Windows Server Support Interview Questions and Answers (L2) Part 2

How to manually configure FSMO Roles to separate DC’s 

How can I determine who are the current FSMO Roles holders in my domain/forest?

Windows 2000/2003 Active Directory domains utilize a Single Operation Master method called FSMO (Flexible Single Master Operation), as described in Understanding FSMO Roles in Active Directory. 

The five FSMO roles are:

• Schema master - Forest-wide and one per forest. 

• Domain naming master - Forest-wide and one per forest. 

• RID master - Domain-specific and one for each domain. 

• PDC - PDC Emulator is domain-specific and one for each domain. 

• Infrastructure master - Domain-specific and one for each domain. 

In most cases an administrator can keep the FSMO role holders (all 5 of them) in the same spot (or actually, on the same DC) as has been configured by the Active Directory installation process. However, there are scenarios where an administrator would want to move one or more of the FSMO roles from the default holder DC to a different DC. The transferring method is described in the Transferring FSMO Roles article, while seizing the roles from a non-operational DC to a different DC is described in the Seizing FSMO Roles article. 

In order to better understand your AD infrastructure and to know the added value that each DC might possess, an AD administrator must have the exact knowledge of which one of the existing DCs is holding a FSMO role, and what role it holds. With that knowledge in hand, the administrator can make better arrangements in case of a scheduled shut-down of any given DC, and better prepare him or herself in case of a non-scheduled cease of operation from one of the DCs.

How to find out which DC is holding which FSMO role? Well, one can accomplish this task by many means. This article will list a few of the available methods.

Method #1: Know the default settings

The FSMO roles were assigned to one or more DCs during the DCPROMO process. The following table summarizes the FSMO default locations:

FSMO Role Number of DCs holding this role Original DC holding the FSMO role
Schema One per forest The first DC in the first domain in the forest (i.e. the Forest Root Domain)
Domain Naming One per forest 
RID One per domain The first DC in a domain (any domain, including the Forest Root Domain, any Tree Root Domain, or any Child Domain)
PDC Emulator One per domain 
Infrastructure One per domain 

Method #2: Use the GUI

The FSMO role holders can be easily found by use of some of the AD snap-ins. Use this table to see which tool can be used for what FSMO role:

FSMO Role Which snap-in should I use?
Schema Schema snap-in
Domain Naming AD Domains and Trusts snap-in
RID AD Users and Computers snap-in
PDC Emulator 
Infrastructure 

Finding the RID Master, PDC Emulator, and Infrastructure Masters via GUI

To find out who currently holds the Domain-Specific RID Master, PDC Emulator, and Infrastructure Master FSMO Roles:

1. Open the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in from the Administrative Tools folder. 
2. Right-click the Active Directory Users and Computers icon again and press Operation Masters. 
3. Select the appropriate tab for the role you wish to view. 
4. When you're done click close. 

Finding the Domain Naming Master via GUI

To find out who currently holds the Domain Naming Master Role:
1. Open the Active Directory Domains and Trusts snap-in from the Administrative Tools folder. 
2. Right-click the Active Directory Domains and Trusts icon again and press Operation Masters. 
3. When you're done click close. 

Finding the Schema Master via GUI

To find out who currently holds the Schema Master Role:
1. Register the Schmmgmt.dll library by pressing Start > RUN and typing: 
2. Press OK. You should receive a success confirmation. 
3. From the Run command open an MMC Console by typing MMC. 
4. On the Console menu, press Add/Remove Snap-in. 
5. Press Add. Select Active Directory Schema. 
6. Press Add and press Close. Press OK. 
7. Click the Active Directory Schema icon. After it loads right-click it and press Operation Masters.
8. Press the Close button. 

Method #3: Use the Ntdsutil command

The FSMO role holders can be easily found by use of the Ntdsutil command.

Caution: Using the Ntdsutil utility incorrectly may result in partial or complete loss of Active Directory functionality.
1. On any domain controller, click Start, click Run, type Ntdsutil in the Open box, and then click OK. 
2. Type roles, and then press ENTER. 

Note: To see a list of available commands at any of the prompts in the Ntdsutil tool, type ?, and then press ENTER.
3. Type connections, and then press ENTER. 
4. Type connect to server , where is the name of the server you want to use, and then press ENTER. 
5. At the server connections: prompt, type q, and then press ENTER again. 
6. At the FSMO maintenance: prompt, type Select operation target, and then press ENTER again. 

At the select operation target: prompt, type List roles for connected server, and then press ENTER again. 

select operation target: List roles for connected server

Server "server100" knows about 5 roles

Schema - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER100,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=C

onfiguration,DC=dpetri,DC=net

Domain - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER100,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=C

onfiguration,DC=dpetri,DC=net

PDC - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER100,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Conf

iguration,DC=dpetri,DC=net

RID - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER100,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Conf

iguration,DC=dpetri,DC=net

Infrastructure - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER100,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Si

tes,CN=Configuration,DC=dpetri,DC=net

select operation target:

8. Type q 3 times to exit the Ntdsutil prompt. 

Note: You can download THIS nice batch file that will do all this for you (1kb).

Another Note: Microsoft has a nice tool called Dumpfsmos.cmd, found in the Windows 2000 Resource Kit (and can be downloaded here: Download Free Windows 2000 Resource Kit Tools). This tool is basically a one-click Ntdsutil script that performs the same operation described above.

Method #4: Use the Netdom command

The FSMO role holders can be easily found by use of the Netdom command.

Netdom.exe is a part of the Windows 2000/XP/2003 Support Tools. You must either download it separately (from here Download Free Windows 2000 Resource Kit Tools) or by obtaining the correct Support Tools pack for your operating system. The Support Tools pack can be found in the \Support\Tools folder on your installation CD (or you can Download Windows 2000 SP4 Support Tools, Download Windows XP SP1 Deploy Tools). 

1. On any domain controller, click Start, click Run, type CMD in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. In the Command Prompt window, type netdom query /domain: fsmo (where is the name of YOUR domain). 

Close the CMD window.

Note: You can download THIS nice batch file that will do all this for you (1kb).

Method #5: Use the Replmon tool

The FSMO role holders can be easily found by use of the Netdom command. 

Just like Netdom, Replmon.exe is a part of the Windows 2000/XP/2003 Support Tools. Replmon can be used for a wide verity of tasks, mostly with those that are related with AD replication. But Replmon can also provide valuable information about the AD, about any DC, and also about other objects and settings, such as GPOs and FSMO roles. Install the package before attempting to use the tool.

1. On any domain controller, click Start, click Run, type REPLMON in the Open box, and then click OK. 
2. Right-click Monitored servers and select Add Monitored Server. 
3. In the Add Server to Monitor window, select the Search the Directory for the server to add. Make sure your AD domain name is listed in the drop-down list. 
4. In the site list select your site, expand it, and click to select the server you want to query. Click Finish. 
5. Right-click the server that is now listed in the left-pane, and select Properties. 
6. Click on the FSMO Roles tab and read the results. 
7. Click Ok when you're done. 

