 5.4 shows. With the Define this policy setting check box selected, change the default from Enabled to Disabled.
Figure 5.4
Disabling SMB signing
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Tip
Even if you need to disable SMB signing as described above, you can still leave the sister policy, Microsoft network server: Digitally sign communications (if client agrees), enabled without penalty. This setting lets clients and servers that can use SMB signing do so.
Shoring Up with Secure Channel Signing

When Windows 2003 DCs and client workstation and server members communicate about their status in the domain, they do so over a secure channel. Communications about status occur when domain members join, leave or their computer passwords are automatically updated between the computer and the domain. Windows 2003 DCs require that these secure channel actions be digitally signed. XP, Win2K, and NT 4.0 with SP4 or later can participate in secure channel signing without any modification. Win9x machines arent strictly domain members and therefore dont use the secure channel or participate in secure channel signing. For the purposes of secure channel use and secure channel signing, you can ignore Win9x machines. However, if you have NT 4.0 machines without SP4, you need to either upgrade those systems to SP4 or disable secure channel signing in the domain. If you must disable secure channel signing, click Start, Programs, Domain Controller Security Policy. Navigate to Computer Configuration\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Local Policies\Security Options. In the list of policies and policy settings, locate Domain Member: Digitally encrypt or sign secure channel data (always). With the Define this policy setting check box selected, change the default from Enabled, which Figure 5.5 shows, to Disabled. The change disables the requirement for secure channel communications with domain members. Again only disable secure channel communications if you cant upgrade your NT 4.0 machines to SP4 or later.
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Figure 5.5
Disabling secure channel signing
Shoring Up with LDAP Signing

After you introduce your first Windows 2003 DC, youll want to start using the new Windows 2003 administration tools. The good news is that these tools all enforce another new security feature. That is, many of the Windows 2003 administrative tools work only when LDAP signing protects the communication. LDAP signing guarantees that nothing tampers with the communications and data that flow between your administrative workstation and DCs. When you use the Windows 2003 administration tools, all your DCs must be able to perform LDAP signing. To support LDAP signing with Win2K, you need to load Win2K SP3 on each DC and restart the DC. Even if you cant load SP3 on all your Win2K DCs, you might still want to use the Windows 2003 administration tools to manage all your DCs. To do so, you can turn off LDAP signing on your administrative workstation (usually XP). Doing so will let the communication go over the wire unsigned, which might leave the traffic vulnerable to sniffing. Do so at your own risk. After you load the Windows 2003 administration tools on your XP administrative workstation, youll need to modify the registry on your machine. Navigate to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AdminDebug\ADsOpenObjectFlags subkey on your administrative workstation. Set the ADsOpenObjectFlags value to 0x03. Restart the administrative tools. Youve now turned off LDAP signing between your administrative workstation and all DCs.
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Tip
For more information and to see which specific applets inside the Windows 2003 administration tools explicitly use LDAP signing, go to Knowledge Base article Q325465, Windows 2000 Domain Controllers Require SP3 or Later When Using Windows Server 2003 Administration Tool, at the Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS) URL below: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=325465
Shoring Up by Eliminating NTLM and LM

The most vulnerable part of your network is still your users passwords. As you know, you need as strong a password policy as possible without getting too much resistance from your user community. However, its equally important to ensure that the passwords cant be stolen on the wire. First, let me review the available password authentication methods. Clients can authenticate their passwords to a DC four ways. Those methods, listed from strongest to weakest are Kerberos Kerberos is the strongest authentication method. Kerberos ensures that both the client and the server mutually authenticate each other or the password isnt accepted. Youll find Kerberos authentication in Windows 2003 and Win2K DCs and in Win2K and XP clients. When its available, Kerberos is the default authentication mechanism. NT LAN Manager (NTLM)v2 NTLMv2 is the next strongest authentication method, and no ones cracked it yet. NTLMv2 enhances NTLM authentication by strengthening the encryption mechanism. NTLM NTLM includes password encryption as well as signing. However, inherent elements make NTLM authentication easy to crack. LM LM is the weakest authentication method. Its the default authentication method for NT 4.0 without SP4 and for all Win9X machines. The upshot is that the only two secure mechanisms for password validation are Kerberos and NTLMv2. If intruders intend to capture traffic on the wire and the traffic includes NTLM and LM traffic from NT 4.0 SP3 and earlier or from Win9X they would soon have the passwords that rely on the weaker authentication methods. My suggestion if you have mixed downlevel clients is to accept the default Windows 2003 security and harden your overall security significantly by eliminating NTLM and LM authentication. Eliminating the weaker authentication methods could be the most important security step for your Windows 2003 network. To eliminate NTLM and LM authentication, follow these steps: 1. Update the client software. For NT 4.0 machines, load SP4. For Win9X machines, load the AD client, as I described previously. 2. Enable NTLMv2 authentication on the client.
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3. At the domain level, refuse NTLM and LM authentication traffic; accept only Kerberos and NTLMv2 traffic.
Enabling NTLMv2 Authentication at the Client

After you update NT 4.0 machines with SP4 or later and load the ADC on every Win9x client, you need to take an additional step. The clients must be configured so that they wont attempt to authenticate through NTLM or LM, but rather with NTLMv2. Enabling authentication at the client is slightly different for each client type, as I describe below.
NTLMv2 for NT 4.0 Clients

To set an NT 4.0 with SP4 or later client to use NTLMv2 only, you need to modify each computers registry. In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\control\LSA subkey, locate the LMCompatibilityLevel value and set it to 3 to permit NTLMv2 authentication only.
Tip
You can set additional registry options at this time. For more information, read the Knowledge Base article Q147706, How to Disable LM Authentication on Windows NT, at the URL below. http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=http://support.microsoft.com:80/support/kb /articles/q147/7/06.asp&NoWebContent=1
NTLMv2 for Win9X Clients

For both Win98 and Win95 clients, you must first load the ADC. However, Win95 also requires several additional updates before you continue: the Distributed File System (DFS) client (which you can download from http://microsoft.com/ntserver/nts/downloads/winfeatures/NTSDistrFile/default.asp) along with two updates available in one package: WinSock 2.0 Update and Microsoft Dial Up Networking (DUN) 1.3 (which you can download together from http://www.microsoft.com /windows95/downloads/contents/WURecommended/S_WUNetworking/dunwinsky2k/Default.asp). To set a Win9X client to use NTLMv2 only, you need to modify each computers registry. In the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control subkey, create an LSA registry subkey. Then, add the value LMCompatibility of type REG_DWORD and set the value to 3.
Tip
You can set additional registry options at this time. For more information, read the Knowledge Base article Q239869, How to Enable NTLM 2 Authentication, at the URL below. http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=http://support.microsoft.com:80/support/kb /articles/q239/8/69.asp&nowebcontent=1
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Disabling NTLM and LM at the Domain Level

After youve set up NTLMv2 support all your clients, youre ready to disable both LM and NTLM authentication at the DCs. Youll perform this action inside the Domain Security policy. Once open, navigate to Computer Configuration\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Local Policies\Security Options and locate the policy named Network Security: LAN Manager. With the Define this policy setting check box selected, define the policy Send NTLMv2 response only\refuse LM & NTLM, from the drop-down list that Figure 5.6 shows.
Figure 5.6
Defining authentication levels
Caution
If you disable NTLM and LM responses, you lock out clients that support only those authentication methods, including Macintosh clients and Services for UNIX (SFU) clients. The disabling could also be harmful to alternate authentication methods such as Win2K Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS); Cisco, Shiva, or Ascend dial-in modems; and other products that use Windows authentication. Such products might rely on NTLM or LM authentication.
Additionally, although its not strictly necessary, its also good to expunge the recorded traces of LM passwords from your DCs. You can do so by selecting the Group Policy Network security: Do
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not store LAN Manager hash value on next password change policy, which Figure 5.7 shows. With the Define this policy setting check box selected, you define and enable the policy.
Figure 5.7
Eliminating LM password hash values from DCs
After youve enabled this policy, the AD doesnt store the LM values when users passwords are changed. If a DC is compromised, no one will be able to use the values to gain access.
ACL Viewing and Editing Improvements

One day-to-day problem that Windows 2003 has overcome involves file permissions. With Win2K, Microsoft added directory level inheritance; that is, if you had permissions, or rights, explicitly set upon a folder, folders below the original folder automatically inherited those permissions, as the diagram in Figure 5.8 shows.
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Figure 5.8
Overview of Win2K and Windows 2003 inheritance
Joes rights are explicitly placed upon this folder The rights are simply calculated via inheritance there need not be a specific ACL on the folder
Inherited
Joe User
Directory1
Joe User Sales
In Win2K, however, it was difficult to determine the effective permissions in a lower directory. Effective permissions come into play whenever a user or group might have explicit permissions and inherited permissions. How can you know what the effective permissions are? For example, consider Directory 2 in Figure 5.8. What are Joes effective permissions if he inherits rights from Directory1, but is also a member of Sales, which has its own permissions? You can see that permissions could quickly become confusing. To combat this confusion, Windows 2003 has added a new ACL editor that lets you easily discover and edit permissions. With Windows 2003, youll find an Effective Permissions tab on every directory and file. Simply right-click and select Properties for the directory or file whose effective permissions you want to examine, select the security tab, and click the Advanced button. You can then click the Effective Permissions tab, which Figure 5.9 shows.
ed rit he In
Directory2
Joe User Marketing
Directory3
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Figure 5.9
Windows 2003s new ACL editor
Just click Select, select a user or group, and you can see the precise access control placed upon that object for a specific user or group. The new ACL editor makes knowing who has permissions where a lot easier.
Security Principals Update

