Active Directory Interview Question and Answers

1. What is Active Directory?

Active Directory is a Meta Data. Active Directory is a data base which stores a data base like your user
information, computer information and also other network object info. It has capabilities to manage and
administer the complete Network which connect with AD.
2. What is domain?
A domain is a set of network resources (applications, printers, and so forth) for a group of users. The
user needs only to log in to the domain to gain access to the resources, which may be located on a
number of different servers in the network. The domain is simply your computer address not to confuse
with an URL. A domain address might look something like 211.170.469.
3. What is domain controller?
A Domain controller (DC) is a server that responds to security authentication requests (logging in,
checking permissions, etc.) within the Windows Server domain. A domain is a concept introduced in
Windows NT whereby a user may be granted access to a number of computer resources with the use of
a single username and password combination.
4. 4. What is LDAP?
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol LDAP is the industry standard directory access protocol, making
Active Directory widely accessible to management and query applications. Active Directory supports
LDAPv3 and LDAPv2.
5. 5. What is KCC?
KCC (knowledge consistency checker) is used to generate replication topology for inter site replication
and for intra-site replication. Within a site replication traffic is done via remote procedure calls over ip,
while between sites it is done through either RPC or SMTP.
6. Where is the AD database held? What other folders are related to AD?
The AD data base is store in c:\windows\ntds\NTDS.DIT.
7. What is the SYSVOL folder?
The sysVOL folder stores the servers copy of the domains public files. The contents such as group
policy, users etc. of the sysvol folder are replicated to all domain controllers in the domain.
8. Where are the Windows NT Primary Domain Controller (PDC) and its Backup Domain
Controller (BDC) in Server 2003?
The Active Directory replaces them. Now all domain controllers share a multi master peer-to-peer read
and write relationship that hosts copies of the Active Directory.
9. Cannot create a new universal user group. Why?
Universal groups are allowed only in native-mode Windows Server 2003 environments. Native mode
requires that all domain controllers be promoted to Windows Server 2003 Active Directory.
10. What is LSDOU?

Its group policy inheritance model, where the policies are applied to Local machines, Sites, Domains and
Organizational Units.
11. Why doesnt LSDOU work under Windows NT?
If the NTConfig.pol file exists, it has the highest priority among the numerous policies.
12. How many number of permitted unsuccessful logons on Administrator account?
Unlimited. Remember, though, that its the Administrator account, not any account thats part of the
Administrators group.
13. Whats the difference between guest accounts in Server 2003 and other editions?
More restrictive in Windows Server 2003.
14. How many passwords by default are remembered when you check Enforce Password History
Remembered?
Users last 6 passwords.
15. Can GC Server and Infrastructure place in single server?
No, As Infrastructure master does the same job as the GC. It does not work together.
16. Which is service in your windows is responsible for replication of Domain controller to another
domain controller.
KCC generates the replication topology.
Use SMTP / RPC to replicate changes.
17. What Intrasite and Intersite Replication?
Intrasite is the replication within the same site & intersite the replication between sites.
18. What is lost & found folder in ADS?
Its the folder where you can find the objects missed due to conflict.
Ex: you created a user in OU which is deleted in other DC & when replication happed ADS didnt find the
OU then it will put that in Lost & Found Folder.
19. What is Garbage collection?
Garbage collection is the process of the online defragmentation of active directory. It happens every 12
Hours.
20. What System State data contains?
Contains Startup files,
Registry
Com + Registration Database
Memory Page file
System files

