How do you view replication properties for AD?

By using Active Directory Replication Monitor.

Start–> Run–> Replmon

What are sites What are they used for?

One or more well-connected (highly reliable and fast) TCP/IP subnets. A site allows administrators to configure
Active Directory access and replication topology to take advantage of the physical network.

Name some OU design considerations?

OU design requires balancing requirements for delegating administrative rights – independent of Group Policy
needs – and the need to scope the application of Group Policy. The following OU design recommendations address
delegation and scope issues:
Applying Group Policy An OU is the lowest-level Active Directory container to which you can assign Group Policy
settings. Delegating administrative authority usually don’t go more than 3 OU levels

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc783140.aspx

What are FMSO Roles? List them.

Fsmo roles are server roles in a Forest
There are five types of FSMO roles
1-Schema master
2-Domain naming master
3-Rid master
4-PDC Emullator
5-Infrastructure master

Logical Diagram of Active Directory ?, What is the difference between child domain & additional domain
Server?
Well, if you know what a domain is then you have half the answer. Say you have the domain Microsoft.com. Now
microsoft has a server named server1 in that domain, which happens to the be parent domain. So it’s FQDN is
server1.microsoft.com. If you add an additional domain server and name it server2, then it’s FQDN is
server2.microsoft.com.
Now Microsoft is big so it has offices in Europe and Asia. So they make child domains for them and their FQDN
would look like this: europe.microsoft.com & asia.microsoft.com. Now lets say each of them have a server in those
child domains named server1. Their FQDN would then look like this: server1.europe.microsoft.com &
server1.asia.microsoft.com..

What are Active Directory Groups?

Groups are containers that contain user and computer objects within them as members. When security
permissions are set for a group in the Access Control List on a resource, all members of that group receive those
permissions. Domain Groups enable centralized administration in a domain. All domain groups are created on a
domain controller.
In a domain, Active Directory provides support for different types of groups and group scopes. The group type
determines the type of task that you manage with the group. The group scope determines whether the group can
have members from multiple domains or a single domain.

Group Types
* Security groups: Use Security groups for granting permissions to gain access to resources. Sending an e-mail
message to a group sends the message to all members of the group. Therefore security groups share the
capabilities of distribution groups.
* Distribution groups: Distribution groups are used for sending e-main messages to groups of users. You cannot
grant permissions to security groups. Even though security groups have all the capabilities of distribution groups,
distribution groups still requires, because some applications can only read distribution groups.
Group Scopes
Group scope normally describe which type of users should be clubbed together in a way which is easy for there
administration. Therefore, in domain, groups play an important part. One group can be a member of other group(s)
which is normally known as Group nesting. One or more groups can be member of any group in the entire
domain(s) within a forest.
* Domain Local Group: Use this scope to grant permissions to domain resources that are located in the same
domain in which you created the domain local group. Domain local groups can exist in all mixed, native and interim
functional level of domains and forests. Domain local group memberships are not limited as you can add members
as user accounts, universal and global groups from any domain. Just to remember, nesting cannot be done in
domain local group. A domain local group will not be a member of another Domain Local or any other groups in the
same domain.
* Global Group: Users with similar function can be grouped under global scope and can be given permission to
access a resource (like a printer or shared folder and files) available in local or another domain in same forest. To
say in simple words, Global groups can be use to grant permissions to gain access to resources which are located in
any domain but in a single forest as their memberships are limited. User accounts and global groups can be added
only from the domain in which global group is created. Nesting is possible in Global groups within other groups as
you can add a global group into another global group from any domain. Finally to provide permission to domain
specific resources (like printers and published folder), they can be members of a Domain Local group. Global
groups exist in all mixed, native and interim functional level of domains and forests.
* Universal Group Scope: these groups are precisely used for email distribution and can be granted access to
resources in all trusted domain as these groups can only be used as a security principal (security group type) in a
windows 2000 native or windows server 2003 domain functional level domain. Universal group memberships are
not limited like global groups. All domain user accounts and groups can be a member of universal group. Universal
groups can be nested under a global or Domain Local group in any domain.

What are the types of backup? Explain each?

Incremental
A “normal” incremental backup will only back up files that have been changed since the last backup of any type.
This provides the quickest means of backup, since it only makes copies of files that have not yet been backed up.
For instance, following our full backup on Friday, Monday’s tape will contain only those files changed since Friday.
Tuesday’s tape contains only those files changed since Monday, and so on. The downside to this is obviously that in
order to perform a full restore, you need to restore the last full backup first, followed by each of the subsequent
incremental backups to the present day in the correct order. Should any one of these backup copies be damaged
(particularly the full backup), the restore will be incomplete.