Win2K has many object types (e.g., users, groups, contacts, organizational units OUs). Windows 2003 adds a new type of object: InetOrgPerson. In Windows 2003, an InetOrgPerson object has many of the same features and attributes as a regular user object, including Name, Phone number, Logon account restrictions, Password So why might you need the InetOrgPerson object if user objects already work well in Windows 2003? Because InetOrgPerson objects comply with Request for Comments (RFC) 2798, whereas regular user objects dont. This difference is a concern in a limited set of circumstances. You might need InetOrgPerson objects if you use a third-party metadirectory service (e.g., Suns iPlanet) to
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update both your AD and your iPlanet directory. iPlanet expects its input and output to be an RFC-compliant InetOrgPerson object not a Windows 2003/Win2K user object. You can check out the InetOrgPerson RFC at http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc2798.html. InetOrgPerson objects are easy to create, potentially useful, and have few drawbacks. You can create an InetOrgPerson object as easily as you create a new user object. Figure 5.10 shows how you create an InetOrgPerson object in the Active Directory Users and Computers console.
Figure 5.10
Creating an InetOrgPerson object
You can create your User objects the standard way or choose to make them InetOrgPerson objects. You incur no penalty if you make your user objects InetOrgPerson objects rather than User objects. However, you should continue to use regular User objects unless you know you need InetOrgPerson objects to be 100 percent compatible with RFC-compliant metadirectory services.
Caution
You should be aware that InetOrgPerson objects arent compatible with Exchange 2000. That is, you cant enable an InetOrgPerson mailbox.
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Schema Updates and Modifications

Although modifying the schema is always risky, Windows 2003 makes it easier to write applications that modify the schema and take full advantage of AD. If you upgraded your domain from Win2K to Windows 2003, you already modified the schema by running Adprep. Additionally, several Microsoft and third-party applications modify the schema. One Microsoft application that modifies the schema is the upcoming Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 (still in beta), which Figure 5.11 shows.
Figure 5.11
SMS 2003 (not yet released) option to extend the schema
Schema updates have been permanent until Windows 2003. That fact made many developers hesitate to write applications that leveraged the advantages of a schema update. Win2K application developers had a problem if they ever wanted to distribute an update to their application that changed their use of the schema. For example, if an application vendor had made a schema modification by adding an attribute called SHOE SIZE, which accepted a numeric value that modification might work well at the time. However, if the vendor then wanted to update the attribute to accept a character (e.g., S, M, L) rather than a numeric value, the vendor would have to introduce another schema modification attribute to accept the value types desired. This situation occurred because under the hood of the schema, each attribute is assigned a unique Object Identification Number (OID).
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Win2K allows a schema attribute to be considered defunct. This ability to change the status works well; however, if you consider the example above, in which the vendor wants to change the SHOE SIZE attribute from accepting numbers to accepting characters, the vendor would have to get another OID and code the application to insert yet another permanent schema addition to add the new attribute. Windows 2003 also lets a schema attribute be considered defunct. However, you can reuse the underlying OID with a different name or value. Additionally, you can set attributes to be Defunct or Active at any time.
n Note
At no time is the attribute ever truly deleted. Rather, the attribute is classified as defunct so that you can reuse its OID.
Tip
According to rumor, future versions of AD will support tombstoning and purging defunct schema definitions. Tombstoning is similar to deleting except that when you tombstone, you inform other servers that youre removing the schema object definitions so that those servers can update their databases. Again, Windows 2003 doesnt yet support these features.
If you have an attribute you want to designate as defunct, youll need to follow several steps, as I outline below. First, youll need to register the schmmgmt.dll with regsv32.exe, as Figure 5.12 shows.
Figure 5.12
Registering the schmmgmt.dll
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Caution
Any changes you make to the schema are at your own risk. Make changes to the schema only in a test lab. To modify the schema, you must enter a registry value in the registry upon the schema master. By default, AD servers dont let anyone edit the schema.
To modify the schema, navigate to the HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NTDS \Parameters subkey. Enter a value named Schema Update Allowed of type REG_DWORD and set it to 1, as Figure 5.13 shows.
Figure 5.13
Entering a registry value before you modify the schema
Next, add the Active Directory Schema snap-in to the Microsoft Management Console (MMC). Figure 5.14 shows how you select Active Directory Schema to add it as a standalone snap-in.
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Figure 5.14
Adding the Active Directory Schema snap-in
By default, you cant see defunct objects. If you want to see them, right-click the Active Directory Schema and select View, Defunct Objects, as Figure 5.15 shows.
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Figure 5.15
The view inside the schema
To make an object defunct, locate the attribute, examine its properties, and clear the default Attribute is active check box, as Figure 5.16 shows.
Figure 5.16
Clearing the Attribute is active check box
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At this point, you can create a new attribute with the same OID but a different name and value type. Windows 2003s improved schema modification functions make it easier for application vendors to write applications that modify the schema to get the most from AD.
Next: Backup, Restore, and Recovery

Windows 2003 definitely offers improved security with SMB signing, secure channel signing, and LDAP signing as the defaults. However, if you have clients on which you cant load the service packs or ADC to let them participate in these security measures, you might need to reduce server-side security to let your clients function. As the text makes clear, it might be a good idea to strengthen the fortress a bit by removing all NTLM and LM communications, but be sure to test the impact of removal before you make your move. (You dont need hordes of angry laptop users who cant connect through your third-party dialup.) Finally, the improvements in the ACL viewer and editor, the new InetOrgPerson object, and the new schema modification functions are useful add-ons. All in all, Windows 2003 makes it a more secure world.
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Chapter 6:
Backup, Restore, and Recovery for Windows Server 2003 and Active Directory
Performing backups is a system administrators single most important task. However, because having backups sometimes isnt enough, you need skills that go beyond the ability to back up and restore files. In this chapter, I describe some common scenarios in which things go wrong from a server going belly up to objects in Active Directory (AD) being inadvertently deleted. Windows Server 2003 (Windows 2003) gives you many ways to get your system back to business as usual. Ill show you how to use the techniques and features it offers before you have to swing into action to save the day (and your job). I discuss using the Recovery Console (RC), deploying the new Emergency Management Services (EMS) feature, performing an AD backup and restore, enabling Automated System Recovery (ASR), and replicating DCs from media with the new Install from Media (IFM) feature.
Using the RC
When Microsoft released Windows 2000, one of my new favorite features was the Recovery Console (RC). The RC could help you address a persistent problem that many of you will remember. Before the advent of the RC, if a server went belly-up and you needed to perform surgery on it, doing so was difficult if the underlying file system was NTFS. Booting from a floppy disk wouldnt let you see or modify NTFS volumes. Given the frustration of working with NTFS in this urgent situation, thousands of Windows NT 4.0 server administrators kept their OS loaded on FAT partitions just for the rare emergency. This approach let the administrators boot to a DOS prompt to edit, rename, or modify damaged files. Windows 2003 and Win2K have the RC, a tool whose job is to help when the chips are down. The RC console lets you load a very small subset of the OS along with a powerful subset of OS functions. Previously, for example, if a service went down while NT 4.0 was running and you needed to reboot the server, you might be in trouble if the Last Known Good Configuration recovery option failed to bring your system back. With the RC, you can start and stop services, format disks, and copy and replace files already on the disk. Basically, the RC contains much of what youll need should things on a particular Windows 2003 or Win2K server go awry.
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You can use the RC two ways: preloaded or loaded on the fly. Preloading the RC requires only about 7MB of disk and adds an additional boot option to the boot.ini file. To preload the RC, insert the Windows 2003 CD-ROM and open a command prompt. From the CD-ROM, run winnt32 /cmdcons. The RC will contact Microsoft for any last-minute updates, then perform the installation, as Figure 6.1 shows.
Figure 6.1
Installing the RC
After the files are copied, you can see the fruits of your labor. Simply reboot the server and look for the new RC line added to the boot.ini file, which Figure 6.2 shows.
Figure 6.2
RC line item in the boot.ini file
Chapter 6 Backup, Restore, and Recovery for Windows Server 2003 and Active Directory
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After you enable the RC, youre asked to log on. If this server is a member server or standalone workstation, you log on with the local Administrator password. If this server is a domain controller (DC), you log on with the Directory Services Restore Mode password that you input when you created this DC. (I discuss the Directory Services Restore Mode password in the upcoming AD Nonauthoritative Restore section.) If you try to log on with the domain Administrator account password, you wont be permitted to use the RC, as Figure 6.3 shows.
Figure 6.3
Attempted logon to a DC with RC installed using the domain Administrator password
After you log on to the RC successfully, you have an array of tools at your disposal, as Figure 6.4 shows. I encourage you to familiarize yourself with the tools in the RC, so youll be ready to use them when you encounter a problem.
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Figure 6.4
The RC tools
Among the RCs abundant tools, some of my favorites are Listsvc Helps determine which services are running and the current state of each service Enable and Disable Changes how services start up (e.g., you can disable services that arent working as they should) Bootcfg Aids you in rebuilding broken boot.ini files by helping you locate instances of Windows 2003 on the computer Expand Lets you take a compressed file for example, myfile.sy_ and expand it to myfile.sys, which you can then place almost anywhere on the hard drive
Tip
Its still fairly difficult to do registry repairs inside the RC. If you need tools to repair the registry while the server is damaged, I encourage you to check out Winternals Softwares tool ERD Commander at http://www.winternals.com/products/repairandrecovery/erdcommander2002.asp
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Deploying EMS
When a server is unresponsive, Windows 2003s EMS can display whats happening over the computers serial port. You can then use a second device to manage the broken server. Before I discuss EMS further, however, Ill review the usual options for monitoring server operations and troubleshooting an unresponsive server. When a server is running and you want to observe whats going on, you have several options. If the machine is running well, you can peek in through the built-in administrative Terminal Services that I described in Chapter 1 (Windows 2003 by default loads the necessary files for the equivalent of Windows 2000 Terminal Services), use Telnet to contact the machine, or tap a host of other tools. These approaches to monitoring your server are often called in-band management that is, you use the Ethernet cable to cross the network, look into server operations, and possibly work on the server. Many datacenters I see have clunky cabinets with racks of monitors, keyboards, and mice. Other datacenters rack-mount their servers and use a keyboard/video/mouse (KVM) switchbox to switch between the servers in the rack. Still others have KVM switchboxes that run over TCP/IP, the idea being that from anywhere in the enterprise you can monitor whats happening on the server console. Some of these setups are complex and expensive, but the real question is whether they can help if the server reaches the blue screen stage or completely hangs when youre at another site or in another country.
Understanding Out-of-Band Management