How can I forcibly transfer (seize) some or all of the FSMO Roles from one DC to another?

Windows 2000/2003 Active Directory domains utilize a Single Operation Master method called FSMO (Flexible Single Master Operation), as described in Understanding FSMO Roles in Active Directory. 

The five FSMO roles are:

• Schema master - Forest-wide and one per forest. 
• Domain naming master - Forest-wide and one per forest. 
• RID master - Domain-specific and one for each domain. 
• PDC - PDC Emulator is domain-specific and one for each domain. 
• Infrastructure master - Domain-specific and one for each domain. 

In most cases an administrator can keep the FSMO role holders (all 5 of them) in the same spot (or actually, on the same DC) as has been configured by the Active Directory installation process. However, there are scenarios where an administrator would want to move one or more of the FSMO roles from the default holder DC to a different DC. 

Moving the FSMO roles while both the original FSMO role holder and the future FSMO role holder are online and operational is called Transferring, and is described in the Transferring FSMO Roles article.

However, when the original FSMO role holder went offline or became non operational for a long period of time, the administrator might consider moving the FSMO role from the original, non-operational holder, to a different DC. The process of moving the FSMO role from a non-operational role holder to a different DC is called Seizing, and is described in this article.

If a DC holding a FSMO role fails, the best thing to do is to try and get the server online again. Since none of the FSMO roles are immediately critical (well, almost none, the loss of the PDC Emulator FSMO role might become a problem unless you fix it in a reasonable amount of time), so it is not a problem to them to be unavailable for hours or even days. 

If a DC becomes unreliable, try to get it back on line, and transfer the FSMO roles to a reliable computer. Administrators should use extreme caution in seizing FSMO roles. This operation, in most cases, should be performed only if the original FSMO role owner will not be brought back into the environment. Only seize a FSMO role if absolutely necessary when the original role holder is not connected to the network.

What will happen if you do not perform the seize in time? This table has the info:

FSMO Role Loss implications

Schema The schema cannot be extended. However, in the short term no one will notice a missing Schema Master unless you plan a schema upgrade during that time.

Domain Naming Unless you are going to run DCPROMO, then you will not miss this FSMO role.

RID Chances are good that the existing DCs will have enough unused RIDs to last some time, unless you're building hundreds of users or computer object per week.

PDC Emulator Will be missed soon. NT 4.0 BDCs will not be able to replicate, there will be no time synchronization in the domain, you will probably not be able to change or troubleshoot group policies and password changes will become a problem.

Infrastructure Group memberships may be incomplete. If you only have one domain, then there will be no impact.

Important: If the RID, Schema, or Domain Naming FSMOs are seized, then the original domain controller must not be activated in the forest again. It is necessary to reinstall Windows if these servers are to be used again. 

The following table summarizes the FSMO seizing restrictions:
FSMO Role Restrictions
Schema Original must be reinstalled
Domain Naming 
RID 
PDC Emulator Can transfer back to original
Infrastructure 

Another consideration before performing the seize operation is the administrator's group membership, as this table lists:
FSMO Role Administrator must be a member of
Schema Schema Admins
Domain Naming Enterprise Admins
RID Domain Admins
PDC Emulator 
Infrastructure 

To seize the FSMO roles by using Ntdsutil, follow these steps:

Caution: Using the Ntdsutil utility incorrectly may result in partial or complete loss of Active Directory functionality.

1. On any domain controller, click Start, click Run, type Ntdsutil in the Open box, and then click OK. 
2. Type roles, and then press ENTER. 

Note: To see a list of available commands at any of the prompts in the Ntdsutil tool, type ?, and then press ENTER.

3. Type connections, and then press ENTER. 
4. Type connect to server , where is the name of the server you want to use, and then press ENTER. 
5. At the server connections: prompt, type q, and then press ENTER again. 
6. Type seize , where is the role you want to seize. For example, to seize the RID Master role, you would type seize rid master: 

Options are: 

7. You will receive a warning window asking if you want to perform the seize. Click on Yes. 
fsmo maintenance: Seize infrastructure master
Attempting safe transfer of infrastructure FSMO before seizure.
ldap_modify_sW error 0x34(52 (Unavailable).
Ldap extended error message is 000020AF: SvcErr: DSID-03210300, problem 5002 (UNAVAILABLE)
data 1722 
Win32 error returned is 0x20af(The requested FSMO operation failed. The current FSMO holde

r could not be contacted.)
)

Depending on the error code this may indicate a connection,

ldap, or role transfer error.
Transfer of infrastructure FSMO failed, proceeding with seizure ...
Server "server100" knows about 5 roles
Schema - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER200,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=dpetri,DC=netDomain - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER100,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=dpetri,DC=net
PDC - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER100,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=dpetri,DC=net
RID - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER200,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=dpetri,DC=net
Infrastructure - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER100,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=dpetri,DC=net

fsmo maintenance:

Note: All five roles need to be in the forest. If the first domain controller is out of the forest then seize all roles. Determine which roles are to be on which remaining domain controllers so that all five roles are not on only one server.

8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 until you've seized all the required FSMO roles. 
9. After you seize or transfer the roles, type q, and then press ENTER until you quit the Ntdsutil tool. 

Note: Do not put the Infrastructure Master (IM) role on the same domain controller as the Global Catalog server. If the Infrastructure Master runs on a GC server it will stop updating object information because it does not contain any references to objects that it does not hold. This is because a GC server holds a partial replica of every object in the forest. 

Windows Server Support Interview Questions and Answers (L2) Part 2

How to manually configure FSMO Roles to separate DC’s 

How can I determine who are the current FSMO Roles holders in my domain/forest?

Windows 2000/2003 Active Directory domains utilize a Single Operation Master method called FSMO (Flexible Single Master Operation), as described in Understanding FSMO Roles in Active Directory. 

The five FSMO roles are:

• Schema master - Forest-wide and one per forest. 

• Domain naming master - Forest-wide and one per forest. 

• RID master - Domain-specific and one for each domain. 

• PDC - PDC Emulator is domain-specific and one for each domain. 

• Infrastructure master - Domain-specific and one for each domain. 

In most cases an administrator can keep the FSMO role holders (all 5 of them) in the same spot (or actually, on the same DC) as has been configured by the Active Directory installation process. However, there are scenarios where an administrator would want to move one or more of the FSMO roles from the default holder DC to a different DC. The transferring method is described in the Transferring FSMO Roles article, while seizing the roles from a non-operational DC to a different DC is described in the Seizing FSMO Roles article. 

