How To Find Domain Controllers That Hold Master Roles

Posted on by Summa Lai

Use DCDIAG

On a Windows Domain Controller, run the following command:

DCdiag /test:Knowsofroleholders /v

Use the NTDSUTIL Tool

NTDSUTIL is a tool included with Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Advanced Server, and Windows 2000 Datacenter Server. This tool is can be used to verify change certain aspects of the Active Directory. The following is the steps needed to view the Flexible Single Master Operation (FSMO) roles on a given Domain Controller.

Ntdsutil.exe is the only tool that shows you all the FSMO role owners. You can view the PDC emulator, RID master, and infrastructure master role owners in Active Directory Users and Computers. You can view the schema master role owner in the Active Directory Schema snap-in. You can view the domain naming master role owner in Active Directory Domains and Trusts.

  1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd in the Open box, and then press ENTER.
  2. Type ntdsutil, and then press ENTER.
  3. Type domain management, and then press ENTER.
  4. Type connections, and then press ENTER.
  5. Type connect to server ServerName, where ServerName is the Name of the Domain Controller you would like to view, and then press ENTER.
  6. Type quit, and then press ENTER.
  7. Type select operation target, and then press ENTER.
  8. Type list roles for connected server, and then press ENTER. A list is displayed similar to what is listed below. Results may very depending on the roles the particular Domain Controller may hold. If you receive an error message, check the spelling of the commands as the syntax of the commands must be exact. If you need the syntax of a command, type ? at each prompt:

Determine the RID, PDC, and Infrastructure FSMO Holders of a Selected Domain

  1. Click Start, click Run, type dsa.msc, and then click OK.
  2. Right-click the selected Domain Object in the top-left pane, and then click Operations Masters.
  3. Click the PDC tab to view the server holding the PDC master role.
  4. Click the Infrastructure tab to view the server holding the Infrastructure master role.
  5. Click the RID Pool tab to view the server holding the RID master role.

Determine the Schema FSMO Holder in a Forest

  1. Click Start, click Run, type mmc, and then click OK.
  2. On the Console menu, click Add/Remove Snap-in, click Add, double-click Active Directory Schema, click Close, and then click OK.
  3. Right-click Active Directory Schema in the top-left pane, and then click Operations Masters to view the server holding the schema master role.

 Note

For the Active Directory Schema snap-in to be available, you may have to register the Schmmgmt.dll file. To do this, click Start , click Run , type regsvr32 schmmgmt.dll in the Open box, and then click OK . A message is displayed that states the registration was successful.

Determine the Domain Naming FSMO Holder in a Forest

  1. Click Start, click Run, type mmc, and then click OK.
  2. On the Console menu, click Add/Remove Snap-in, click Add, double-click Active Directory Domains and Trusts, click Close, and then click OK.
  3. In the left pane, click Active Directory Domains and Trusts.
  4. Right-click Active Directory Domains and Trust, and then click Operations Master to view the server holding the domain naming master role in the Forest.