When you reach an unresponsive server by an alternate route through the serial port the approach is often referred to as out-of-band (OOB) management. Because Microsoft wants you to be able to run a lean datacenter, the company designed Windows 2003 to work in an OOB headless environment. Headless means that you can set up, build, run, monitor, restart, and repair a Windows 2003 server without a keyboard, a mouse, or even a video card. And you might be able to do so from anywhere in your enterprise in fact, from anywhere in the world. (You usually cant perform all those actions with a KVM switch or even with a TCP/IP KVM switch.)
n Note
To get the kind of support that Windows 2003s headless environment provides, you would usually need to install a third-party card, such as Compaqs Remote Insight Lights-Out Edition card.
If your server becomes unresponsive over the network and you cant use Terminal Services or Telnet to manage it, you now have Windows 2003s EMS. The principle underlying EMS is simple: You install a special piece of software on Windows 2003 that displays whats happening over the computers serial port. Then, through a second device, you can manage a broken Windows 2003 server. Any of several pieces of hardware can serve as the second device, as Figure 6.5 shows. You might attach a handy Windows Tablet PC running Hilgraeves HyperTerminal or another portable serial device.
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You might attach a password-protected security modem to the servers serial port and dial in to see whats up. You might attach all the servers to a device called a serial port concentrator. Then, you can use character-based Telnet to get direct access to a specific server.
Figure 6.5
Connecting to a broken servers serial port
Windows 2003 Server
Out of Band / Alternate Network
via S erial Port
Serial Port Concentrator

via Ser ial Po rt
via Se ria l
l-in Dia
Security Modem
Po rt
Phone Company
Typically, you would use one device to connect to the servers serial port
Production Network Ethernet
Laptop Computer
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Tip
Cyclades (http://www.cyclades.com) is one manufacturer of serial port concentrators. You can find the companys statement of support for EMS at http://www.cyclades.com/pressroom/?id=1051617600
No matter which serial connection you choose, the concept is the same: The device isnt connected to the same network as the broken server. That way, you can reach the server through the serial port.
Configuring the SAC

The Special Administration Console (SAC) is a key component of OOB management. The SAC is the EMS command-line environment that Windows 2003 provides. This console is separate from the usual command-line environment and provides different functions. After youve enabled EMS, the SAC is always running unless EMS components dont load properly. For an introduction to the SAC, go to the following Microsoft URLs: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/prodtechnol/windowsserver2003 /proddocs/entserver/ems_components.asp http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/prodtechnol/windowsserver2003 /proddocs/entserver/ems_sac_commands.asp However you choose to manage your damaged server, with EMS, you ultimately use the serial port. To see for yourself what EMS looks like, you must configure your server to output to the serial port. You do so through the bootcfg command, which changes parameters in the boot.ini file. Youll simply run bootcfg /EMS with additional parameters.
Caution
Your commands might differ depending on which serial and boot options work for your hardware.
Youll automatically add an entry to your boot.ini file that, after a reboot, enables EMS. If you have a device connected to the serial port through a null-modem connection, youll see the output of EMS as soon as the system reboots. Figure 6.6 shows the results of a successful run of the bootcfg command as well as the output from the newly changed boot.ini file.
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Figure 6.6
Enabling EMS
Tip
Enabling EMS for the next boot is easy; just be sure to use the same speed for the computer and the receiving device.
When you reboot the server, you might notice almost imperceptible differences on the boot-up screen but little else thats different. In fact, if the server doesnt encounter problems, it continues to boot as usual. However, if you have a device connected to the serial port of the server, youll see the SAC, which Figure 6.7 shows. In this example, I have a laptop running HyperTerminal connected through a null-modem connection.
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Figure 6.7
SAC initialization
After the SAC is loaded, you can choose to restart the unresponsive server shut down the server open one or more command prompts set a different IP address for the server, which is useful should the server need to be moved to a different segment manually crash the system, which is useful if you want to generate Crashdump data for Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS Microsoft might request Crashdump information to troubleshoot particularly sticky problems)
Figure 6.8 displays SAC commands. Reading through the list gives you a sense of the actions you can take.
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Figure 6.8
SAC commands
Caution
Usually, youll want to avoid Crashdump because it will, as its name implies, crash the system and create a dump.
Whats amazing about the SAC is that if your server encounters a blue screen (or if you force one through the SACs Crashdump command), youll see the blue screen output on your serial-port connected terminal session, as Figure 6.9 shows.
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Figure 6.9
Windows 2003 server crash SAC output
Understanding !SAC
Telnet and Terminal Services work well when the system is running in which case, you can use in-band management. The SAC makes the difference when things arent going well (e.g., misconfigured IP addresses, service problems, blue screens) over the usual network channel. However, if a machine is completely unresponsive (i.e., the machine might or might not have displayed the blue screen but is 100 percent hung), you still have !SAC. !SAC (usually pronounced Bang SAC) is a special Windows 2003 mode. !SAC provides a limited subset of what you can do through OOB. Basically, you can restart the computer and redirect onscreen blue screen messages. You cant choose !SAC mode to perform these functions, however; the underlying system chooses it for you. For more information about !SAC, go to the following Microsoft URL: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/prodtechnol/windowsserver2003 /proddocs/entserver/ems_!sac_commands.asp
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Additional EMS Thoughts

EMS, SAC, and !SAC offer OOB management with terrific benefits. However, you might be able to get additional benefits depending on which kind of BIOS and hardware you use for your Windows 2003 server. For example, if you need to change the boot order or another BIOS setting, your BIOS might or might not be capable of redirecting its output to the serial port. Youll need to check with your server vendor to ask whether your server BIOS supports redirection to the serial port. You can do much more with EMS, headless servers, and the SAC, including building machines from scratch all through the serial port. For more information about EMS and headless servers, go to the following Microsoft URL: http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hwdev/platform/server/headless /default.mspx
Performing an AD Backup and Restore

If you open up your Windows 2003 and Win2K Active Directory Users and Computers console, youre likely to see a sea of organizational units (OUs) full of users. A portion of your directory might resemble the DomainA.com directory that the diagram in Figure 6.10 represents.
Figure 6.10
DomainA.com AD directory
John
Sally
Sales
Dirk
Jeff
West Coast Sales

Edna
East Coast Sales DomainA.com
James
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AD can be a pretty treacherous place, with many administrators performing lots of work at all times. What happens if an administrator inadvertently deletes Jeffs account? Or worse, an administrator deletes East Coast Sales and everyone in it? Or worse yet, an administrator deletes Sales, all the OUs below it, and everyone in them? Although a little panic is understandable, if you stay calm, you can get your AD accounts back. Doing so, however, takes some pre-planning and a little good fortune.
AD Backup Essentials
Backing up AD is relatively straightforward. Simply perform a system state backup of one DC. A servers system state is its nucleus. If you back up a DCs system state, you have the contents of AD.
Caution
If you must perform a restore of deleted objects, you need to know that the machine on which you do the backups is the machine on which you do the restores. Also, to perform a restore, as youll see in the following text, you need to reboot and take the DC offline. Therefore, if you plan to back up one or two DCs in your environment, make sure that you can reboot those DCs during the day without penalty.
Performing a System State Backup

With the preceding information, you can use the standard backup tool. Navigate to and select System State, as Figure 6.11 shows.
Figure 6.11
Backing up the system state
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You should back up to a location that youll be able to access when this machine is rebooted either a tape drive or a file. Remember that you cant take a system state backup from one DC and restore that system state to another DC.
Creating an AD Map
Next, you need to make a map of your AD. If someone deletes an object, youll need to know its distinguished name (DN) to restore it. As youll recall, a DN is a list of items separated by commas that uniquely identifies an object by using the relative DN for the object and the names of the container objects and domains that contain the object. The DN is a text representation of an entry in the directory server database. For example, the object selected in Figure 6.12 would have the DN
cn=James,ou=East Coast Sales,ou=Sales,dc=domaina,dc=com
Figure 6.12
Mapping each object shown by DN
Without a map of your AD that tells you explicitly where each object is listed by DN, youll have a difficult time restoring objects, as the following text discusses.
Tip
In Chapter 7: Command-Line, Support, and Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools, Ill show you how to use the Dsquery command to display a list of all the users DNs at once.
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AD Nonauthoritative Restore
After youve performed your backup, if a problem occurs (e.g., someone deletes James account or East Coast Sales), you can start to recover what was deleted by performing a nonauthoritative restore. To begin a nonauthoritative restore, you need to reboot the DC on which you created the system state backup. When you do so, press F8 to get to the special boot options that Figure 6.13 shows.
Figure 6.13
Starting an AD restore
Choose the Directory Services Restore Mode (Windows domain controllers only) option. This choice enables a special mode that lets you start your restore process. When the logon prompt appears, you log on with the Directory Services Restore Mode password. You created and entered this password when you ran Dcpromo and made this server a DC.
Tip
What if you cant remember your Directory Services Restore Mode password? Youll need to reboot, log on as domain Administrator, and type
Ntdsutil
Then type the command

set dsrm password
which lets you reset your forgotten password.
After you log on, run the backup utility again. Perform a full system state restore to the original location, as Figure 6.14 shows.
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Figure 6.14
Restoring AD on top of itself
After you perform the full system state restore, the records youve preserved in the system state backup will be returned to AD and restored. However, your job isnt complete until you do an authoritative restore.
AD Authoritative Restore
After the nonauthoritative restore is complete, youll be asked to reboot the machine. Do not reboot! Instead, close NT Backup and proceed.
Caution
When youre asked to reboot the machine following a nonauthoritative restore, do not reboot! If you reboot, other DCs can override information about the objects youre restoring.
If you reboot, the AD objects wouldnt be restored. This situation occurs because when an AD object is deleted, its recorded as deleted and tombstoned. That information goes to other DCs, which also record that the object is slated for deletion and tombstoned. As a result, even though this DC has restored the object to its own local copy of the AD database, other DCs will override the restoration with their signal indicating that the object is tombstoned and slated for deletion.
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You need a way to communicate to the other DCs that for the specific objects you want restored those DCs should accept a signal to override the communication that those objects are slated for deletion. That signal is the authoritative restore.
n Note
Because AD replication would require a chapter in itself, Ill keep the information brief here. However, underneath the hood, the authoritative restore raises the update sequence number (USN) to a very high number ensuring that other DCs with lower USNs cant overwrite the objects youre restoring. For a comprehensive article about USNs with AD backup and restore, see my article at http://www.mcpmag.com/features/article.asp?editorialsid=166 and the following Windows and .Net Magazine article at http://www.winnetmag.com/articles/index.cfm?articleid=15558
Start your authoritative restore by typing