In order to better understand your AD infrastructure and to know the added value that each DC might possess, an AD administrator must have the exact knowledge of which one of the existing DCs is holding a FSMO role, and what role it holds. With that knowledge in hand, the administrator can make better arrangements in case of a scheduled shut-down of any given DC, and better prepare him or herself in case of a non-scheduled cease of operation from one of the DCs.

How to find out which DC is holding which FSMO role? Well, one can accomplish this task by many means. This article will list a few of the available methods.

Method #1: Know the default settings

The FSMO roles were assigned to one or more DCs during the DCPROMO process. The following table summarizes the FSMO default locations:

FSMO Role Number of DCs holding this role Original DC holding the FSMO role
Schema One per forest The first DC in the first domain in the forest (i.e. the Forest Root Domain)
Domain Naming One per forest 
RID One per domain The first DC in a domain (any domain, including the Forest Root Domain, any Tree Root Domain, or any Child Domain)
PDC Emulator One per domain 
Infrastructure One per domain 

Method #2: Use the GUI

The FSMO role holders can be easily found by use of some of the AD snap-ins. Use this table to see which tool can be used for what FSMO role:

FSMO Role Which snap-in should I use?
Schema Schema snap-in
Domain Naming AD Domains and Trusts snap-in
RID AD Users and Computers snap-in
PDC Emulator 
Infrastructure 

Finding the RID Master, PDC Emulator, and Infrastructure Masters via GUI

To find out who currently holds the Domain-Specific RID Master, PDC Emulator, and Infrastructure Master FSMO Roles:

1. Open the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in from the Administrative Tools folder. 
2. Right-click the Active Directory Users and Computers icon again and press Operation Masters. 
3. Select the appropriate tab for the role you wish to view. 
4. When you're done click close. 

Finding the Domain Naming Master via GUI

To find out who currently holds the Domain Naming Master Role:
1. Open the Active Directory Domains and Trusts snap-in from the Administrative Tools folder. 
2. Right-click the Active Directory Domains and Trusts icon again and press Operation Masters. 
3. When you're done click close. 

Finding the Schema Master via GUI

To find out who currently holds the Schema Master Role:
1. Register the Schmmgmt.dll library by pressing Start > RUN and typing: 
2. Press OK. You should receive a success confirmation. 
3. From the Run command open an MMC Console by typing MMC. 
4. On the Console menu, press Add/Remove Snap-in. 
5. Press Add. Select Active Directory Schema. 
6. Press Add and press Close. Press OK. 
7. Click the Active Directory Schema icon. After it loads right-click it and press Operation Masters.
8. Press the Close button. 

Method #3: Use the Ntdsutil command

The FSMO role holders can be easily found by use of the Ntdsutil command.

Caution: Using the Ntdsutil utility incorrectly may result in partial or complete loss of Active Directory functionality.
1. On any domain controller, click Start, click Run, type Ntdsutil in the Open box, and then click OK. 
2. Type roles, and then press ENTER. 

Note: To see a list of available commands at any of the prompts in the Ntdsutil tool, type ?, and then press ENTER.
3. Type connections, and then press ENTER. 
4. Type connect to server , where is the name of the server you want to use, and then press ENTER. 
5. At the server connections: prompt, type q, and then press ENTER again. 
6. At the FSMO maintenance: prompt, type Select operation target, and then press ENTER again. 

At the select operation target: prompt, type List roles for connected server, and then press ENTER again. 

select operation target: List roles for connected server

Server "server100" knows about 5 roles

Schema - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER100,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=C

onfiguration,DC=dpetri,DC=net

Domain - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER100,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=C

onfiguration,DC=dpetri,DC=net

PDC - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER100,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Conf

iguration,DC=dpetri,DC=net

RID - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER100,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Conf

iguration,DC=dpetri,DC=net

Infrastructure - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER100,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Si

tes,CN=Configuration,DC=dpetri,DC=net

select operation target:

8. Type q 3 times to exit the Ntdsutil prompt. 

Note: You can download THIS nice batch file that will do all this for you (1kb).

Another Note: Microsoft has a nice tool called Dumpfsmos.cmd, found in the Windows 2000 Resource Kit (and can be downloaded here: Download Free Windows 2000 Resource Kit Tools). This tool is basically a one-click Ntdsutil script that performs the same operation described above.

Method #4: Use the Netdom command

The FSMO role holders can be easily found by use of the Netdom command.

Netdom.exe is a part of the Windows 2000/XP/2003 Support Tools. You must either download it separately (from here Download Free Windows 2000 Resource Kit Tools) or by obtaining the correct Support Tools pack for your operating system. The Support Tools pack can be found in the \Support\Tools folder on your installation CD (or you can Download Windows 2000 SP4 Support Tools, Download Windows XP SP1 Deploy Tools). 

1. On any domain controller, click Start, click Run, type CMD in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. In the Command Prompt window, type netdom query /domain: fsmo (where is the name of YOUR domain). 

Close the CMD window.

Note: You can download THIS nice batch file that will do all this for you (1kb).

Method #5: Use the Replmon tool

The FSMO role holders can be easily found by use of the Netdom command. 

Just like Netdom, Replmon.exe is a part of the Windows 2000/XP/2003 Support Tools. Replmon can be used for a wide verity of tasks, mostly with those that are related with AD replication. But Replmon can also provide valuable information about the AD, about any DC, and also about other objects and settings, such as GPOs and FSMO roles. Install the package before attempting to use the tool.

1. On any domain controller, click Start, click Run, type REPLMON in the Open box, and then click OK. 
2. Right-click Monitored servers and select Add Monitored Server. 
3. In the Add Server to Monitor window, select the Search the Directory for the server to add. Make sure your AD domain name is listed in the drop-down list. 
4. In the site list select your site, expand it, and click to select the server you want to query. Click Finish. 
5. Right-click the server that is now listed in the left-pane, and select Properties. 
6. Click on the FSMO Roles tab and read the results. 
7. Click Ok when you're done. 

How can I forcibly transfer (seize) some or all of the FSMO Roles from one DC to another?

Windows 2000/2003 Active Directory domains utilize a Single Operation Master method called FSMO (Flexible Single Master Operation), as described in Understanding FSMO Roles in Active Directory. 

The five FSMO roles are:

• Schema master - Forest-wide and one per forest. 
• Domain naming master - Forest-wide and one per forest. 
• RID master - Domain-specific and one for each domain. 
• PDC - PDC Emulator is domain-specific and one for each domain. 
• Infrastructure master - Domain-specific and one for each domain. 

In most cases an administrator can keep the FSMO role holders (all 5 of them) in the same spot (or actually, on the same DC) as has been configured by the Active Directory installation process. However, there are scenarios where an administrator would want to move one or more of the FSMO roles from the default holder DC to a different DC. 

Moving the FSMO roles while both the original FSMO role holder and the future FSMO role holder are online and operational is called Transferring, and is described in the Transferring FSMO Roles article.