Differential
A cumulative backup of all changes made after the last full backup. The advantage to this is the quicker recovery
time, requiring only a full backup and the latest differential backup to restore the system. The disadvantage is that
for each day elapsed since the last full backup, more data needs to be backed up, especially if a majority of the data
has been changed.

What is the SYSVOL folder?

The Windows Server 2003 System Volume (SYSVOL) is a collection of folders and reparse points in the file systems
that exist on each domain controller in a domain. SYSVOL provides a standard location to store important elements
of Group Policy objects (GPOs) and scripts so that the File Replication service (FRS) can distribute them to other
domain controllers within that domain.
You can go to SYSVOL folder by typing : %systemroot%/sysvol

What is the ISTG Who has that role by default?

The first server in the site becomes the ISTG for the site, The domain controller holding this role may not
necessarily also be a bridgehead server.

What is the order in which GPOs are applied?

Local, Site, Domain, OU
1. Can a workstation computer be configured to browse the Internet and yet NOT have a default gateway?

If we are using public ip address, we can browse the internet. If it is having an intranet address a gateway is needed
as a router or firewall to communicate with internet.

2. What is CIDR?

CIDR (Classless Inter-Domain Routing, sometimes known as supernetting) is a way to allocate and specify the
Internet addresses used in inter-domain routing more flexibly than with the original system of Internet Protocol
(IP) address classes. As a result, the number of available Internet addresses has been greatly increased. CIDR is
now the routing system used by virtually all gateway hosts on the Internet’s backbone network. The Internet’s
regulating authorities now expect every Internet service provider (ISP) to use it for routing.

3. What is DHCP? What are the benefits and drawbacks of using it?

DHCP is Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. In a networked environment it is a method to assign an ‘address’ to
a computer when it boots up.

Advantages

All the IP configuration information gets automatically configured for your client machine by the DHCP server.

If you move your client machine to a different subnet, the client will send out its discover message at boot time and
work as usual. However, when you first boot up there you will not be able to get back the IP address you had at
your previous location regardless of how little time has passed.

Disadvantage

Your machine name does not change when you get a new IP address. The DNS (Domain Name System) name is
associated with your IP address and therefore does change. This only presents a problem if other clients try to
access your machine by its DNS name.

4. How do you manually create SRV records in DNS?

To create SRV records in DNS do below steps: -

Open DNS
Click on Zone —– Select domain abc.local ——-
Right Click to domain and go to Other New Records——
And choose service location (SRV)

5. Name 3 benefits of using AD-integrated zones.

Benefits as follows

a. you can give easy name resolution to ur clients.

b. By creating AD- integrated zone you can also trace hacker and spammer by creating reverse zone.
c. AD integrated zoned all for incremental zone transfers which on transfer changes and not the entire zone. This
reduces zone transfer traffic.
d. AD Integrated zones suport both secure and dmanic updates.
e. AD integrated zones are stored as part of the active directory and support domain-wide or forest-wide
replication through application pertitions in AD.

6. How do I clear the DNS cache on the DNS server?

Go to cmd prompt and type “ipconfig/flushdns” without quotes

9. How to configure special ports to allow inbound connections?

a. Click Start, Administrative Tools, and then click Routing and Remote Access to open the Routing and Remote
Access management console.
b. Locate the interface that you want to configure.
c. Right-click the interface and then select Properties from the shortcut menu.
d. Click the Special Ports tab.
e. Under Protocol, select TCP or UDP and then click the Add button.
f. Enter the port number of the incoming traffic in Incoming Port.
g. Select On This Address Pool Entry, and provide the public IP address of the incoming traffic.
h. Enter the port number of the private network resource in Outgoing Port.
i. Enter the private network resource’s private IP address in Private Address.
j. Click OK.

What is Active Directory Domain Services 2008?

Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), formerly known as Active Directory Directory Services, is the central
location for configuration information, authentication requests, and information about all of the objects that are
stored within your forest. Using Active Directory, you can efficiently manage users, computers, groups, printers,
applications, and other directory-enabled objects from one secure, centralized location.

What is the SYSVOL folder?

The Sysvol folder on a Windows domain controller is used to replicate file-based data among domain controllers.
Because junctions are used within the Sysvol folder structure, Windows NT file system (NTFS) version 5.0 is
required on domain controllers throughout a Windows distributed file system (DFS) forest.