Ntdsutil
at a command line. Then, to reach the authoritative restore menu, type

authoritative restore
Assuming the inadvertently deleted portion of AD was the East Coast Sales OU and everything in it, following authoritative restore, type
restore subtree "ou=East Coast Sales,ou=sales,dc=domaina,dc=com"
as Figure 6.15 shows.
Figure 6.15
Performing an authoritative restore
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An authoritative restore ensures that other DCs wont overwrite the objects youre restoring after this DC is rebooted. When you reboot this DC after the authoritative restore is complete, the deleted objects get the signal to ride above the tombstoned objects. That way, the objects are restored to this DC and replicated to all other DCs.
The New Windows 2003 Backup API

Windows 2003 provides a new API, Tombstone Reanimate, which should be useful in restoring deleted objects in AD. As you just read, it takes a full system state backup of a DC, a reboot, a nonauthoritative restore, and an authoritative restore just to get back one user object. The idea of the new API is straightforward: After an AD object is tombstoned that is, marked for deletion you can have a program un-tombstone that object. I worked with Bill Boswell (http://www.winconsultants.com) and Mark Russinovich (http://www.sysinternals.com) to test this API. Unfortunately, although we were able to reanimate tombstones (and get previously deleted objects back from the dead), they resembled the reanimated animals in Stephen Kings Pet Sematary in that they werent quite right. Most of their features, such as group membership and even phone number, werent replaced, making the API a lot less useful than it could be. You can test the code yourself by visiting http://www.sysinternals.com/files/adrestore.zip.
Enabling ASR
When a major server failure hits, you want to get the server back up and running quickly. Windows 2003s (and Windows XPs) Automated System Recovery (ASR) feature lets you recover a system that wont start. Before ASR, you had to load the entire OS from CD-ROM, then do a complete restore on top of the fresh OS installation. ASR lets you take a snapshot of the system volume and put it on tape or other locally attached media. Additionally, some information about the backup is preserved to floppy disk. Figure 6.16 shows the Automated System Recovery Preparation Wizard, which lets you enable ASR from within Windows 2003s backup utility.
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Figure 6.16
The Automated System Recovery Preparation Wizard
n Note
ASR lets you take a snapshot of the system volume for later restore.
Tip
The Automated System Recovery Preparation Wizard backs up the partition the OS uses, but it doesnt back up other partitions, such as program and data partitions. Those partitions must be backed up using standard routines.
When a problem hits, you can simply pop in the most recent set of ASR tapes along with the floppy disk created for that backup and boot with the Windows 2003 CD-ROM, as Figure 6.17 indicates. While the CD-ROM is booting, press F2 for ASR Recovery, and youre nearly done.
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Figure 6.17
Starting ASR after a disaster
The ASR process will read the floppy disk to determine your disk configuration at the time you created the backup. After the OS is loaded, the process automatically restores the rest of the system drive. ASR can really save time but the catch is that the backup data must reside in a place that ASR can reach. ASR can reach only locally attached backup data, such as data stored on tape or disk. (You cant access the backup over the network, and you cant have it waiting for you on specialty devices such as FireWire IEEE 1394 or USB 2.0 drives.) For more information about ASR, go to http://www.windows2000faq.com/articles/index.cfm?articleid=37650 http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/prodtechnol/windowsserver2003 /proddocs/entserver/asr_overview.asp
Replicating DCs from Media

Before I wrap up this chapter, I want to discuss one more backup-related issue: the new Windows 2003 option that lets you install from media. IFM solves a serious problem that certain AD deployments have. Some AD deployments are so large and the pipes between DCs so small that promoting a new DC becomes painfully slow or even impossible. Windows 2003s IFM option lets you take one DCs system state and put it on CD-ROM, USB thumb drive, or any other removable media. You can then ship that removable media along with the server to a destination (or if the server is already at the destination, send just the latest IFM media set). When youre ready to promote the target server to DC, run Dcpromo with a special switch (the Dcpromo /adv switch), and the Active Directory Installation Wizard will prompt for that previously saved system state, as Figure 6.18 shows.
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Figure 6.18
Deploying IFM to copy domain information
The newborn DC gets about 99 percent of the AD information from the removable media it has locally. You can get the remaining 1 percent of information over the network. Now, deploying DCs across even pathetically slow links is virtually a guaranteed success.
n Note
You start with a system state you already have, put it on removable media, and ship it with (or to) the DC-to-be. Then, run Dcpromo /adv. When you do, the Active Directory Installation Wizard offers a special option for promoting a new DC. By using IFM, you can reduce network traffic and get that DC loaded.
Next: New Tools and Resources

Being able to restore AD is more important than ever; fortunately, doing so is easier than ever. The Windows 2003 backup and recovery functions Ive discussed in this chapter take you a long way toward recovery nirvana. RC Microsoft introduced the RC in Win2K, but the feature has been updated in Windows 2003. EMS with SAC and !SAC EMS, SAC, and !SAC are new in Windows 2003.
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AD backup and restore Although this function is familiar, its good to refresh your knowledge. Also, I hope that the Tombstone Reanimate API brings forth some goodies from third-party tool makers. ASR ASR is new in XP and Windows 2003. The tool is handy, but works only if the disk or tape is locally attached. IFM IFM is a highly useful tool, especially for large AD shops with small pipes and lots of DCs. Windows 2003 becomes more interesting the closer you look. In Chapter 7, youll encounter Windows 2003s new built-in tools, support tools, and resource kit tools.
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Chapter 7:
Command-Line, Support, and Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools
GUI is good. Command-line is better. Whats in the box is tasty. But add-ons are sweeter. Poetry aside, those lines indicate what this chapter offers. Ill review how to work with some key Windows Server 2003 (Windows 2003) tools that offer great benefits if you know how to use them. I discuss selected command-line tools, support tools, and resource kit tools. From these tool sources, youll be able to build a custom toolkit tailored to your environment.
Windows 2003 Built-In Command-Line Tools

The advantage of command-line tools is that you can use them without a GUI. This option is helpful when you use Telnet or, as I discussed in Chapter 6, when you use the Special Administration Console (SAC) through Windows 2003s Emergency Management Services (EMS). Additionally, some tools can run under a normal user context and are therefore useful inside logon or startup scripts. The downside of command-line tools is the learning curve. The tool names are hard to remember, and the multiple options that the tools offer can be equally baffling. However, although command-line tools can be cumbersome, their benefits typically outweigh their drawbacks. When it comes to Windows 2003, the Microsoft development team got command-line tools right. Although not all GUI options are scriptable, those that are scriptable are well implemented and equally well documented. To get a list of the command-line utilities available in Windows 2003, open the Help and Support Center and locate the Command-line reference A-Z, which Figure 7.1 shows. (Notice, however, that the last tool in the alphabet is Xcopy. Perhaps Windows 2006 will have commands that start with Y and Z.)
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Figure 7.1
The Help and Support Center list of command-line tools
Tip
Typically, to reach the list of command-line utilities, I type
command line reference
in the search window. You can also immediately locate the Help and Support Center list of command-line utilities by opening a command prompt and typing
hh ntcmds.chm
Chapter 7 Command-Line, Support, and Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools
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Windows 2003 offers a bevy of command-line tools almost too many. To keep the commandline tool section of the chapter manageable, Ill limit my discussion to those tools that help you manage the event log and Active Directory (AD).
n Note
Dont let the myriad options that each tool offers befuddle you. Almost every tool has a /? option that lists the tools options. Alternatively, you can click the name of a tool listed in Figure 7.1 to display that tools command-line options.
Built-In Command-Line Event-Log Tools