AD information
Cluster Service information
SYSVOL Folder
21. What is the difference between Windows 2000 Active Directory and Windows 2003 Active
Directory? Is there any difference in 2000 Group Polices and 2003 Group Polices? What is meant
by ADS and ADS services in Windows 2003?
Windows 2003 Active Directory introduced a number of new security features, as well as convenience
features such as the ability to rename a domain controller and even an entire domain
Windows Server 2003 also introduced numerous changes to the default settings that can be affected by
Group Policy you can see a detailed list of each available setting and which OS is required to support
it by downloading the Group Policy Settings Reference.
ADS stands for Automated Deployment Services, and is used to quickly roll out identically-configured
servers in large-scale enterprise environments. You can get more information from the ADS homepage.
22. I want to setup a DNS server and Active Directory domain. What do I do first? If I install the
DNS service first and name the zone name.org can I name the AD domain name.org too?
Not only can you have a DNS zone and an Active Directory domain with the same name, its actually the
preferred way to go if at all possible. You can install and configure DNS before installing Active Directory,
or you can allow the Active Directory Installation Wizard (dcpromo) itself install DNS on your server in the
background.
23. How do I determine if user accounts have local administrative access?
You can use the net local group administrators command on each workstation (probably in a login script
so that it records its information to a central file for later review). This command will enumerate the
members of the Administrators group on each machine you run it on. Alternately, you can use the
Restricted Groups feature of Group Policy to restrict the membership of Administrators to only those
users you want to belong.
24. Why am I having trouble printing with XP domain users?
In most cases, the inability to print or access resources in situations like this one will boil down to an issue
with name resolution, either DNS or WINS/NetBIOS. Be sure that your Windows XP clients wireless
connections are configured with the correct DNS and WINS name servers, as well as with the appropriate
NetBIOS over TCP/IP settings. Compare your wireless settings to your wired LAN settings and look for
any discrepancies that may indicate where the functional difference may lie.
25. What is the ISTG? Who has that role by default?
Windows 2000 Domain controllers each create Active Directory Replication connection objects
representing inbound replication from intra-site replication partners. For inter-site replication, one domain
controller per site has the responsibility of evaluating the inter-site replication topology and creating Active
Directory Replication Connection objects for appropriate bridgehead servers within its site. The domain
controller in each site that owns this role is referred to as the Inter-Site Topology Generator (ISTG).
26. What is difference between Server 2003 vs 2008?

Virtualization. (Windows Server 2008 introduces Hyper-V (V for Virtualization) but only on 64bit
versions. More and more companies are seeing this as a way of reducing hardware costs by
running several virtual servers on one physical machine.)
Server Core (provides the minimum installation required to carry out a specific server role, such
as for a DHCP, DNS or print server)
Better security.
Role-based installation.
Read Only Domain Controllers (RODC).
Enhanced terminal services.
Network Access Protection Microsofts system for ensuring that clients connecting to Server
2008 are patched, running a firewall and in compliance with corporate security policies.
Power Shell Microsofts command line shell and scripting language has proved popular with
some server administrators.
IIS 7.
Bit locker System drive encryption can be a sensible security measure for servers located in
remote branch offices. The main difference between 2003 and 2008 is Virtualization,
management. 2008 has more in-build components and updated third party drivers.
Windows Aero.

27. What are the requirements for installing AD on a new server?

1 The Domain structure.

2 The Domain Name.
3 storage location of the database and log file.
4 Location of the shared system volume folder.
5 DNS config Method.
6 DNS configuration.

28. What is LDP?

LDP: Label Distribution Protocol (LDP) is often used to establish MPLS LSPs when traffic engineering is
not required. It establishes LSPs that follow the existing IP routing, and is particularly well suited for
establishing a full mesh of LSPs between all of the routers on the network.
29. What are the Groups types available in active directory ?
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.
30. Explain about the groups scope in AD?
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.
31. What is REPLMON?
The Microsoft definition of the Replmon tool is as follows; This GUI tool enables administrators to view
the low-level status of Active Directory replication, force synchronization between domain controllers,
view the topology in a graphical format, and monitor the status and performance of domain controller
replication.
32. What is ADSIEDIT ?
ADSIEDIT :ADSIEdit is a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in that acts as a low-level editor
for Active Directory. It is a Graphical User Interface (GUI) tool. Network administrators can use it for
common administrative tasks such as adding, deleting, and moving objects with a directory service. The
attributes for each object can be edited or deleted by using this tool. ADSIEdit uses the ADSI application
programming interfaces (APIs) to access Active Directory. The following are the required files for using
this tool: ADSIEDIT.DLL ADSIEDIT.
33. 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.
34. What is REPADMIN?
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.

35. How to take backup of AD?

For taking backup of active directory you have to do this : first go START -> PROGRAM ->ACCESORIES
-> SYSTEM TOOLS -> BACKUP OR Open run window and ntbackup and take system state backup
when the backup screen is flash then take the backup of SYSTEM STATE it will take the backup of all
the necessary information about the system including AD backup , DNS ETC.
36. What are the DS* commands?
The following DS commands: the DS family built in utility .
DSmod

modify Active Directory attributes.

DSrm

to delete Active Directory objects.

DSmove

to relocate objects

DSadd

create new accounts

DSquery

to find objects that match your query attributes.

DSget

list the properties of an object

37. What are the requirements for installing AD on a new server?

An NTFS partition with enough free space.