This is a quote from microsoft themselves, basically the domain controller info stored in files like your group policy
stuff is replicated through this folder structure

What’s New in Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Domain Services?

Active Directory Domain Services in Windows Server 2008 provides a number of enhancements over previous
versions, including these:

Auditing—AD DS auditing has been enhanced significantly in Windows Server 2008. The enhancements provide
more granular auditing capabilities through four new auditing categories: Directory Services Access, Directory
Services Changes, Directory Services Replication, and Detailed Directory Services Replication. Additionally,
auditing now provides the capability to log old and new values of an attribute when a successful change is made to
that attribute.

Fine-Grained Password Policies—AD DS in Windows Server 2008 now provides the capability to create different
password and account lockout policies for different sets of users in a domain. User and group password and
account lockout policies are defined and applied via a Password Setting Object (PSO). A PSO has attributes for all
the settings that can be defined in the Default Domain Policy, except Kerberos settings. PSOs can be applied to both
users and groups.

Read-Only Domain Controllers—AD DS in Windows Server 2008 introduces a new type of domain controller called
a read-only domain controller (RODC). RODCs contain a read-only copy of the AD DS database. RODCs are covered
in more detail in Chapter 6, “Manage Sites and Replication.”
Restartable Active Directory Domain Services—AD DS in Windows Server 2008 can now be stopped and restarted
through MMC snap-ins and the command line. The restartable AD DS service reduces the time required to perform
certain maintenance and restore operations. Additionally, other services running on the server remain available to
satisfy client requests while AD DS is stopped.

AD DS Database Mounting Tool—AD DS in Windows Server 2008 comes with a AD DS database mounting tool,
which provides a means to compare data as it exists in snapshots or backups taken at different times. The AD DS
database mounting eliminates the need to restore multiple backups to compare the AD data that they contain and
provides the capability to examine any change made to data stored in AD DS.

What is the Global Catalog?

A global catalog server is a domain controller. It is a master searchable database that contains information about
every object in every domain in a forest. The global catalog contains a complete replica of all objects in Active
Directory for its host domain, and contains a partial replica of all objects in Active Directory for every other domain
in the forest.

It has two important functions:

Provides group membership information during logon and authentication
Helps users locate resources in Active Directory

What are RODCs? And what are the major benefits of using RODCs?

A read-only domain controller (RODC) is a new type of domain controller in the Windows Server® 2008 operating
system. With an RODC, organizations can easily deploy a domain controller in locations where physical security
cannot be guaranteed. An RODC hosts read-only partitions of the Active Directory® Domain Services (AD DS)
database.

Before the release of Windows Server 2008, if users had to authenticate with a domain controller over a wide area
network (WAN), there was no real alternative. In many cases, this was not an efficient solution. Branch offices
often cannot provide the adequate physical security that is required for a writable domain controller. Furthermore,
branch offices often have poor network bandwidth when they are connected to a hub site. This can increase the
amount of time that is required to log on. It can also hamper access to network resources.

Beginning with Windows Server 2008, an organization can deploy an RODC to address these problems. As a result,
users in this situation can receive the following benefits:

* Improved security
* Faster logon times
* More efficient access to resources on the network

What does an RODC do?

Inadequate physical security is the most common reason to consider deploying an RODC. An RODC provides a way
to deploy a domain controller more securely in locations that require fast and reliable authentication services but
cannot ensure physical security for a writable domain controller.

However, your organization may also choose to deploy an RODC for special administrative requirements. For
example, a line-of-business (LOB) application may run successfully only if it is installed on a domain controller. Or,
the domain controller might be the only server in the branch office, and it may have to host server applications.

In such cases, the LOB application owner must often log on to the domain controller interactively or use Terminal
Services to configure and manage the application. This situation creates a security risk that may be unacceptable
on a writable domain controller.
An RODC provides a more secure mechanism for deploying a domain controller in this scenario. You can grant a
nonadministrative domain user the right to log on to an RODC while minimizing the security risk to the Active
Directory forest.

You might also deploy an RODC in other scenarios where local storage of all domain user passwords is a primary
threat, for example, in an extranet or application-facing role.

What is REPADMIN?

Repadmin.exe: Replication Diagnostics Tool

This command-line tool assists administrators in diagnosing replication problems between Windows domain
controllers.