However, when the original FSMO role holder went offline or became non operational for a long period of time, the administrator might consider moving the FSMO role from the original, non-operational holder, to a different DC. The process of moving the FSMO role from a non-operational role holder to a different DC is called Seizing, and is described in this article.

If a DC holding a FSMO role fails, the best thing to do is to try and get the server online again. Since none of the FSMO roles are immediately critical (well, almost none, the loss of the PDC Emulator FSMO role might become a problem unless you fix it in a reasonable amount of time), so it is not a problem to them to be unavailable for hours or even days. 

If a DC becomes unreliable, try to get it back on line, and transfer the FSMO roles to a reliable computer. Administrators should use extreme caution in seizing FSMO roles. This operation, in most cases, should be performed only if the original FSMO role owner will not be brought back into the environment. Only seize a FSMO role if absolutely necessary when the original role holder is not connected to the network.

What will happen if you do not perform the seize in time? This table has the info:

FSMO Role Loss implications

Schema The schema cannot be extended. However, in the short term no one will notice a missing Schema Master unless you plan a schema upgrade during that time.

Domain Naming Unless you are going to run DCPROMO, then you will not miss this FSMO role.

RID Chances are good that the existing DCs will have enough unused RIDs to last some time, unless you're building hundreds of users or computer object per week.

PDC Emulator Will be missed soon. NT 4.0 BDCs will not be able to replicate, there will be no time synchronization in the domain, you will probably not be able to change or troubleshoot group policies and password changes will become a problem.

Infrastructure Group memberships may be incomplete. If you only have one domain, then there will be no impact.

Important: If the RID, Schema, or Domain Naming FSMOs are seized, then the original domain controller must not be activated in the forest again. It is necessary to reinstall Windows if these servers are to be used again. 
The following table summarizes the FSMO seizing restrictions:
FSMO Role Restrictions
Schema Original must be reinstalled
Domain Naming 
RID 
PDC Emulator Can transfer back to original
Infrastructure 

Another consideration before performing the seize operation is the administrator's group membership, as this table lists:
FSMO Role Administrator must be a member of
Schema Schema Admins
Domain Naming Enterprise Admins
RID Domain Admins
PDC Emulator 
Infrastructure 

To seize the FSMO roles by using Ntdsutil, follow these steps:

Caution: Using the Ntdsutil utility incorrectly may result in partial or complete loss of Active Directory functionality.

1. On any domain controller, click Start, click Run, type Ntdsutil in the Open box, and then click OK. 
2. Type roles, and then press ENTER. 

Note: To see a list of available commands at any of the prompts in the Ntdsutil tool, type ?, and then press ENTER.

3. Type connections, and then press ENTER. 
4. Type connect to server , where is the name of the server you want to use, and then press ENTER. 
5. At the server connections: prompt, type q, and then press ENTER again. 
6. Type seize , where is the role you want to seize. For example, to seize the RID Master role, you would type seize rid master: 

Options are: 

7. You will receive a warning window asking if you want to perform the seize. Click on Yes. 
fsmo maintenance: Seize infrastructure master
Attempting safe transfer of infrastructure FSMO before seizure.
ldap_modify_sW error 0x34(52 (Unavailable).
Ldap extended error message is 000020AF: SvcErr: DSID-03210300, problem 5002 (UNAVAILABLE)
data 1722 
Win32 error returned is 0x20af(The requested FSMO operation failed. The current FSMO holde

r could not be contacted.)
)

Depending on the error code this may indicate a connection,

ldap, or role transfer error.
Transfer of infrastructure FSMO failed, proceeding with seizure ...
Server "server100" knows about 5 roles
Schema - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER200,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=dpetri,DC=netDomain - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER100,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=dpetri,DC=net
PDC - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER100,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=dpetri,DC=net
RID - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER200,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=dpetri,DC=net
Infrastructure - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER100,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=dpetri,DC=net

fsmo maintenance:

Note: All five roles need to be in the forest. If the first domain controller is out of the forest then seize all roles. Determine which roles are to be on which remaining domain controllers so that all five roles are not on only one server.

8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 until you've seized all the required FSMO roles. 
9. After you seize or transfer the roles, type q, and then press ENTER until you quit the Ntdsutil tool. 

Note: Do not put the Infrastructure Master (IM) role on the same domain controller as the Global Catalog server. If the Infrastructure Master runs on a GC server it will stop updating object information because it does not contain any references to objects that it does not hold. This is because a GC server holds a partial replica of every object in the forest. 

What is the difference between authoritative and non-authoritative restore 

In authoritative restore, Objects that are restored will be replicated to all domain controllers in the domain. This can be used specifically when the entire OU is disturbed in all domain controllers or specifically restore a single object, which is disturbed in all DC’s

In non-authoritative restore, Restored directory information will be updated by other domain controllers based on the latest modification time. 

What is Active Directory De-fragmentation? 
De-fragmentation of AD means separating used space and empty space created by deleted objects and reduces directory size (only in offline De-fragmentation) 

Difference between online and offline de-fragmentation 
The size of NTDS.DIT will often be different sizes across the domain controllers in a domain. Remember that Active Directory is a multi-master independent model where updates are occurring in each of the domain controllers with the changes being replicated over time to the other domain controllers. 

The changed data is replicated between domain controllers, not the database, so there is no guarantee that the files are going to be the same size across all domain controllers. 

Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 servers running Directory Services (DS) perform a directory online defragmentation every 12 hours by default as part of the garbage-collection process. This defragmentation only moves data around the database file (NTDS.DIT) and doesn’t reduce the file’s size - the database file cannot be compacted while Active Directory is mounted. 

Active Directory routinely performs online database defragmentation, but this is limited to the disposal of tombstoned objects. The database file cannot be compacted while Active Directory is mounted (or online). 

An NTDS.DIT file that has been defragmented offline (compacted), can be much smaller than the NTDS.DIT file on its peers. 

However, defragmenting the NTDS.DIT file isn’t something you should really need to do. Normally, the database self-tunes and automatically tombstoning the records then sweeping them away when the tombstone lifetime has passed to make that space available for additional records. 

Defragging the NTDS.DIT file probably won’t help your AD queries go any faster in the long run. 

So why defrag it in the first place? 

One reason you might want to defrag your NTDS.DIT file is to save space, for example if you deleted a large number of records at one time. 
To create a new, smaller NTDS.DIT file and to enable offline defragmentation, perform the following steps: 
Back up Active Directory (AD). 
Reboot the server, select the OS option, and press F8 for advanced options. 
Select the Directory Services Restore Mode option, and press Enter. Press 
Enter again to start the OS. 
W2K will start in safe mode, with no DS running. 
Use the local SAM’s administrator account and password to log on. 
You’ll see a dialog box that says you’re in safe mode. Click OK. 
From the Start menu, select Run and type cmd.exe 
In the command window, you’ll see the following text. (Enter the commands in bold.) 
C:\> ntdsutil
ntdsutil: files
file maintenance:info

....
file maintenance:compact to c:\temp 

You’ll see the defragmentation process. If the process was successful, enter quit to return to the command prompt. 