The event log is perhaps the most underutilized Windows troubleshooting tool. Event logs record more useful knowledge than almost any other tool. The problem is that you have to keep checking them. Although third-party tools can help you consolidate and manage your event logs, you can also improve your event-log experience with some of the built-in tools at your disposal. Ill examine three built-in tools that can help you manage your event logs: Eventcreate, Eventquery, and Eventtriggers.
Eventcreate
Eventcreate lets an administrator create a custom event in a specified event log. If youre a batch file junky, and you want to have the status of your jobs reported to the event log, youll want to use the Eventcreate tool. The Eventcreate syntax from the Help file reads eventcreate [/s Computer [/u Domain\User [/p Password]] {[/l {APPLICATION | SYSTEM}] | [/so SrcName]} /t {ERROR | WARNING | INFORMATION} /id EventID /d Description
n Note
According to Microsofts formatting legend, italics indicate information the user must supply; boldface indicates something the user must type exactly as shown; an ellipsis indicates a parameter that can be repeated in a command; brackets indicate optional items; braces indicate choices from which the user must choose one only; and Courier font indicates code or program output.
Figure 7.2 shows a sample batch file script that, if a flag file is found, reports the finding to the event log.
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Figure 7.2
Deploying Eventcreate
When the script reports the finding to the event log, the result appears in the format that Figure 7.3 shows.
Figure 7.3
Result of an Eventcreate finding
The Eventcreate tool is handy, but it becomes even handier when you use it with utilities such as Eventquery and EventCombMT. (I discuss EventCombMT in the Windows 2003 resource kit utilities section toward the end of the chapter.)
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Eventquery
Eventquerys purpose is to query event logs on Windows 2003 servers for information already in the logs including information you set the event logs to capture through Eventcreate. However, if you try to use the Eventquery tool without preparation, you get the message that Figure 7.4 shows. You first need to change the default command processor.
Figure 7.4
Changing the default command processor
At the command prompt, type

cscript //H:CSCRIPT //S
which changes the command processor from the interactive GUI script processor to CScript. The Eventquery syntax from the Help file reads eventquery[.vbs] [/s Computer [/u Domain\User [/p Password]]] [/fi FilterName] [/fo {TABLE | LIST | CSV}] [/r EventRange [/nh] [/v] [/l [APPLICATION] [SYSTEM] [SECURITY] ["DNS server"] [UserDefinedLog] [DirectoryLogName] [*] ] If I want to query all events that have event ID 106 in the Application log of the server Im currently on, for example, I can type
eventquery.vbs /FI ID eq 106 /l Application
and get the results that Figure 7.5 shows. Note that the response is available because I entered event ID 106 onto this server with Eventcreate.
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Figure 7.5
Querying a server with Eventquery
Eventtriggers
The Eventtriggers tool ties your event-management efforts together. That is, when an event you want to monitor pops into the event log, you can have Eventtriggers notify you or set a command to execute automatically. Its like having someone dedicated to monitoring the server logs and acting upon them if necessary. The Eventtriggers tool includes three commands: Eventtriggers create Eventtriggers query Eventtriggers delete For monitoring and notification to occur, you must first create the Eventtrigger, which will then monitor and act upon the occurrence of logged events that meet the criteria you set up. After you create some triggers, you can see them at work by using the Eventtriggers query command. You can delete Eventtriggers with the Eventtriggers delete command. As an example, Ill create an Eventtrigger for event ID 106. That is, if event ID 106 appears in the Application log, Eventtriggers fires off a batch file in response. In this example, I use the syntax
eventtriggers /create /tr FilePresent /l application /eid 106 /tk \\vmserver2\share\gobatch.cmd
which Figure 7.6 shows. This syntax creates a trigger named FilePresent and checks the Application log for event ID 106. If Eventtriggers finds event ID 106, it automatically triggers the command
gobatch.cmd
which you can also see in Figure 7.6.
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Figure 7.6
Deploying Eventtriggers to trigger actions based on events
n Note
You also have available the command Evntcmd, which converts events to SNMP traps, or notifications. Evntcmd might be useful if you have many SNMP-related devices and a management station thats configured to address SNMP traps. For more information about SNMP traps, refer to my eBook The Definitive Guide to Enterprise Manageability, which NetIQ also sponsors. Youll find the eBook at http://www.netiq.com/offers/ebook/default.asp and the SNMP information in Chapter 5.
To test my Eventtrigger command syntax, I used the same command that I used when I experimented with Eventcreate. That is, I created an event with event ID 106, then watched my trigger react and execute the batch file. (The batch file that Eventtrigger triggers might send an email, display a pop-up, or perform any number of actions.)
Built-In AD Management Tools

Microsoft has included a suite of command-line AD management tools in Windows 2003s base installation. Without your having to write custom scripts, these commands help you perform basic directory maintenance. I think youll find the following built-in AD management tools and their functions particularly useful. Dsadd Adds objects to the directory Dsmove Moves objects from their current directory location to a new location Dsget Gets information about and displays the properties of directory objects Dsmod Modifies specific attributes of objects already present in the directory Dsquery Locates directory objects that fit specified criteria Dsrm Removes objects or a portion of a directory subtree
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Although I lack the space to explore all the built-in tools and their commands in detail, Ill show you the essential ropes with two of the tools and you can take it from there. Ill discuss the Dsadd tools Dsadd user command and the Dsquery tools Dsquery user command.
Dsadd
Dsadd gives you a simple way to add several kinds of entities to AD quickly. The six Dsadd commands are Dsadd computer Dsadd contact Dsadd group Dsadd OU Dsadd user Dsadd quota Dsadd User The Dsadd user syntax from the Help file looks a little daunting. It reads dsadd user UserDN [-samid SAMName] [-upn UPN] [-fn FirstName] [-mi Initial] [-ln LastName] [-display DisplayName] [-empid EmployeeID] [-pwd {Password | *}] [-desc Description] [-memberof Group;...] [-office Office] [-tel PhoneNumber] [-email Email] [-hometel HomePhoneNumber] [-pager PagerNumber] [-mobile CellPhoneNumber] [-fax FaxNumber] [-iptel IPPhoneNumber] [-webpg WebPage] [-title Title] [-dept Department] [-company Company] [-mgr Manager] [-hmdir HomeDirectory] [-hmdrv DriveLetter:] [-profile ProfilePath] [-loscr ScriptPath] [-mustchpwd {yes | no}] [-canchpwd {yes | no}] [-reversiblepwd {yes | no}] [-pwdneverexpires {yes | no}] [-acctexpires NumberOfDays] [-disabled {yes | no}] [{-s Server | -d Domain}] [-u UserName] [-p {Password | *}] [-q] [{-uc | -uco | -uci}] Dont let the extreme set of options deter you from deploying this command. Youll find that Dsadd goes well beyond the capabilities of the old Net user command. With Dsadd, you can set virtually every option typically found in a user object. For example, you can create a new user object for Jane Martin in DomainAs marketing organizational unit (OU). In this example, her first name is Jane, her middle initial is A, and her last name is Martin. She is a member of the Backup Operators group, and her telephone number is 302-555-1212. You would use the syntax
Dsadd user cn=Jane_Martin,ou=marketing,dc=domaina,dc=com -fn Jane mi A -ln Martin display Jane Martin memberof cn=Backup Operators,cn=builtin,dc=domaina,dc=com tel 302-555-1212
which Figure 7.7 shows.
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Figure 7.7
Deploying Dsadd user to add user accounts anywhere in AD
j
Dsquery
Tip
Dsadd is particular about its input requirements, especially when you specify the distinguished name (DN) of the account you want to create and the group or groups to which you want to add that user account. When you use Dsadd, youll need to be precise.
The powerful Dsquery tool lets you search all of AD for specific object types. The Dsquery tools commands are Dsquery computer Dsquery contact Dsquery group Dsquery OU Dsquery site Dsquery server Dsquery user Dsquery quota Dsquery partition You can also use Dsquery * which provides a global search through your entire AD. Again, because I dont have unlimited space for examples, Ill restrict my example to one Dsquery command Dsquery user. Dsquery User Youll probably use the Dsquery user command often. This useful command helps you locate user objects in the directory. The syntax from the Help file reads
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dsquery user [{StartNode | forestroot | domainroot}] [-o {dn | rdn | upn | samid}] [-scope {subtree | onelevel | base}] [-name Name] [-desc Description] [-upn UPN] [-samid SAMName] [-inactive NumberOfWeeks] [-stalepwd NumberOfDays] [-disabled] [{-s Server | -d Domain}] [-u UserName] [-p {Password | *}] [-q] [-r] [-gc] [-limit NumberOfObjects] [{-uc | -uco | -uci}] The best news is that you can keep this syntax very short to get a quick result back. For example, if you want to check the location of all the users in your domain named Jane, you would simply type
dsquery user name Jane*
Figure 7.8 shows the results of that query: all the DNs in your domain that include Jane in the name. This kind of DN-related query is particularly handy for backup and recovery purposes should you need to perform an authoritative restore, which I discussed in the Chapter 6.
Figure 7.8
Deploying Dsquery user to locate users in AD
Windows 2003 Support Tools

The support tools are an important element in maintaining server and AD health. Youll discover an excellent set of advanced tools available as an additional install but free on the Windows 2003 CD-ROM.
Support Tools Installation