Administrators can use Repadmin to view the replication topology (sometimes referred to as RepsFrom and
RepsTo) as seen from the perspective of each domain controller. In addition, Repadmin can be used to manually
create the replication topology (although in normal practice this should not be necessary), to force replication
events between domain controllers, and to view both the replication metadata and up-to-dateness vectors.

Repadmin.exe can also be used for monitoring the relative health of an Active Directory forest. The operations
replsummary, showrepl, showrepl /csv, and showvector /latency can be used to check for replication problems.

What is NETDOM?

NETDOM is a command-line tool that allows management of Windows domains and trust relationships. It is used
for batch management of trusts, joining computers to domains, verifying trusts, and secure channels

What are some of the new tools and features provided by Windows Server 2008?

Windows Server 2008 now provides a desktop environment similar to Microsoft Windows Vista and includes tools
also found in Vista, such as the new backup snap-in and the BitLocker drive encryption feature. Windows Server
2008 also provides the new IIS7 web server and the Windows Deployment Service.

What are the different editions of Windows Server 2008?

The entry-level version of Windows Server 2008 is the Standard Edition. The Enterprise Edition provides a
platform for large enterprisewide networks. The Datacenter Edition provides support for unlimited Hyper-V
virtualization and advanced clustering services. The Web Edition is a scaled-down version of Windows Server
2008 intended for use as a dedicated web server. The Standard, Enterprise, and Datacenter Editions can be
purchased with or without the Hyper-V virtualization technology.

What two hardware considerations should be an important part of the planning process for a Windows
Server 2008 deployment?

Any server on which you will install Windows Server 2008 should have at least the minimum hardware
requirement for running the network operating system. Server hardware should also be on the Windows Server
2008 Hardware Compatibility List to avoid the possibility of hardware and network operating system
incompatibility.

What are the options for installing Windows Server 2008?

You can install Windows Server 2008 on a server not currently configured with NOS, or you can upgrade existing
servers running Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003.
How do you configure and manage a Windows Server 2008 core installation?

This stripped-down version of Windows Server 2008 is managed from the command line.

Which Control Panel tool enables you to automate the running of server utilities and other applications?

The Task Scheduler enables you to schedule the launching of tools such as Windows Backup and Disk
Defragmenter.

What are some of the items that can be accessed via the System Properties dialog box?

You can access virtual memory settings and the Device Manager via the System Properties dialog box.

When a child domain is created in the domain tree, what type of trust relationship exists between the new
child domain and the trees root domain?

Child domains and the root domain of a tree are assigned transitive trusts. This means that the root domain and
child domain trust each other and allow resources in any domain in the tree to be accessed by users in any domain
in the tree.

What is the primary function of domain controllers?

The primary function of domain controllers is to validate users to the network. However, domain controllers also
provide the catalog of Active Directory objects to users on the network.

What are some of the other roles that a server running Windows Server 2008 could fill on the network?

A server running Windows Server 2008 can be configured as a domain controller, a file server, a print server, a
web server, or an application server. Windows servers can also have roles and features that provide services such
as DNS, DHCP, and Routing and Remote Access.

Which Windows Server 2008 tools make it easy to manage and configure a servers roles and features?

The Server Manager window enables you to view the roles and features installed on a server and also to quickly
access the tools used to manage these various roles and features. The Server Manager can be used to add and
remove roles and features as needed.

What Windows Server 2008 service is used to install client operating systems over the network?

Windows Deployment Services (WDS) enables you to install client and server operating systems over the network
to any computer with a PXE-enabled network interface.

What domain services are necessary for you to deploy the Windows Deployment Services on your
network?

Windows Deployment Services requires that a DHCP server and a DNS server be installed in the domain

How is WDS configured and managed on a server running Windows Server 2008?

The Windows Deployment Services snap-in enables you to configure the WDS server and add boot and install
images to the server.

What is the difference between a basic and dynamic drive in the Windows Server 2008 environment?
A basic disk embraces the MS-DOS disk structure; a basic disk can be divided into partitions (simple volumes).
Dynamic disks consist of a single partition that can be divided into any number of volumes. Dynamic disks also
support Windows Server 2008 RAID implementations.

What is RAID in Windows Server 2008?

RAID, or Redundant Array of Independent Disks, is a strategy for building fault tolerance into your file servers.
RAID enables you to combine one or more volumes on separate drives so that they are accessed by a single drive
letter. Windows Server 2008 enables you to configure RAID 0 (a striped set), RAID 1 (a mirror set), and RAID 5
(disk striping with parity).

What conceptual model helps provide an understanding of how network protocol stacks such as TCP/IP
work?