An Administrators username and password.
The correct operating system version.
A NIC Properly configured TCP/IP (IP address, subnet mask and optional default gateway).
A network connection (to a hub or to another computer via a crossover cable).
An operational DNS server (which can be installed on the DC itself).
A Domain name that you want to use.
The Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 CD media (or at least the i386 folder).

38. Explain about Trust in AD?

To allow users in one domain to access resources in another, Active Directory uses trusts. Trusts inside
a forest are automatically created when domains are created.
The forest sets the default boundaries of trust, not the domain, and implicit, transitive trust is automatic
for all domains within a forest. As well as two-way transitive trust, AD trusts can be a shortcut (joins two
domains in different trees, transitive, one- or two-way), forest (transitive, one- or two-way), realm
(transitive or nontransitive, one- or two-way), or external (nontransitive, one- or two-way) in order to
connect to other forests or non-AD domains.
Trusts in Windows 2000 (native mode)

One-way trust: One domain allows access to users on another domain, but the other domain
does not allow access to users on the first domain.
Two-way trust: Two domains allow access to users on both domains.
Trusting domain: The domain that allows access to users from a trusted domain.
Trusted domain: The domain that is trusted; whose users have access to the trusting domain.

Transitive trust: A trust that can extend beyond two domains to other trusted domains in the
forest.
Intransitive trust: A one way trust that does not extend beyond two domains.
Explicit trust: A trust that an admin creates. It is not transitive and is one way only.
Cross-link trust: An explicit trust between domains in different trees or in the same tree when a
descendant/ancestor (child/parent) relationship does not exist between the two domains.
Windows 2000 Server : supports the following types of trusts:
Two-way transitive trusts.
One-way intransitive trusts.

39. Difference between LDIFDE and CSVDE?

CSVDE is a command that can be used to import and export objects to and from the AD into a CSVformatted file. A CSV (Comma Separated Value) file is a file easily readable in Excel. I will not go to
length into this powerful command, but I will show you some basic samples of how to import a large
number of users into your AD. Of course, as with the DSADD command, CSVDE can do more than just
import users. Consult your help file for more info.
LDIFDE is a command that can be used to import and export objects to and from the AD into a LDIFformatted file. A LDIF (LDAP Data Interchange Format) file is a file easily readable in any text editor,
however it is not readable in programs like Excel. The major difference between CSVDE and LDIFDE
(besides the file format) is the fact that LDIFDE can be used to edit and delete existing AD objects (not
just users), while CSVDE can only import and export objects.
39. What is tombstone lifetime attribute?
The number of days before a deleted object is removed from the directory services. This assists in
removing objects from replicated servers and preventing restores from reintroducing a deleted object.
This value is in the Directory Service object in the configuration NIC.
40. What are application partitions? When do I use them?
AN application directory partition is a directory partition that is replicated only to specific domain controller.
Only domain controller running windows Server 2003 can host a replica of application directory partition.
Using an application directory partition provides redundancy, availability or fault tolerance by replicating
data to specific domain controller pr any set of domain controllers anywhere in the forest.
41. How do you create a new application partition?
Use the DnsCmd command to create an application directory partition.
To do this, use the following syntax:
DnsCmd ServerName /CreateDirectoryPartition FQDN of partition

42. How do you view all the GCs in the forest?

C:\>repadmin /showreps domain_controller where domain_controller is the DC you want to query to
determine whether its a GC.
The output will include the text DSA Options: IS_GC if the DC is a GC.

42. Can you connect Active Directory to other 3rd-party Directory Services? Name a few options.
Yes, you can use dirXML or LDAP to connect to other directories.
In Novel you can use E-directory.
43. What is IPSec Policy?
IPSec provides secure gateway-to-gateway connections across outsourced private wide area network
(WAN) or Internet-based connections using L2TP/IPSec tunnels or pure IPSec tunnel mode. IPSec Policy
can be deployed via Group policy to the Windows Domain controllers 7 Servers.
44. What is RsOP
RsOP is the resultant set of policy applied on the object (Group Policy).
44. What are the different types of Terminal Services?
User Mode & Application Mode.
45. What is the System Startup process?
Windows 2K boot process on a Intel architecture.

Power-On Self Tests (POST) are run.

The boot device is found, the Master Boot Record (MBR) is loaded into memory, and its program
is run.
The active partition is located, and the boot sector is loaded.
The Windows 2000 loader (NTLDR) is then loaded.