To locate the support tools, navigate to <cd-rom>:\Support\Tools and launch SUPTOOLS.MSI, which Figure 7.9 shows.
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Figure 7.9
Locate SUPTOOLS.MSI
Tip
Note that this tools folder also holds automated deployment tools in Deploy.cab which you can explore if you feel adventurous.
After youve installed Suptools.msi, youll see the results in the Start menu as Windows Support Tools. You wont find the specific tools listed. Youll need to launch the Suptools.msi Help file, which then displays the list of tools, as Figure 7.10 shows.
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Figure 7.10
List of Support Tools in the Help and Support Center
n Note
You can get to the screen that Figure 7.10 shows either by starting with Suptools.msi in the Start menu (then launching Suptools.msis Help file) or by going to the Help and Support Center.
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AD Tools
Many of the support tools exist to help you manage AD. You can get a list of AD-related tools by clicking the Active Directory Management Tools subset, which you can see in Figure 7.10. The tools listed in the Active Directory Management Tools subset tools are deeply capable; exploring one or two tools in any depth could fill a chapter. Some of the tools that I consider AD management tools dont appear in this tool subset but in other categories. Dcdiag, the first tool I discuss, is a case in point.
Tip
Youll want to examine the Alphabetical List of Tools highlighted in Figure 7.10 to get a feel for all the tools available.
With your custom toolkit in mind, Ill discuss a few of the most important tools for day-to-day AD management. After I discuss Dcdiag, Ill discuss its Active Directory Management Tools subset diagnostic counterpart: Active Directory Replication Monitor (Replmon).
Dcdiag
Dcdiag is the Swiss Army knife of AD testing. You carry out most tests by using the syntax
dcdiag /test: <test>
where <test> can be any one of a huge number of options. For example, you can test whether a domain controller (DC) is healthy (by using the Advertising switch), whether the topology between DCs is kosher (by using the Topology and Replication switches), which DCs hold which Flexible Single-Master Operation (FSMO, aka Operations Master) roles (by using the FSMOCheck switch), and much more. Dcdiag with Replication Sometimes, replication between DCs suddenly stops for no apparent reason. You can often find the cause by checking DNS, but discovering the extent of the problem can be difficult. If you use the syntax
dcdiag /test:Replication
you get results that resemble those shown in Figure 7.11. Results that indicate individual replication problems can help you gauge the extent of the overall problem (in this case, no replication problems exist).
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Figure 7.11
Deploying Dcdiag
If you suspect replication problems, you can also carry out the test with the /v switch. This switch enables verbose output, which can help you see precisely where problems lie. Dcdiag with Dcpromo When you bring up new DCs at other sites, you might face a familiar challenge: problems that might be either on the server that you want to promote or in the domain itself. All you know is that something is preventing the promotion of the server to DC. Dcdiag with the /test:DCPROMO switch can help. If you want to create a new replica DC, you use the syntax dcdiag /test:DCPROMO /DNSDomain:<domainname> /replicadc from the machine you want to promote to DC. If your DC-to-be passes all tests to be promoted, youll see the results that Figure 7.12 shows. You can then proceed knowing that the promotion is likely to work.
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Figure 7.12
Deploying Dcdiag with the /test:DCPROMO switch
Replmon
If Dcdiag is the Swiss Army knife of command-line AD diagnostics, then Replmon fills a similar role but with a GUI. You begin deploying Replmon by loading all the DCs in the domain. You do so by clicking Edit, clicking Add Monitored Server, and continuing through the Add Monitored Server Wizard. After youve loaded all DCs, youre prepared to run some tests. For example, you can right-click a DC and run a test that generates a report, such as Check Replication Topology, which Figure 7.13 shows.
Figure 7.13
Deploying Replmon for AD diagnostics
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You can use Replmon to perform a host of validation tests. One powerful function is Synchronize Each Directory Partition with All Servers, which you see listed in Figure 7.13. When you select and initiate this function, the Synchronizing Naming Context with Replication Partners dialog box that you see in Figure 7.14 will appear and offer three synchronization options.
Figure 7.14
The Synchronize Naming Context with Replication Partners dialog box
AD replication is usually pull only that is, each DC in a site will pull the latest data from its partners. You can change the replication mode by selecting the Push mode option that Figure 7.14 shows. Additionally, instead of waiting for replication to occur more widely, you can force replication over site boundaries by selecting the Cross site boundaries option that Figure 7.14 shows.
n Note
Replmon lets you perform a one-time push replication through the Push mode option that Figure 7.14 shows.
Caution
Ive never encountered a need to use the first option that Figure 7.14 shows, Disables transitive replication. I typically want replication to occur everywhere, so I dont select that option.
Youll want to familiarize yourself with Replmon, which is one of the most useful tools for troubleshooting AD problems. Be aware, however, that the Help function in Replmon is nonexistent. You might want to search on the tool name to access some of the many articles about deploying Replmon.
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Windows 2003 Resource Kit Utilities

The Windows resource kits have always offered tools that perform various kinds of magic. Historically, Microsoft made some tools available for download, but you had to purchase the resource kit and the resource kit documentation to get most of the tools. With Windows 2003, Microsoft is apparently giving away the bulk of the resource kit utilities and making others available as theyre produced. To start developing your resource kit, go to http://download.microsoft.com/download/8/e/c/8ec3a7d8-05b4-440a-a71e-ca3ee25fe057/rktools.exe and download and install the resource kit on your computer.
Tip
Also available as a separate download is the Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 Resource Kit. For an overview of the resource kit and to download it, go to http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=80a1b6e6-829e-49b7-8c02333d9c148e69&displaylang=en
Some of the utilities in the resource kit are command-line tools, others are GUI tools, and still others fall into a different category. Ill explore tools from the third category first.
Active Directory Users and Computers Enhancement Tools

Two great resource kit tools enhance the capability of the Active Directory Users and Computers console the tool you use each and every day. Ill give you an overview of both Acctinfo.dll and Rcontrolad.
Acctinfo.dll
Acctinfo.dll isnt a program you can simply double-click and run. Rather, it attaches itself to the Active Directory Users and Computers console to extend the consoles capabilities. Acctinfo.dll displays all sorts of interesting account information about the most recent user logon. Previously, you would have needed scripting to get this information. However, to get to these account information properties, youll first need to complete the following steps: 1. Copy Acctinfo.dll to \%systemroot%\system32 2. Then, use the syntax
regsvr32 acctinfo.dll
n Note
Youll need to repeat both steps to add Acctinfo.dll to each individual system.
140
Tip
If you want to remove Acctinfo.dll, simply use the syntax
regsvr32 /u acctinfo.dll
After you register Acctinfo.dll, youll be able to see the newly available information on the Additional Account Info tab in the dialog box that Figure 7.15 shows.
Figure 7.15
The Additional Account Info tab
Without needing to use scripting, you can access lots of information (e.g., when the users password next expires, when the user most recently logged on, what the user accounts SID is). One interesting and useful feature is the Set PW On Site DC button that you can see in Figure 7.15. When you click the Set PW On Site DC button, the dialog box that Figure 7.16 shows will appear. You can then change the users password directly on the DC that the user uses for validation.
141
Figure 7.16
The Change Password On a DC In the Users Site dialog box
If you use the Set PW On Site DC feature to change passwords, users will be able to access their newly changed passwords right away. They wont need to wait for replication from the PDC-Emulator to this DC.
Rcontrolad
Rcontrolad is a tool that lets you control another useful little tool. When you double-click Rcontrolad, it expands into several files. First, you run the rcontrol_setup.exe program as a Domain Administrator. Second, you copy the included rcontrol.exe to the location from which you deploy your Active Directory Users and Computers console. Youll then be able to right-click any XP or Windows 2003 computer and select Remote Control, as Figure 7.17 shows.
Figure 7.17
Selecting Remote Control after deploying Rcontrolad
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After Rcontrolad is installed, you can control target computers remotely. When you do, youll be connected through Terminal Services to the remote computer, as Figure 7.18 shows.
Figure 7.18
Connecting to the remote computer
Rcontrolad is a handy alternative to manually adding each machine to the Control Panel Remote Desktop applet.
Event Manipulation Tools

In Chapter 1, I discussed the new Server Event Tracking feature, which lets administrators enter (and thereby better track) the reasons for restarting or rebooting a server. In this final section of Chapter 7, I discuss how you can extend that record-keeping capability and also leverage what you learned in this chapter about the Eventcreate, Eventquery, and Eventtriggers tools.
Custreasonedit
The Custreasonedit tool lets you extend the Server Event Tracking features list of possible reasons for shutting down and restarting a server. To use Custreasonedit to add to the list of reasons, you must first introduce sample reasons to this computer. You do so by right-clicking the samplereasons.reg file in Windows Explorer and selecting Merge, as Figure 7.19 shows.
Figure 7.19
Expanding the samplereason.reg file
143
Use the syntax

custreasonedit /i
to launch the tools GUI, as Figure 7.20 shows.
Figure 7.20
Introducing custom reasons for shutdown
After youve run custreasonedit /i, you can see the sample reasons and add your own. Simply type in the Title and Description, pick the Reason Category, select which check boxes you want to have shown by default, and click Add. After youve tailored the list, click Export to export to a registry file. Then, merge the resulting registry file back into the system registry and your reasons will be customized.
Tip
The Custreasonedit process I describe customizes the reasons for this machine only. However, the readme.chm file tells you how to distribute the updated reasons list to multiple machines.
144
EventCombMT
Youve learned how to use the Eventcreate tool to capture selected events in the event log. Now, you might want a centralized way to locate these (and other) events across multiple servers. The EventCombMT tool lets you perform event searches easily. After you run EventCombMT, you can right-click in the left window and select the types of servers on which to query events, as Figure 7.21 shows (highlighted in yellow).
Figure 7.21
Selecting servers to search
As Figure 7.22 shows, you can select the log files to search (highlighted in orange), the event types (highlighted in green), any specific event IDs or event ID ranges (highlighted in yellow), or text within an event (highlighted in blue). In this example, Im checking one DC for event ID 105 and event ID 106 in the Application, System, and Security logs.
145
Figure 7.22
Entering the types of events for the search
When you click Search in EventCombMT, the tool will query all the servers specified for the criteria you established. When the search is finished, the Temp directory will contain several files, and the Temp directory window will be exposed automatically. Open up a log file, such as the file Figure 7.23 shows, to see the events returned from the search including those you created with the Evencreate tool.
146
Figure 7.23
Logged events that match the criteria you establish
n Note
The resource kit tools are downloadable, but Microsoft doesnt support them 100 percent. Should you need assistance with them, youll get best-effort support.
Next: Special Domain Operations

You can perform administrative tasks countless ways. However, familiarizing yourself with the command-line tools, support tools, and resource kit tools can really be a lifesaver. You can then better leverage the event logs to figure out whats happening in your environment. Best of all, all the commands and tools Ive discussed in this chapter are free. However, no centralized storage mechanism for events exists yet for that youll still need a third-party tool. In the final chapter of Windows 2003: Active Directory Administration Essentials, I consider some operations youll probably perform rarely, such as transferring or seizing server roles, addressing DC promotions that fail partway through, cleaning up the metabase, and renaming DCs and domains. Ill discuss how to perform these operations safely.
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Chapter 8:
Special Domain Operations