Then, replace the old NTDS.DIT file with the new, compressed version. (Enter the commands in bold.) 

C:\> copy c:\temp\ntds.dit %systemroot%\ntds\ntds.dit 

Restart the computer, and boot as normal.

SQL Server DBA (Database Administration) - Interview Questions & Answers

1-How To Concatenate Two Binary Strings Together?

SQL Server 2005 allows to concatenate two binary strings into a single string with the (+) operator. The following tutorial exercise shows you some binary string concatenation examples: -- Concatenating two binary string literals SELECT 0x57656C636F6D6520746F20 + 0x46594963656E7465722E636F6D; GO 0x57656C636F6D6520746F2046594963656E7465722E636F6D -- Watch out: This is not a binary string concatenation SELECT '0x57656C636F6D6520746F20' + '0x46594963656E7465722E636F6D'; GO 0x57656C636F6D6520746F200x46594963656E7465722E636F6D -- Concatenating two binary strings SELECT CONVERT(VARBINARY(40),'Welcome to ') + CONVERT(VARBINARY(40),'GlobalGuideLine.com'); GO 0x57656C636F6D6520746F2046594963656E7465722E636F6D -- Binary strings can not be concatenated with character strings SELECT 'Welcome to ' + 0x46594963656E7465722E636F6D; GO Msg 402, Level 16, State 1, Line 1 The data types varchar and varbinary are incompatible in the add operator. 2-How To Locate and Take Substrings with CHARINDEX() and SUBSTRING() Functions? Transact-SQL is not a language designed for manipulating strings, but it does have two simple functions to locate and take substrings: CHARINDEX() and SUBSTRING(). The tutorial exercise below assumes two given strings: 'Pages: 18' and 'Words: 3240'. The objective is to calculate the number of words per page. Read the script below to see how this is done by using CHARINDEX() and SUBSTRING() functions:  DECLARE @sPages VARCHAR(40), @sWords VARCHAR(40);  SET @sPages = 'Pages: 18';  SET @sWords = 'Words: 3240';  SET @sPages = SUBSTRING(@sPages, CHARINDEX(':', @sPages)+1, 20);  SET @sWords = SUBSTRING(@sWords, CHARINDEX(':', @sWords)+1, 20);  PRINT 'Number of words per page: '  + CONVERT(VARCHAR(20), CONVERT(INT, @sWords)/CONVERT(INT, @sPages));  GO  Number of words per page: 180  If you are a PHP developer, you can get this done in a much quick way. 3- How To Insert New Line Characters into Strings? If you want to break a string into multiple lines, you need to insert new line characters into the string. With some client tools like SQL Server Management Studio, it is not so easy to insert a new line character. One work around is to use the CHAR(int) function to generated new line character and other special characters with their code values: * CHAR(9) - Generates the tab character. * CHAR(10) - Generates the line feed (new line) character. * CHAR(13) - Generates the carriage return character. The tutorial examples below gives you a good example PRINT 'Welcome to '+CHAR(10)+'GlobalGuideLine.com'; PRINT CHAR(10); PRINT 'Current date and time is ' +CONVERT(VARCHAR(20), GETDATE()); GO 4- What Are the Character String Functions Supported by SQL Server 2005? SQL Server 2005 supports 23 character string functions: * ASCII(char) - Returning the code value of a non-Unicode character. * CHAR(int) - Returning the non-Unicode character of a code value. * CHARINDEX(word, string, start_location) - Returning the location of the searched "word" in a string. * DIFFERENCE(string1, string2) - Returning an integer value that indicates the difference between the SOUNDEX values of two strings. * LEFT(string, length) - Returning a substring of "length" character from the left hand side. * LEN(string) - Returning the number of characters in the string. * LOWER(string) - Returning the same string with all upper case characters converted to lower case. * LTRIM(string) - Returning the same string with leading spaces removed. * NCHAR(int) - Returning the Unicode character of a code value. * PATINDEX(pattern, string) - Returning the location of the "pattern" in a string. * QUOTENAME(string, quote) - Returning the same string enclosed in "quote". * REPLICATE(string, number) - Returning the same string repeated "number" of times. * REVERSE(string) - Returning the same string with all character positions reversed. * RIGHT(string, length) - Returning a substring of "length" characters from the right hand side. * RTRIM(string) - Returning the same string with trailing spaces removed. * SOUNDEX(string) - Returning a four-character (SOUNDEX) code to evaluate the similarity of two strings. * SPACE(length) - Returning a string of "length" space characters. * STR(number, precision, scale) - Returning a string representation of a numeric value. * STUFF(string, start, length, new) - Returning the same string with one part being replaced. * SUBSTRING(string, start, length) - Returning a substring. * UNICODE(nchar) - Returning the code value of a Unicode character. * UPPER(string) - Returning the same string with all lower case characters converted to upper case. 5- How To Convert a Unicode Strings to Non-Unicode Strings? Since Unicode character set is different than code page based (non-Unicode) character set, converting Unicode strings to non-Unicode strings may result in wrong characters or missing characters. So you should avoid converting Unicode strings to non-Unicode strings. If you really want to, there are 3 ways to convert a Unicode string to a non-Unicode string: * Implicit conversion by assignment operations - When a Unicode string is assigned to a variable, a column, or a parameter of a non-Unicode string data type, SQL Server will implicitly convert the Unicode string to a non-Unicode string. * Explicit conversion using the CAST() function - A Unicode string can be explicitly converted to non-Unicode string using the CAST(Unicode_string AS VARCHAR(size)) function. * Explicit conversion using the CONVERT() function - A Unicode string can be explicitly converted to non-Unicode string using the CONVERT(VARCHAR(size), Unicdoe_string) function. Some numeric data type conversion examples are provided in the tutorial exercise below: -- Implicit conversion by an assignment operation DECLARE @regcode VARCHAR(40); SET @regcode = N'Some Unicode characters: ' + NCHAR(9733)+NCHAR(9734)+NCHAR(9792)+NCHAR(9794); SELECT @regcode; GO Some Unicode characters: ???? -- Explicit conversion by CAST() SELECT CAST(N'Some Unicode characters: ' + NCHAR(9733)+NCHAR(9734)+NCHAR(9792)+NCHAR(9794) AS VARCHAR(40)); GO Some Unicode characters: ???? -- Explicit conversion by CONVERT() SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(40), N'Some Unicode characters: ' + NCHAR(9733)+NCHAR(9734)+NCHAR(9792)+NCHAR(9794)); GO Some Unicode characters: ???? 6- What Happens When Unicode Strings Concatenate with Non-Unicode Strings? If a Unicode string NVARCHAR is concatenated with a non-Unicode string VARCHAR, SQL Server will implicitly convert the non-Unicode string to Unicode string for concatenation. DECLARE @regcode VARCHAR(40); DECLARE @unicode NVARCHAR(40); SET @regcode = 'Some Unicode characters: ' SET @unicode = NCHAR(9733)+NCHAR(9734)+NCHAR(9792) +NCHAR(9794); SELECT @regcode + @unicode; SELECT DATALENGTH(@regcode); SELECT DATALENGTH(@unicode); SELECT DATALENGTH(@regcode + @unicode); Some Unicode characters: ???? 25 8 58 Note that the non-Unicode string @regcode has been converted to a Unicode string. The number of bytes of @regcode changed from 25 to 50. With 8 bytes from @unicode, the number of bytes of the concatenated string becomes 58. 7- How To Concatenate Two Character Strings Together? Concatenating two character strings together is most commonly used string operation. SQL Server 2005 allows to concatenate two character strings into a single string with the (+) operator. The following tutorial exercise shows you some string concatenation examples: DECLARE @site VARCHAR(40); SET @site = 'GlobalGuideLine.com'; SELECT 'Welcome to '+@site; SELECT 'Current date and time is ' +CONVERT(VARCHAR(20), GETDATE()); GO Welcome to GlobalGuideLine.com Current date and time is May 19 2007 5:18PM DECLARE @start INT, @end INT, @total INT; SET @start = 21; SET @end = 30; SET @total = 728; SELECT 'Search result ' + CONVERT(VARCHAR(20),@start) + ' - ' + CONVERT(VARCHAR(20),@end) + ' of ' + CONVERT(VARCHAR(20),@total); GO Search result 21 - 30 of 728 8- How To Generate Random Numbers with the RAND() Function in MS SQL Server? Random numbers are very useful for generating test data, passwords, or other security related data. SQL Server 2005 offers you the random number generator function RAND in two format: * RAND(seed) - Starting a new sequence of random numbers based on the given integer "seed" and returning the first random number in FLOAT(53) from the sequence. * RAND() - Returning the next random number in FLOAT(53) from the current sequence. If there has been no current sequence, SQL Server will start a new sequence with a random "seed". Note that calling RAND(seed) with the same seed will start the same sequence and return the same number. To avoid this repeating pattern, you should always call RAND() without any seed and let the server to randomly pickup a sequence. The tutorial exercise below shows some good examples on how to generate random numbers: SELECT RAND(100), RAND(), RAND(); -- new sequence SELECT RAND(100), RAND(), RAND(); -- same sequence again SELECT RAND(), RAND(), RAND(); SELECT RAND(), RAND(), RAND(); GO 0.715436657367485 0.28463380767982 0.0131039082850364 0.715436657367485 0.28463380767982 0.0131039082850364 0.28769876521071 0.100505471175005 0.292787286982702 0.868829058415689 0.370366365964781 0.58334760467751 -- Random integer between 0 and 100 SELECT FLOOR(100*RAND()); SELECT FLOOR(100*RAND()); SELECT FLOOR(100*RAND()); SELECT FLOOR(100*RAND()); GO 68 29 20 82 9- How To Round a Numeric Value To a Specific Precision? Sometimes you need to round a numeric value to a specific precision. For example, you may want to round values in your financial statement to the precision of 1000.00. This can be done by the ROUND() function with the following syntax: ROUND(value, precision, type) value: The input value to be rounded. precision: The location of the precision digit relative to the decimal point. type: 0 - Round to nearest value; 1 - Truncate to a lower value. The tutorial exercise below gives some good examples of how to use the ROUND() function: SELECT ROUND(1234.5678, 0, 0); SELECT ROUND(1234.5678, -3, 0); SELECT ROUND(1234.5678, -4, 0); SELECT ROUND(1234.5678, 3, 0); SELECT ROUND(1234.5678, 3, 1); GO 1235.0000 1000.0000 0.0000 1234.5680 1234.5670 10- How To Convert Numeric Values to Integers in MS SQL Server? Sometimes you need to round a numeric value into an integer. SQL Server 2005 offers you a number of ways to do this: * FLOOR(value) - Returning the largest integer less than or equal to the input value. The returning data type is the same as the input value. * CEILLING(value) - Returning the smallest integer greater than or equal to the input value. The returning data type is the same as the input value. * ROUND(value, 0, 0) - Returning the integer most close to the input value. The returning data type is the same as the input value. * CAST(value AS INT) - Returning the largest integer less than or equal to the input value. The returning data type is INT. * CONVERT(INT, value) - Returning the largest integer less than or equal to the input value. The returning data type is INT. The tutorial exercise below gives some good examples of converting numeric values to integers: SELECT FLOOR(1234.5678); SELECT CEILING(1234.5678); SELECT ROUND(1234.5678, 0, 0); SELECT CAST(1234.5678 AS INT); SELECT CONVERT(INT, 1234.5678); GO 1234 1235 1235.0000 1234 1234