The boot sequence executes the following steps:

The Windows 2000 loader switches the processor to the 32-bit flat memory model.
The Windows 2000 loader starts a mini-file system.
The Windows 2000 loader reads the BOOT.INI file and displays the operating system selections
(boot loader menu).
The Windows 2000 loader loads the operating system selected by the user. If Windows 2000 is
selected, NTLDR runs NTDETECT.COM. For other operating systems, NTLDR loads
BOOTSECT.DOS and gives it control.
NTDETECT.COM scans the hardware installed in the computer, and reports the list to NTLDR
for inclusion in the Registry under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE_HARDWARE hive.
NTLDR then loads the NTOSKRNL.EXE, and gives it the hardware information collected by
NTDETECT.COM. Windows NT enters the Windows load phases.

47. How do I use Registry keys to remove a user from a group?

In Windows Server 2003, you can use the dsmod command-line utility with the -delmbr switch to remove
a group member from the command line. You should also look into the freeware utilities available from
www.joeware.net . ADFind and ADMod are indispensable tools in my arsenal when it comes to searching
and modifying Active Directory.
48. Why are my NT4 clients failing to connect to the Windows 2000 domain?

Since NT4 relies on NetBIOS for name resolution, verify that your WINS server (you do have a WINS
server running, yes?) contains the records that you expect for the 2000 domain controller, and that your
clients have the correct address configured for the WINS server.
49. How do you view replication properties for AD partitions and DCs?
By using replication monitor

go to start > run > type repadmin

go to start > run > type replmon

50. Why cant you restore a DC that was backed up 4 months ago?
Because of the tombstone life which is set to only 60 days.
51. Different modes of AD restore?
A nonauthoritative restore is the default method for restoring Active Directory. To perform a
nonauthoritative restore, you must be able to start the domain controller in Directory Services Restore
Mode. After you restore the domain controller from backup, replication partners use the standard
replication protocols to update Active Directory and associated information on the restored domain
controller.
52. Whats the difference between transferring a FSMO role and seizing ?
Seizing an FSMO can be a destructive process and should only be attempted if the existing server with
the FSMO is no longer available.
If you perform a seizure of the FSMO roles from a DC, you need to ensure two things:

The current holder is actually dead and offline, and that the old DC will NEVER return to the
network. If you do an FSMO role Seize and then bring the previous holder back online, you'll
have a problem.
An FSMO role TRANSFER is the graceful movement of the roles from a live, working DC to
another live DC During the process, the current DC holding the role(s) is updated, so it becomes
aware it is no longer the role holder

53.I want to look at the RID allocation table for a DC. What do I do?
dcdiag /test:ridmanager /s:servername /v (servername is the name of our DC)
54. What is BridgeHead Server in AD?
A bridgehead server is a domain controller in each site, which is used as a contact point to receive and
replicate data between sites. For intersite replication, KCC designates one of the domain controllers as
a bridgehead server. In case the server is down, KCC designates another one from the domain controller.
When a bridgehead server receives replication updates from another site, it replicates the data to the
other domain controllers within its site.
54. What is the default size of ntds.dit ?
10 MB in Server 2000 and 12 MB in Server 2003

55. Where is the AD database held and What are other folders related to AD ?
AD Database is saved in %systemroot%/ntds. You can see other files also in this folder. These are the
main files controlling the AD structure.

ntds.dit
edb.log
res1.log
res2.log
edb.chk

When a change is made to the Win2K database, triggering a write operation, Win2K records the
transaction in the log file (edb.log). Once written to the log file, the change is then written to the AD
database. System performance determines how fast the system writes the data to the AD database from
the log file. Any time the system is shut down, all transactions are saved to the database.
During the installation of AD, Windows creates two files: res1.log and res2.log. The initial size of each is
10MB. These files are used to ensure that changes can be written to disk should the system run out of
free disk space. The checkpoint file (edb.chk) records transactions committed to the AD database
(ntds.dit). During shutdown, a "shutdown" statement is written to the edb.chk file.
Then, during a reboot, AD determines that all transactions in the edb.log file have been committed to the
AD database. If, for some reason, the edb.chk file doesn't exist on reboot or the shutdown statement isn't
present, AD will use the edb.log file to update the AD database. The last file in our list of files to know is
the AD database itself, ntds.dit. By default, the file is located in\NTDS, along with the other files we've
discussed
56. What FSMO placement considerations do you know of?
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.
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.
Windows Server 2003 Active Directory is a bit different than the Windows 2000 version when dealing with
FSMO placement.
In this article I will only deal with Windows Server 2003 Active Directory, but you should bear in mind that
most considerations are also true when planning Windows 2000 AD FSMO roles
57. What is 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.
A Site object in Active Directory represents a physical geographic location that hosts networks. Sites
contain objects called Subnets.