In the previous chapters of Windows 2003: Active Directory Administration Essentials, Ive discussed many of the Windows Server 2003 (Windows 2003) tasks you might perform regularly or periodically although not always daily. Those tasks include working with trusts authentication firewalls security control Emergency Management Services (EMS) backup and restore advanced administration with support tools In this final chapter, I discuss administrative tasks that involve operations I hope you seldom if ever need to perform. These useful and occasionally necessary operations can be hazardous to the overall health of Active Directory (AD) if theyre not handled perfectly. However, should you be called upon, youll want to know how to perform these tasks. I recommend that you attempt these operations first in a test lab before youre called to active (directory) duty. Among the administrative tasks I cover are working with server roles, cleaning up the AD metabase, renaming domain controllers (DCs), and renaming domains. Because the powerful operations youll use for these tasks involve specific dangers, you need to know how to perform the operations safely.
FSMO Role Review and Troubleshooting

If youre a current Windows 2000 administrator, you probably already know about Flexible Single Master Operation (FSMO, aka Operations Master) roles. FSMO roles control specific Windows 2003 and Win2K domain capabilities, as I describe in the following text. Each of the five FSMO roles two for the entire forest, three for each domain must reside on a DC. Each role plays a key part in the proper operation of AD. Each domain role resides in a specific location and controls specific tasks: PDC Emulator Each domain has one PDC Emulator. The PDC Emulator is the sole password change location for downlevel clients, the central authority for time synchronization, and the default location for the creation of Group Policy Objects (GPOs). Relative Identifier (RID) Master Each domain has one RID Master. The RID Master helps in the creation of new accounts in each domain by providing a unique identification number for each user account. Each users SID has a RID. As you read in the previous chapter, Acctinfo.dll can show you the users SID. The last portion of the users SID (the block of numbers that follows the last dash 1120 in the following screen shot) is the RID, which Figure 8.1 shows.
148
Figure 8.1
RID the last part of the users SID
Infrastructure Master Each domain has one Infrastructure Master. The Infrastructure Masters job is to help translate group memberships. This function kicks into gear when accounts from one domain are members of groups in another domain. Each forest role also resides in a specific place and controls specific functions: Schema Master Each forest has one Schema Master. The Schema Master, as I discussed in Chapter 5, controls all access to the schema. If you extend the schema, the entire forest must comply because the forest has only one schema. Domain Naming Master Each forest has one Domain Naming Master. The Domain Naming Master ensures that no two domains with the same name become members of the forest.
Knowing Role Holders

Before you address any problem solving that involves FSMO roles, youll want to know which DCs currently hold which roles. Ill discuss two of the available methods for revealing the role owners.
Chapter 8 Special Domain Operations
149
Dumpfsmos
One way to check role ownership is to use the Dumpfsmos command, which you can find in the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit. Use the syntax
dumpfsmos <any Domain Controller>
and the results will reveal which roles reside on which DCs, as Figure 8.2 shows.
Figure 8.2
The Dumpfsmos command
Replmon
You can also discover which roles reside on which DCs through Active Directory Replication Monitor (Replmon), which I discussed in Chapter 7. Simply add any DC to Replmons list of DCs, then examine the DCs Server Properties. On the FSMO Roles tab, youll get the rundown that Figure 8.3 shows.
150
Figure 8.3
Locating FSMO roles through Replmon
Transferring Roles
If you need to take a server that holds a role down for maintenance, you should be able to transfer its role to another DC. If the DCs role is a domain-specific role (e.g., RID Master, PDC Emulator, Infrastructure Master), you can transfer the role to another DC in the domain. If the DCs role is a forest-specific role (e.g., Domain Naming Master, Schema Master), you can transfer the role to another DC in any domain. You can perform role transfers two ways: through the GUI and through the command line.
Role Transfer Through the GUI

To perform a transfer graphically, you use tools with which youre already familiar. Consider the following list, which pairs tasks with the tool you use to accomplish them. To transfer the PDC Emulator role, you use the Active Directory Users and Computers console. To transfer the RID Master role, you use the Active Directory Users and Computers console.
151
To transfer the Infrastructure Master role, you use the Active Directory Users and Computer console. You can transfer the first three roles listed through the Active Directory Users and Computers console, as Figure 8.4 shows.
Figure 8.4
Changing FSMO role owners through the Active Directory Users and Computers console
To transfer the Schema Master role, you use the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Active Directory Schema snap-in. To transfer the Domain Naming Master role, you use the Active Directory Domains and Trusts console.
Role Transfer Through the Command Line

Transferring roles through the command line is tricky. To do so, you must use Ntdsutil the same tool you use for AD restoration, which I discussed in Chapter 6. First, Ill give you a brief overview of the sequence involved in the process. You would 1. run Ntdsutil 2. use the Connect command to connect to the server you select to receive the transferred role or roles (i.e., the target server) 3. transfer the role or roles 4. confirm that you want to perform the transfer 5. exit the tool
152
You perform these steps through commands inside Ntdsutil. For example, if you need to transfer the RID Master role from VMServer2 to VMServer5, you would type the following sequence of commands:
ntdsutil
to start the Ntdsutil tool

roles
to go to fsmo maintenance
connections
to enter the connections menu

connect to server <servername>
to bind to the target server

quit
to return to the fsmo maintenance prompt

transfer RID Master
to perform the transfer Youll be asked whether youre sure you want to perform the transfer. After you answer affirmatively, the RID Master should be transferred to the target server, as Figure 8.5 shows (highlighted in red).
Figure 8.5
Transferring a role
153
Seizing Roles
Should a server go down while it owns a role, you might have to seize the role. Seizing a role basically draws a line in the sand that says, Ive tried multiple times and cant get the server back online. The server from which Im seizing the role will never come back online again.
Caution
Seize a role only if youre certain that you must.
The procedure for seizing a role involves Ntdsutil and resembles performing a transfer with that utility. Again, Ill begin with a brief overview of the sequence involved in the process. You would 1. run the Ntdsutil tool 2. use the Connect command to connect to the server on which you want the role or roles to finally reside 3. seize the role or roles you need to relocate 4. confirm that you want to perform the seize 5. exit the tool You perform this sequence through commands inside Ntdsutil. For example, if you must seize the PDC Emulator role from VMServer5 and relocate the role on VMServer2, you would type the following sequence of commands:
ntdsutil
to start the tool

roles
to go to fsmo maintenance
connections
to enter the connections menu

to bind to the target server

quit
to return to the fsmo maintenance prompt

seize PDC
to perform the seize
154
Youll be asked to verify that you want to perform the seize operation. After you answer affirmatively, the system first attempts a safe transfer (which I described in the Transferring Roles section) before it performs the seize operation. If the transfer fails (presumably because the server is dead), you must seize the role in this case, the PDC Emulator role and place it on the target server, as Figure 8.6 shows (highlighted in red).
Figure 8.6
Seizing a role
Cleaning Up the AD Metabase

Sometimes the introduction of new DCs fails partway through. When such a failure occurs, records could linger in the AD metabase until you manually remove them. Youll want to remove the records; otherwise, youll see instances of computers that no longer exist, which can cause confusion and even corruption. You can use the Active Directory Sites and Services console to see whether you have any lingering stale DC objects. In the example that Figure 8.7 shows, VMServerF is stale (it has failed to make any connections) and should be removed.
155
Figure 8.7
A DC that needs to be removed
After you identify a stale object, you need to use Ntdsutil to clean up the AD metabase remove the DC from the site remove the DC from the DC organizational unit (OU)
Metabase Clean-Up Process

The process for cleaning up the metabase is similar to the process for executing other Ntdsutil tasks. You would 1. run the Ntdsutil tool 2. instruct the tool that you want to clean up the metabase 3. use the Connect command to connect to any currently working DC 4. provide Ntdsutil with the location (site and domain) of the DC you want to remove 5. delete the object directly inside AD 6. exit the tool Once again, you perform this procedure through commands inside Ntdsutil. In this example, Im removing VMServerF. The commands you would type are
ntdsutil
to start the tool

metadata cleanup
to prepare to make a connection to a DC
156
to bind to any DC thats working

quit
to return to the metadata cleanup prompt (In the example that Figure 8.8 shows, I abbreviated the command Quit to the letter q.)
select operation target
to get to choose the site, domain, and DC

list domains
to display all the domains to which you have access and automatically assign each of them a number
select domain <number>
where <number> is the domain on which you want to perform maintenance

list sites
to display all the sites in the forest and assign each of them a number
select site <number>
where <number> is the site on which you want to do maintenance

list servers for domain in site
to display all the DCs for the site and assign each of them a number
select server <number>
where <number> is the DC you want to remove

remove selected server
to then remove the server (by pressing Enter) Figure 8.8 shows the complete series of commands for removing a server. The highlighted section shows the final removal of VMServerF.
157
Figure 8.8
Removing VMServerF
After you type

remove selected server
you see the dialog box that Figure 8.9 displays. (Note that this dialog box appears before the final lines of text in the screen shot that Figure 8.8 shows.)
158
Figure 8.9
Server Remove Confirmation dialog box
The DC should be successfully removed. You need to return to the Active Directory Sites and Services console and delete the object. You also need to load the Active Directory Users and Computers console and delete the object.
Tip
According to Microsoft, after you delete a DC, you can add a DC that has the same name as the DC youve deleted. However, I recommend that you not do so. Ive seen directory corruption occur when names are reintroduced.
Renaming DCs
Renaming a server or DC should be easy. However, to rename a server in Windows NT, you must remove the servers computer account from the domain, which adds the server to a workgroup, then reboot. You then rename the server and reboot again. You then rejoin the server to the domain, and oh, yes reboot again! With NT DCs, the process is worse. Basically, you cant rename an NT DC without reformatting the disk and starting over. Win2K lets you rename a server from the Computer Name tab in System Properties. As long as the server is online, the corresponding computer account in AD is changed to reflect the name change. To rename a Win2K DC, you run Dcpromo to demote the DC to a garden variety server, reboot, then rename the server and reboot. You run Dcpromo again to promote the server to DC and you guessed it reboot again. Windows 2003 changes things a bit. To rename a DC, you no longer begin by undoing its DC status. That is, you dont need to run Dcpromo and first demote the DC to server. You can rename a DC two ways: through the GUI or through the command-line.
159
DC Rename Through the GUI