Windows Server Support Interview Questions and Answers (L2) Part 1

What is the difference between Authorized DHCP and Non Authorized DHCP? 
To avoid problems in the network causing by mis-configured DHCP servers, server in windows 2000 must be validate by AD before starting service to clients. If an authorized DHCP finds any DHCP server in the network it stop serving the clients 

Difference between inter-site and intra-site replication. Protocols using for replication. 
Intra-site replication can be done between the domain controllers in the same site. Inter-site replication can be done between two different sites over WAN links
BHS (Bridge Head Servers) is responsible for initiating replication between the sites. Inter-site replication can be done B/w BHS in one site and BHS in another site.
We can use RPC over IP or SMTP as a replication protocols where as Domain partition is not possible to replicate using SMTP 

How to monitor replication 
We can user Replmon tool from support tools 

Brief explanation of RAID Levels 
Microsoft Windows XP, Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 offer two types of disk storage: basic and dynamic. 

Basic Disk Storage
Basic storage uses normal partition tables supported by MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), Microsoft Windows NT, Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP. A disk initialized for basic storage is called a basic disk. A basic disk contains basic volumes, such as primary partitions, extended partitions, and logical drives. Additionally, basic volumes include multidisk volumes that are created by using Windows NT 4.0 or earlier, such as volume sets, stripe sets, mirror sets, and stripe sets with parity. Windows XP does not support these multidisk basic volumes. Any volume sets, stripe sets, mirror sets, or stripe sets with parity must be backed up and deleted or converted to dynamic disks before you install Windows XP Professional. 

Dynamic Disk Storage
Dynamic storage is supported in Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003. A disk initialized for dynamic storage is called a dynamic disk. A dynamic disk contains dynamic volumes, such as simple volumes, spanned volumes, striped volumes, mirrored volumes, and RAID-5 volumes. With dynamic storage, you can perform disk and volume management without the need to restart Windows. 