The OSI model, consisting of the application, presentation, session, transport, network, data link, and physical
layers, helps describe how data is sent and received on the network by protocol stacks.

What protocol stack is installed by default when you install Windows Server 2008 on a network server?

TCP/IP (v4 and v6) is the default protocol for Windows Server 2008. It is required for Active Directory
implementations and provides for connectivity on heterogeneous networks.

How is a server running Windows Server 2008 configured as a domain controller, such as the domain
controller for the root domain or a child domain?

Installing the Active Directory on a server running Windows Server 2008 provides you with the option of creating
a root domain for a domain tree or of creating child domains in an existing tree. Installing Active Directory on the
server makes the server a domain controller.

What are some of the tools used to manage Active Directory objects in a Windows Server 2008 domain?

When the Active Directory is installed on a server (making it a domain controller), a set of Active Directory snap-
ins is provided. The Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in is used to manage Active Directory objects such
as user accounts, computers, and groups. The Active Directory Domains and Trusts snap-in enables you to manage
the trusts that are defined between domains. The Active Directory Sites and Services snap-in provides for the
management of domain sites and subnets.

How are domain user accounts created and managed?

The Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in provides the tools necessary for creating user accounts and
managing account properties. Properties for user accounts include settings related to logon hours, the computers
to which a user can log on, and the settings related to the user’s password.

What type of Active Directory objects can be contained in a group?

A group can contain users, computers, contacts, and other nested groups.

What type of group is not available in a domain that is running at the mixed-mode functional level?

Universal groups are not available in a mixed-mode domain. The functional level must be raised to Windows 2003
or Windows 2008 to make these groups available.

What types of Active Directory objects can be contained in an Organizational Unit?

Organizational Units can hold users, groups, computers, contacts, and other OUs. The Organizational Unit provides
you with a container directly below the domain level that enables you to refine the logical hierarchy of how your
users and other resources are arranged in the Active Directory.

What are Active Directory sites in Windows Server 2008?

Active Directory sites are physical locations on the network’s physical topology. Each regional domain that you
create is assigned to a site. Sites typically represent one or more IP subnets that are connected by IP routers.
Because sites are separated from each other by a router, the domain controllers on each site periodically replicate
the Active Directory to update the Global Catalog on each site segment.

Can servers running Windows Server 2008 provide services to clients when they are not part of a domain?

Servers running Windows Server 2008 can be configured to participate in a workgroup. The server can provide
some services to the workgroup peers but does not provide the security and management tools provided to
domain controllers.

What does the use of Group Policy provide you as a network administrator?

Group Policy provides a method of controlling user and computer configuration settings for Active Directory
containers such as sites, domains, and OUs. GPOs are linked to a particular container, and then individual policies
and administrative templates are enabled to control the environment for the users or computers within that
particular container.

What tools are involved in managing and deploying Group Policy?

GPOs and their settings, links, and other information such as permissions can be viewed in the Group Policy
Management snap-in.

How do you deal with Group Policy inheritance issues?

GPOs are inherited down through the Active Directory tree by default. You can block the inheritance of settings
from upline GPOs (for a particular container such as an OU or a local computer) by selecting Block Inheritance for
that particular object. If you want to enforce a higher-level GPO so that it overrides directly linked GPOs, you can
use the Enforce command on the inherited (or upline) GPO.

How can you make sure that network clients have the most recent Windows updates installed and have
other important security features such as the Windows Firewall enabled before they can gain full network
access?

You can configure a Network Policy Server (a service available in the Network Policy and Access Services role). The
Network Policy Server can be configured to compare desktop client settings with health validators to determine
the level of network access afforded to the client.

What is the purpose of deploying local DNS servers?

A domain DNS server provides for the local mapping of fully qualified domain names to IP addresses. Because the
DNS is a distributed database, the local DNS servers can provide record information to remote DNS servers to help
resolve remote requests related to fully qualified domain names on your network.

In terms of DNS, what is a caching-only server?

A caching-only DNS server supplies information related to queries based on the data it contains in its DNS cache.
Caching-only servers are often used as DNS forwarders. Because they are not configured with any zones, they do
not generate network traffic related to zone transfers.

How the range of IP addresses is defined for a Windows Server 2008 DHCP server?

The IP addresses supplied by the DHCP server are held in a scope. A scope that contains more than one subnet of IP
addresses is called a superscope. IP addresses in a scope that you do not want to lease can be included in an
exclusion range.