To rename a DC, you can go straight to System Properties Computer Name tab and click Change. Youll then be prompted with the Computer Name Changes warning message that Figure 8.10 shows.
Figure 8.10
Renaming a DC through the GUI
Tip
Figure 8.10 displays a warning you see when you use the GUI to rename a DC.
After youve read the warning and are ready to proceed, click OK to continue. Youll be prompted to change the name, enter administrative credentials, and restart the DC. After the records change in DNS, the DC will be fully renamed and available to service requests.
160
DC Rename Through the Command Line

When you rename a DC through the graphical interface that Figure 8.10 shows, fully replicating the name change through DNS to other DNS servers can take time. To avoid replication delays, as well as to ensure that the DC responds with its old name until youre ready to remove that name, you can provide the computer with an alternate name. With an alternate name, the computer will register DNS (alternate A) records for both names the current name and the new name. The computer provides DNS with the information necessary to proclaim the renamed server a DC and to remove the records that supported the server as a DC by its original name. Setting up an alternate name is helpful if you have any applications that use the DCs original name. You gain time for application users to stop using the old name and start using the new one. After everyone stops using the old name, you can remove it which automatically removes the records that contain it. To perform the first step of a rename and provide an alternate name, you use the Netdom tool from Support Tools. The basic procedure requires that you 1. use Netdom to add the alternate name 2. use Netdom to verify that the alternate name has taken effect 3. use Netdom to change the primary name of the computer from the old name to the new name 4. reboot the computer 5. use Netdom to remove the old name (when youre ready) First, you enter the syntax
netdom computername <current computername> /add:<newname>
In the example that Figure 8.11 shows, Im adding an alternate name (rename5) for the DC VMServer5.
161
Figure 8.11
Deploying Netdom to rename a DC
After you reboot the computer, you should start to see new DNS (A) records populate for the new name in DNS, as Figure 8.12 shows.
162
Figure 8.12
DNS (A) records for both server names
DNS should now have (A) records for both server names. You should also be able to ping and perform Nslookups for the computer by either name, as Figure 8.13 shows.
163
Figure 8.13
Finding both names with Ping and Nslookup
When youre ready to expunge the old name, you can use the syntax
netdom computername <newname> /remove:<oldname>
Renaming Domains
In the domain arena, Windows 2003 brings a totally radical concept to the table. That is, you can rename domains as well as perform rudimentary pruning and grafting within AD. However, before I discuss the new domain rename option, let me set the context by taking you back in time.
Domain Rename A History

Contrary to popular belief, you could rename domains in NT. In fact, if you look at Microsoft Knowledge Base article 178009 at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=http://support.microsoft.com:80/support/kb/articles /q178/0/09.asp&NoWebContent=1
164
youll find the steps to do so. However, when you rename NT domains, some serious cautions apply, and, to some degree, Microsoft has never truly support the renaming. Win2K offers no real way to rename domains. If you want to rename a domain, you have to demote every DC in the domain to server, then promote your first server back to DC and introduce a new name. In addition, you can rename a server only if the server is at the end of a domain tree not if its anywhere in the middle. Also, when you rename the domain, you lose all your user accounts in that domain, and you have to recreate them from scratch. Figure 8.14 shows an example of a Win2K domain in which through the process described above you can rename some domains but not others. You cant rename domains at the top of the tree (or forest) or in the middle. Only the domains on the end are valid candidates for renaming, and even then, the thought of losing all accounts isnt appealing.
Figure 8.14
Valid and invalid domains for renaming
corp.com
west.corp.com
east.corp.com
divisiona.corp.com
divisionb.corp.com
Windows 2003 offers a new approach to renaming domains. However, dont jump headlong into a Windows 2003 domain rename, which is still complex and fraught with peril.
165
Windows 2003 Domain Rename An Alternative

Before you decide to rename a domain in Windows 2003, make sure that you must rename it. Consider, for example, whether an alternate approach might serve your organizations needs. In one of the most commonly occurring scenarios, your organizations name will have changed from Littlefish to Bigfish. You (and perhaps others in the organization) want to rename your domain from Littlefish.com to Bigfish.com. If you encounter this situation, I urge you to first consider adding an alternate User Principal Name (UPN) suffix to the forest, which Figure 8.15 shows.
Figure 8.15
Adding valid UPN names to the forest
After you add an alternate UPN suffix to the forest, youll be able to specify user account suffixes with the new name, as Figure 8.16 shows.
166
Figure 8.16
Modifying a user account to use a UPN name
You can have users log on with the new name by explicitly spelling out their full UPN name every time they log on, as Figure 8.17 shows.
Figure 8.17
User logon with a UPN name
167
Of course, this change is only skin deep. Indeed, the new UPN name (Bigfish.com) doesnt even show up on the Log on to: line of the authentication dialog box. However, this adaptation might be enough to satisfy those who requested the change.
Tip
Creating a UPN name is much simpler than performing a domain rename and it might suffice.
Windows 2003 Domain Rename How To

A Windows 2003 domain rename is a large undertaking, one that I cant describe in detail in this text because of space constraints. However, I can outline the general procedure for performing a domain rename: 1. Set up a Windows XP Professional workstation to be your control station. 2. Download the latest domain rename tools from Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com /windowsserver2003/downloads/domainrename.mspx
Caution
Although youll find domain rename tools on the Windows 2003 CD-ROM, the tools are old avoid them! Always download the latest Microsoft domain rename tools.
3. Back up all DCs. 4. Design your new forest structure to maintain the overall naming structure. Microsoft calls this approach maintaining a well-formed forest. Put the new forest instruction set on your control station. 5. Upload the new forest instruction set to every DC in the forest by using the domain rename tools. 6. Perform the rename by using the domain rename tools. 7. Reboot all DCs to accept the new instruction set. 8. Reboot all member computers (servers and workstations) twice. 9. Fix the external trusts, Dfs, and GPOs.
Caution
Also, keep in mind that Microsoft doesnt support the domain rename operation if the forest contains Microsoft Exchange 2003 or Exchange 2000. Exchange simply cant handle the change.
Because of the several steps required, the potential bumps in the road on the way to the goal, and the restriction that you cant rename forests that contain Exchange 2003 or Exchange 2000 the domain rename operation might be out of reach for many organizations (although rumor has it that Exchange 2003s Service Pack 1 SP1 might let a domain rename succeed).
168
Tip
To read Microsofts two white papers on the specific step-by-step procedure for performing domain renames (one is 30 pages long and the other 80 pages long), go to http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/downloads/domainrename.mspx, where youll find links to the two documents with all the (gory) details.
Caution
Be sure to perform the domain rename operation in fact, all the operations I discuss in this chapter first in your test lab, not on your production servers. Also, after a domain rename operation, as the Microsoft papers discuss, certain other elements of AD (e.g., certificates, Dfs) might need adjusting before they work again.
Final Thoughts
I hope you wont need to perform the operations I discuss in this chapter often. From the transfer and seizing of FSMO roles to renaming DCs and domains, all the operations involve some perils. However, none of them is impossible, and you should be aware of whats required to perform them as safely as possible.
Thank You
I would like to thank NetIQ and Windows and .Net Magazine for providing the opportunity to write about a topic I love Windows 2003 and AD. Special thanks to Dave Bernard at Windows and .Net Magazine for seeing this project off to a smooth start and landing. Additional thanks to Veronica Patterson, who edited this book and provided just the right amount of firmness in editing. I thank Jan De Clercq (Hewlett-Packard HP) and Dave Peterson (NetIQ) for providing technical editing. However, if you find any technical errors, theyre mine, not theirs. Please feel free to contact me to point out technical errors and necessary updates at http://www.moskowitz-inc.com. I also thank Bill Boswell for additional bits and pieces of technical assistance throughout the book and for being a solid sounding board for my questions. Finally, thanks to all of you the readers who have taken and will take time to download and read the chapters of this eBook. Im grateful to you for reading what I have to offer.
Dedication
I dedicate this book to the best friend a guy ever had: Jill Knapp. In a word, you rock. (Okay, thats two words.)
Contact Information
If you need AD training, deployment assistance, or a resource to validate your plans for AD deployment, growth, or renovation, please feel free to contact me at http://www.moskowitz-inc.com. I also encourage you to visit my free community Group Policy forum at http://www.GPOanswers.com.

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Windows 2003 Editions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Windows 2003 Hardware Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Keeping Your System Updated and Secure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Should You Deploy?

Onward to Windows 2003 AD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Working with Domain Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Working with Forest Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Preparing for the Upgrade

Next: Window 2003 AD Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Group Policy Management Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

New Forest Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Next: Delegation and Security in Windows 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Windows 2003 DNS Additions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Next: Windows 2003 Security Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

ACL Viewing and Editing Improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Schema Updates and Modifications

Next: Backup, Restore, and Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Windows 2003 Support Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Windows 2003 Resource Kit Utilities

Next: Special Domain Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Cleaning Up the AD Metabase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Renaming DCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Renaming Domains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Windows Server 2003 Whats New

A Chapter-by-Chapter Roadmap to the Book

Windows 2003: Active Directory Administration Essentials

Windows 2003 Editions

Brought to you by NetIQ and Windows & .NET Magazine eBooks

Chapter 1 Command Shell Scripting Basics

Windows 2003, Standard Edition

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Windows 2003: Active Directory Administration Essentials

Features Common to Three Windows 2003 Editions