Note: Dynamic disks are not supported on portable computers or on Windows XP Home Edition-based computers. 
You cannot create mirrored volumes or RAID-5 volumes on Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Professional, or Windows XP 64-Bit Edition-based computers. However, you can use a Windows XP Professional-based computer to create a mirrored or RAID-5 volume on remote computers that are running Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Advanced Server, or Windows 2000 Datacenter Server, or the Standard, Enterprise and Data Center versions of Windows Server 2003.

Storage types are separate from the file system type. A basic or dynamic disk can contain any combination of FAT16, FAT32, or NTFS partitions or volumes. 

A disk system can contain any combination of storage types. However, all volumes on the same disk must use the same storage type. 

To convert a Basic Disk to a Dynamic Disk: 

Use the Disk Management snap-in in Windows XP/2000/2003 to convert a basic disk to a dynamic disk. To do this, follow these steps: 
1. Log on as Administrator or as a member of the Administrators group. 
2. Click Start, and then click Control Panel. 
3. Click Performance and Maintenance, click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management. You can also right-click My Computer and choose Manage if you have My Computer displayed on your desktop. 
4. In the left pane, click Disk Management. 
5. In the lower-right pane, right-click the basic disk that you want to convert, and then click Convert to Dynamic Disk. You must right-click the gray area that contains the disk title on the left side of the Details pane. 
6. Select the check box that is next to the disk that you want to convert (if it is not already selected), and then click OK. 
7. Click Details if you want to view the list of volumes in the disk. Click Convert. 
8. Click Yes when you are prompted to convert the disk, and then click OK. 

Warning: After you convert a basic disk to a dynamic disk, local access to the dynamic disk is limited to Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003. Additionally, after you convert a basic disk to a dynamic disk, the dynamic volumes cannot be changed back to partitions. You must first delete all dynamic volumes on the disk and then convert the dynamic disk back to a basic disk. If you want to keep your data, you must first back up the data or move it to another volume. 

Dynamic Storage Terms
A volume is a storage unit made from free space on one or more disks. It can be formatted with a file system and assigned a drive letter. Volumes on dynamic disks can have any of the following layouts: simple, spanned, mirrored, striped, or RAID-5. 
A simple volume uses free space from a single disk. It can be a single region on a disk or consist of multiple, concatenated regions. A simple volume can be extended within the same disk or onto additional disks. If a simple volume is extended across multiple disks, it becomes a spanned volume. 
A spanned volume is created from free disk space that is linked together from multiple disks. You can extend a spanned volume onto a maximum of 32 disks. A spanned volume cannot be mirrored and is not fault-tolerant. 
A striped volume is a volume whose data is interleaved across two or more physical disks. The data on this type of volume is allocated alternately and evenly to each of the physical disks. A striped volume cannot be mirrored or extended and is not fault-tolerant. Striping is also known as RAID-0. 
A mirrored volume is a fault-tolerant volume whose data is duplicated on two physical disks. All of the data on one volume is copied to another disk to provide data redundancy. If one of the disks fails, the data can still be accessed from the remaining disk. A mirrored volume cannot be extended. Mirroring is also known as RAID-1. 
A RAID-5 volume is a fault-tolerant volume whose data is striped across an array of three or more disks. Parity (a calculated value that can be used to reconstruct data after a failure) is also striped across the disk array. If a physical disk fails, the portion of the RAID-5 volume that was on that failed disk can be re-created from the remaining data and the parity. A RAID-5 volume cannot be mirrored or extended. 
The system volume contains the hardware-specific files that are needed to load Windows (for example, Ntldr, Boot.ini, and Ntdetect.com). The system volume can be, but does not have to be, the same as the boot volume. 
The boot volume contains the Windows operating system files that are located in the %Systemroot% and %Systemroot%\System32 folders. The boot volume can be, but does not have to be, the same as the system volume. 

RAID 0 – Striping

RAID 1- Mirroring (minimum 2 HDD required)

RAID 5 – Striping With Parity (Minimum 3 HDD required)

RAID levels 1 and 5 only gives redundancy 

What are the different backup strategies are available 

Normal Backup
Incremental Backup
Differential Backup
Daily Backup
Copy Backup 

What is a global catalog 
Global catalog is a role, which maintains Indexes about objects. It contains full information of the objects in its own domain and partial information of the objects in other domains. Universal Group membership information will be stored in global catalog servers and replicate to all GC’s in the forest. 

What is Active Directory and what is the use of it 
Active directory is a directory service, which maintains the relation ship between resources and enabling them to work together. Because of AD hierarchal structure windows 2000 is more scalable, reliable. Active directory is derived from X.500 standards where information is stored is hierarchal tree like structure. Active directory depends on two Internet standards one is DNS and other is LDAP. Information in Active directory can be queried by using LDAP protocol 

What is the physical and logical structure of AD? 
Active directory physical structure is a hierarchal structure which fallows Forests—Trees—Domains—Child Domains—Grand Child—etc

Active directory is logically divided into 3 partitions 

1.Configuration partition 2. Schema Partition 3. Domain partition 4. Application Partition (only in windows 2003 not available in windows 2000)

Out of these Configuration, Schema partitions can be replicated between the domain controllers in the in the entire forest. Where as Domain partition can be replicated between the domain controllers in the same domain 

What is the process of user authentication (Kerberos V5) in windows 2000? 
After giving logon credentials an encryption key will be generated which is used to encrypt the time stamp of the client machine. User name and encrypted timestamp information will be provided to domain controller for authentication. Then Domain controller based on the password information stored in AD for that user it decrypts the encrypted time stamp information. If produces time stamp matches to its time stamp. It will provide logon session key and Ticket granting ticket to client in an encryption format. Again client decrypts and if produced time stamp information is matching then it will use logon session key to logon to the domain. Ticket granting ticket will be used to generate service granting ticket when accessing network resources 

What are the port numbers for Kerberos, LDAP and Global Catalog? 

Kerberos – 88, LDAP – 389, Global Catalog – 3268 

What is the use of LDAP (X.500 standard?) 

LDAP is a directory access protocol, which is used to exchange directory information from server to clients or from server to servers 

What are the problems that are generally come across DHCP? 
Scope is full with IP addresses no IP’s available for new machines
If scope options are not configured properly eg default gateway 
Incorrect creation of scopes etc 

What is the role responsible for time synchronization? 
PDC Emulator is responsible for time synchronization. Time synchronization is important because Kerberos authentication depends on time stamp information

What is TTL & how to set TTL time in DNS? 
TTL is Time to Live setting used for the amount of time that the record should remain in cache when name resolution happened.

