Active Directory Server list - remote sever first???
Not sure if this should be here or in General... This is a one month old Exchange 2010 installation. I've always noticed that EMC populates data fairly slow and thought that was just because 2010 was different from 2003. However I noticed today under Server Configuration > server properties > system settings tab both the Active Directory and Global Catalog servers have a remote server at the top of the list that's not at our primary site. There are three others that are at the primary (not over a WAN link) that would be better suited for directory access. First, am I correct in assuming that whatever server appears at the top of that list that it's the one currently being querried for AD info? Second is there a way to force that to another server or set the list to preferred servers first? Not only does the remote server have a name that's alpabetically lower but it's a Win 2k3 server where there is at least one Win 2k8 R2 DC/GC at the primary site so I'm not sure how it came to be the preferred AD/GC server.
February 13th, 2012 9:43am

Hi You can use these commands to set a list of DCs and GCs: Set-ExchangeServer ex2010servername -StaticDomainControllers localDC01.domain.local,localDC02.domain.local, etc ... Set-ExchangeServer ex2010servername -StaticGlobalCatalogs localDC01.domain.local,localDC02.domain.local, etc ... Cheers, Steve
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February 13th, 2012 9:55am

I wouldn't do it, as it's not recommended to hardcode the DC to exchange server. Restart MSExchangeADTopology service and post the event 2080 from app log.Gulab Prasad, MCITP: Exchange Server 2010 | MCITP: Exchange Server 2007 MCITP: Lync Server 2010 | MCITP: Windows Server 2008 My Blog | Z-Hire Employee Provisioning App
February 13th, 2012 10:02am

Service restarted. Here's the latest event info for 2080. Note that the names have been altered, To.inside.com is at a remote site and An.inside.com is the only Win 2k8 R2 server. All others are Win2k3 : Log Name: Application Source: MSExchange ADAccess Date: 2/13/2012 9:13:54 AM Event ID: 2080 Task Category: Topology Level: Information Keywords: Classic User: N/A Computer: Bl.inside.com Description: Process STORE.EXE (PID=2848). Exchange Active Directory Provider has discovered the following servers with the following characteristics: (Server name | Roles | Enabled | Reachability | Synchronized | GC capable | PDC | SACL right | Critical Data | Netlogon | OS Version) In-site: wi.inside.com CDG 1 7 7 1 0 1 1 7 1 aj.inside.com CDG 1 7 7 1 0 1 1 7 1 To.inside.com CDG 1 7 7 1 0 1 1 7 1 An.inside.com CDG 1 7 7 1 0 1 1 7 1 Out-of-site: Event Xml: <Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event"> <System> <Provider Name="MSExchange ADAccess" /> <EventID Qualifiers="16388">2080</EventID> <Level>4</Level> <Task>3</Task> <Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords> <TimeCreated SystemTime="2012-02-13T16:13:54.000000000Z" /> <EventRecordID>44238</EventRecordID> <Channel>Application</Channel> <Computer>Bl.inside.com</Computer> <Security /> </System> <EventData> <Data>STORE.EXE</Data> <Data>2848</Data> <Data>wi.inside.com CDG 1 7 7 1 0 1 1 7 1 aj.inside.com CDG 1 7 7 1 0 1 1 7 1 To.inside.com CDG 1 7 7 1 0 1 1 7 1 An.inside.com CDG 1 7 7 1 0 1 1 7 1 </Data> <Data> </Data> </EventData> </Event>
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February 13th, 2012 11:31am

Everything looks good, you shouldn't have any issue with exchange (if I am not wrong) Your question was: First, am I correct in assuming that whatever server appears at the top of that list that it's the one currently being querried for AD info? Yes, exchange will look for best available DC/GC In-Site. Second is there a way to force that to another server or set the list to preferred servers first? You should never do it as, if that DC is down your exchange will be down and exchange won't query for other DC/GC as you have hardcoded it.Gulab Prasad, MCITP: Exchange Server 2010 | MCITP: Exchange Server 2007 MCITP: Lync Server 2010 | MCITP: Windows Server 2008 My Blog | Z-Hire Employee Provisioning App
February 13th, 2012 11:45am

I would never seek to relegate just one server to that list. At the moment this list was generated To.inside.com appears number three in the list. At the time I posted this it was number one for both AD and GC roles. If I were to create a static list of servers I'd simply omit the one remote server and keep theothers. What it sounds like you're saying is that if I force it to something like: An.inside.com wi.inside.com aj.inside.com Then if An.inside.com is down the others will not respond? All three of these servers are in the same room, same GigE switches. The other server is across a saturated WAN link.
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February 13th, 2012 12:31pm

Hi Although Gulab is correct in saying that hardcoding is not recommended there are certain scenarios where it is the lesser of two evils. I believe that if you specify multiple DCs in the static config you will protect yourself from a single server failure. Having said that I'm curious to know how your AD sites are configured. You have a DC on the other end of a slow WAN link ... is that in it's own AD site? The output of event 2080 above seems to show that all your DCs are in the same site. You could actually fix this issue (and a few others probably) by correcting the site config. Cheers, Steve
February 13th, 2012 12:58pm

Technically it's all one AD site where we had to split it some time ago into two physical facilities. There's an AD/GC server at the remote due to the need for VPN authentication in the event the link between sites goes down. The WAN link between the two sites is 10Mb but it's generally heavily used. Because of that accessing AD via the server that's down there tends to be delayed but only for admin tools as far as I can tell.
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February 13th, 2012 3:36pm

I wouldn't do it, as it's not recommended to hardcode the DC to exchange server. Restart MSExchangeADTopology service and post the event 2080 from app log.Gulab Prasad, MCITP: Exchange Server 2010 | MCITP: Exchange Server 2007 MCITP: Lync Server 2010 | MCITP: Windows Server 2008 My Blog | Z-Hire Employee Provisioning App
February 13th, 2012 5:55pm

Everything looks good, you shouldn't have any issue with exchange (if I am not wrong) Your question was: First, am I correct in assuming that whatever server appears at the top of that list that it's the one currently being querried for AD info? Yes, exchange will look for best available DC/GC In-Site. Second is there a way to force that to another server or set the list to preferred servers first? You should never do it as, if that DC is down your exchange will be down and exchange won't query for other DC/GC as you have hardcoded it.Gulab Prasad, MCITP: Exchange Server 2010 | MCITP: Exchange Server 2007 MCITP: Lync Server 2010 | MCITP: Windows Server 2008 My Blog | Z-Hire Employee Provisioning App
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February 13th, 2012 7:38pm

So basically you don't have issue with exchange!Gulab Prasad, MCITP: Exchange Server 2010 | MCITP: Exchange Server 2007 MCITP: Lync Server 2010 | MCITP: Windows Server 2008 My Blog | Z-Hire Employee Provisioning App
February 14th, 2012 5:59am

So basically you don't have issue with exchange!Gulab Prasad, MCITP: Exchange Server 2010 | MCITP: Exchange Server 2007 MCITP: Lync Server 2010 | MCITP: Windows Server 2008 My Blog | Z-Hire Employee Provisioning App
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February 14th, 2012 1:52pm

hi, Restart the ADTopology service,see if can fix your issue thanks,CastinLu TechNet Community Support
February 15th, 2012 1:45am

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