Sites can be used to Assign Group Policy Objects, facilitate the discovery of resources, manage active
directory replication, and manage network link traffic.
Sites can be linked to other Sites. Site-linked objects may be assigned a cost value that represents the
speed, reliability, availability, or other real property of a physical resource. Site Links may also be
assigned a schedule.
58. Trying to look at the Schema, how can I do that?
Register schmmgmt.dll using this command

c:\windows\system32>regsvr32 schmmgmt.dll
Open mmc --> add snapin --> add Active directory schema
name it as schema.msc
Open administrative tool --> schema.msc

59. What is the port no of Kerbrose?

88
60. What is the port no of Global catalog?
3268
61. What is the port no of LDAP?
389
62. How can you forcibly remove AD from a server, and what do you do later? ? Can I get user
passwords from the AD database?
Dcpromo /forceremoval , an administrator can forcibly remove Active Directory and roll back the system
without having to contact or replicate any locally held changes to another DC in the forest. Reboot the
server then after you use the dcpromo /forceremoval command, all the remaining metadata for the
demoted DC is not deleted on the surviving domain controllers, and therefore you must manually remove
it by using the NTDSUTIL command.
In the event that the NTDS Settings object is not removed correctly you can use the Ntdsutil.exe utility to
manually remove the NTDS Settings object. You will need the following tool: Ntdsutil.exe, Active Directory
Sites and Services, Active Directory Users and Computers
63. What are the FSMO roles? Who has them by default? What happens when each one fails?
Flexible Single Master Operation (FSMO) role. Currently there are five FSMO roles:

Schema master
Domain naming master
RID master
PDC emulator
Infrastructure master

64. What are the physical components of Active Directory?

Domain controllers and Sites. Domain controllers are physical computers which is running Windows
Server operating system and Active Directory data base. Sites are a network segment based on
geographical location and which contains multiple domain controllers in each site.
65. What are the logical components of Active Directory?
Domains, Organizational Units, trees and forests are logical components of Active Directory.
66. What are the Active Directory Partitions?
Active Directory database is divided into different partitions such as Schema partition, Domain partition,
and Configuration partition. Apart from these partitions, we can create Application partition based on the
requirement.
67. What is group nesting?
Adding one group as a member of another group is called 'group nesting'. This will help for easy
administration and reduced replication traffic.
68. What is Active Directory Recycle Bin ?
Active Directory Recycle bin is a feature of Windows Server 2008 AD. It helps to restore accidentally
deleted Active Directory objects without using a backed up AD database, rebooting domain controller or
restarting any services.
69. What is RODC? Why do we configure RODC?
Read only domain controller (RODC) is a feature of Windows Server 2008 Operating System. RODC is
a read only copy of Active Directory database and it can be deployed in a remote branch office where
physical security cannot be guaranteed. RODC provides more improved security and faster log on time
for the branch office.
70. How do you check currently forest and domain functional levels? Say both GUI and Command
line.
To find out forest and domain functional levels in GUI mode, open ADUC, right click on the domain name
and take properties. Both domain and forest functional levels will be listed there. TO find out forest and
domain functional levels, you can use DSQUERY command.
71. Which version of Kerberos is used for Windows 2000/2003 and 2008 Active Directory?
All versions of Windows Server Active Directory use Kerberos 5.
72. Name few port numbers related to Active Directory?
Kerberos 88, LDAP 389, DNS 53, SMB 445
73. Explain the process between a user providing his Domain credential to his workstation and
the desktop being loaded? Or how the AD authentication works?
When a user enters a user name and password, the computer sends the user name to the KDC. The
KDC contains a master database of unique long term keys for every principal in its realm. The KDC looks
up the user's master key (KA), which is based on the user's password. The KDC then creates two items:
a session key (SA) to share with the user and a Ticket-Granting Ticket (TGT). The TGT includes a second
copy of the SA, the user name, and an expiration time. The KDC encrypts this ticket by using its own

master key (KKDC), which only the KDC knows. The client computer receives the information from the
KDC and runs the user's password through a one-way hashing function, which converts the password
into the user's KA. The client computer now has a session key and a TGT so that it can securely
communicate with the KDC. The client is now authenticated to the domain and is ready to access other
resources in the domain by using the Kerberos protocol.
74. Which FSMO role directly impacting the consistency of Group Policy ?
PDC Emulator.
75. I want to promote a new additional Domain Controller in an existing domain. Which are the
groups I should be a member of?
You should be a member of Enterprise Admins group or the Domain Admins group. Also you should be
member of local Administrators group of the member server which you are going to promote as additional
Domain Controller.
76. Tell me one easiest way to check all the 5 FSMO roles?
Use netdom query /domain:YourDomain FSMO command. It will list all the FSMO role handling domain
controllers.
76. Tell me one easiest way to check all the 5 FSMO roles?
Use netdom query /domain:YourDomain FSMO command. It will list all the FSMO role handling
domain controllers.
77. Can you connect Active Directory to other 3rd-party Directory Services? Name a few options.