We can set TTL in SOA (start of authority record) of DNS 

How to take DNS and WINS, DHCP backup 
%System root%/system32/dns
%System root%/system32/WINS
%System root%/system32/DHCP 

What is recovery console 
Recovery console is a utility used to recover the system when it is not booting properly or not at all booting. We can perform fallowing operations from recovery console

We can copy, rename, or replace operating system files and folders
Enable or disable service or device startup the next time that start computer
Repair the file system boot sector or the Master Boot Record
Create and format partitions on drives 

What is DFS & its usage 

DFS is a distributed file system used to provide common environment for users to access files and folders even when they are shared in different servers physically.
There are two types of DFS domain DFS and Stand alone DFS. We cannot provide redundancy for stand alone DFS in case of failure. Domain DFS is used in a domain environment which can be accessed by /domain name/root1 (root 1 is DFS root name). Stand alone DFS can be used in workgroup environment which can be accessed through /server name/root1 (root 1 is DFS root name). Both the cases we need to create DFS root ( Which appears like a shared folder for end users) and DFS links ( A logical link which is pointing to the server where the folder is physically shared)

The maximum number of Dfs roots per server is 1. 
The maximum numbers of Dfs root replicas are 31.
The maximum number of Dfs roots per domain is unlimited. 
The maximum number of Dfs links or shared folders in a Dfs root is 1,000 

What is RIS and what are its requirements 
RIS is a remote installation service, which is used to install operation system remotely.

Client requirements
PXE DHCP-based boot ROM version 1.00 or later NIC, or a network adapter that is supported by the RIS boot disk.
Should meet minimum operating system requirements
Software Requirements
Below network services must be active on RIS server or any server in the network
Domain Name System (DNS Service)
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
Active directory “Directory” service 

How many root replicas can be created in DFS? 
31 

What is the difference between Domain DFS and Standalone DFS? 
Refer question 17. 

High Level 

Can we establish trust relationship between two forests? 

In Windows 2000 it is not possible. In Windows 2003 it is possible 

What is FSMO Roles 

Flexible single master operation (FSMO) roles are 
Domain Naming Master
Schema Master
PDC Emulator
Infrastructure Master
RID Master 

Brief all the FSMO Roles 
Windows 2000/2003 Multi-Master Model

A multi-master enabled database, such as the Active Directory, provides the flexibility of allowing changes to occur at any DC in the enterprise, but it also introduces the possibility of conflicts that can potentially lead to problems once the data is replicated to the rest of the enterprise. One way Windows 2000/2003 deals with conflicting updates is by having a conflict resolution algorithm handle discrepancies in values by resolving to the DC to which changes were written last (that is, "the last writer wins"), while discarding the changes in all other DCs. Although this resolution method may be acceptable in some cases, there are times when conflicts are just too difficult to resolve using the "last writer wins" approach. In such cases, it is best to prevent the conflict from occurring rather than to try to resolve it after the fact. 
For certain types of changes, Windows 2000/2003 incorporates methods to prevent conflicting Active Directory updates from occurring. 
Windows 2000/2003 Single-Master Model
To prevent conflicting updates in Windows 2000/2003, the Active Directory performs updates to certain objects in a single-master fashion. 

In a single-master model, only one DC in the entire directory is allowed to process updates. This is similar to the role given to a primary domain controller (PDC) in earlier versions of Windows (such as Microsoft Windows NT 4.0), in which the PDC is responsible for processing all updates in a given domain. 

In a forest, there are five FSMO roles that are assigned to one or more domain controllers. The five FSMO roles are: 

Schema Master: 

The schema master domain controller controls all updates and modifications to the schema. Once the Schema update is complete, it is replicated from the schema master to all other DCs in the directory. To update the schema of a forest, you must have access to the schema master. There can be only one schema master in the whole forest. 
Domain naming master: 

The domain naming master domain controller controls the addition or removal of domains in the forest. This DC is the only one that can add or remove a domain from the directory. It can also add or remove cross references to domains in external directories. There can be only one domain naming master in the whole forest. 

Infrastructure Master: 

When an object in one domain is referenced by another object in another domain, it represents the reference by the GUID, the SID (for references to security principals), and the DN of the object being referenced. The infrastructure FSMO role holder is the DC responsible for updating an object's SID and distinguished name in a cross-domain object reference. At any one time, there can be only one domain controller acting as the infrastructure master in each domain. 

Note: The Infrastructure Master (IM) role should be held by a domain controller that is not a Global Catalog server (GC). If the Infrastructure Master runs on a Global Catalog server it will stop updating object information because it does not contain any references to objects that it does not hold. This is because a Global Catalog server holds a partial replica of every object in the forest. As a result, cross-domain object references in that domain will not be updated and a warning to that effect will be logged on that DC's event log. If all the domain controllers in a domain also host the global catalog, all the domain controllers have the current data, and it is not important which domain controller holds the infrastructure master role. 

Relative ID (RID) Master: 

The RID master is responsible for processing RID pool requests from all domain controllers in a particular domain. When a DC creates a security principal object such as a user or group, it attaches a unique Security ID (SID) to the object. This SID consists of a domain SID (the same for all SIDs created in a domain), and a relative ID (RID) that is unique for each security principal SID created in a domain. Each DC in a domain is allocated a pool of RIDs that it is allowed to assign to the security principals it creates. When a DC's allocated RID pool falls below a threshold, that DC issues a request for additional RIDs to the domain's RID master. The domain RID master responds to the request by retrieving RIDs from the domain's unallocated RID pool and assigns them to the pool of the requesting DC. At any one time, there can be only one domain controller acting as the RID master in the domain. 

PDC Emulator: 

The PDC emulator is necessary to synchronize time in an enterprise. Windows 2000/2003 includes the W32Time (Windows Time) time service that is required by the Kerberos authentication protocol. All Windows 2000/2003-based computers within an enterprise use a common time. The purpose of the time service is to ensure that the Windows Time service uses a hierarchical relationship that controls authority and does not permit loops to ensure appropriate common time usage. 

The PDC emulator of a domain is authoritative for the domain. The PDC emulator at the root of the forest becomes authoritative for the enterprise, and should be configured to gather the time from an external source. All PDC FSMO role holders follow the hierarchy of domains in the selection of their in-bound time partner. 
In a Windows 2000/2003 domain, the PDC emulator role holder retains the following functions: 
Password changes performed by other DCs in the domain are replicated preferentially to the PDC emulator. 
Authentication failures that occur at a given DC in a domain because of an incorrect password are forwarded to the PDC emulator before a bad password failure message is reported to the user. 

Account lockout is processed on the PDC emulator. 

Editing or creation of Group Policy Objects (GPO) is always done from the GPO copy found in the PDC Emulator's SYSVOL share, unless configured not to do so by the administrator. 

The PDC emulator performs all of the functionality that a Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server-based PDC or earlier PDC performs for Windows NT 4.0-based or earlier clients. 

This part of the PDC emulator role becomes unnecessary when all workstations, member servers, and domain controllers that are running Windows NT 4.0 or earlier are all upgraded to Windows 2000/2003. The PDC emulator still performs the other functions as described in a Windows 2000/2003 environment. 

At any one time, there can be only one domain controller acting as the PDC emulator master in each domain in the forest.