Yes you can connect other vendors Directory Services with Microsofts version.
Yes, you can use dirXML or LDAP to connect to other directories (i.e. E-directory from Novell or
NDS (Novel directory System).
Yes you can Connect Active Directory to other 3rd -party Directory Services such as dictionaries
used by SAP, Domino etc. with the help of MIIS ( Microsoft Identity Integration Server )

78. Name the AD NCs and replication issues for each NC

*Schema NC, *Configuration NC, Domain NC

Schema NC : This NC is replicated to every other domain controller in the forest. It contains
information about the Active Directory schema, which in turn defines the different object classes
and attributes within Active Directory.
Configuration NC: Also replicated to every other DC in the forest, this NC contains forest-wide
configuration information pertaining to the physical layout of Active Directory, as well as
information about display specifies and forest-wide Active Directory quotas.
Domain NC: This NC is replicated to every other DC within a single Active Directory domain.
This is the NC that contains the most commonly-accessed Active Directory data: the actual users,
groups, computers, and other objects that reside within a particular Active Directory domain.

79. How do you view replication properties for AD partitions and DCs?
By using replication monitor

go to start > run > type replmon

80. How do you view all the GCs in the forest?
C:\>repadmin/showreps
domain_controller
OR
You can use Replmon.exe for the same purpose.
OR
AD Sites and Services and nslookup gc._msdcs.%USERDNSDOMAIN%
81. Trying to look at the Schema, how can I do that?
adsiedit.exe
option to view the schema
register schmmgmt.dll using this command
c:\windows\system32>regsvr32 schmmgmt.dll
Open mmc > add snapin > add Active directory schema
name it as schema.msc
Open administrative tool > schema.msc
82. What are the Support Tools? Why do I need them?
Support Tools are the tools that are used for performing the complicated tasks easily. These can also be
the third party tools. Some of the Support tools include DebugViewer, DependencyViewer,
RegistryMonitor, etc.
83. What is the ISTG? Who has that role by default?
Intersite Topology Generator (ISTG), which is responsible for the connections among the sites. By default
Windows 2003 Forest level functionality has this role. By Default the first Server has this role. If that
server can no longer preform this role then the next server with the highest GUID then takes over the role
of ISTG.
84. What are the requirements for installing AD on a new server?

An NTFS partition with enough free space (250MB minimum)

An Administrators username and password
The correct operating system version
A NIC
Properly configured TCP/IP (IP address, subnet mask and optional default gateway)
A network connection (to a hub or to another computer via a crossover cable)
An operational DNS server (which can be installed on the DC itself)
A Domain name that you want to use

85. 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 dont go more than 3 OU levels
Active Directory Restore Methods
You can use one of the three methods to restore Active Directory from backup media: primary restore,
normal (non authoritative) restore, and authoritative restore.

Primary restore: This method rebuilds the first domain controller in a domain when there is no
other way to rebuild the domain. Perform a primary restore only when all the domain controllers
in the domain are lost, and you want to rebuild the domain from the backup. Members of
Administrators group can perform the primary restore on local computer, or user should have
been delegated with this responsibility to perform restore. On a domain controller only Domain
Admins can perform this restore.
Normal restore: This method reinstates the Active Directory data to the state before the backup,
and then updates the data through the normal replication process. Perform a normal restore for
a single domain controller to a previously known good state.
Authoritative restore: You perform this method in tandem with a normal restore. An authoritative
restore marks specific data as current and prevents the replication from overwriting that data.
The authoritative data is then replicated through the domain.

Perform an authoritative restore individual object in a domain that has multiple domain controllers. When
you perform an authoritative restore, you lose all changes to the restore object that occurred after the
backup. Ntdsutil is a command line utility to perform an authoritative restore along with windows server
2003 system utilities. The Ntdsutil command-line tool is an executable file that you use to mark Active
Directory objects as authoritative so that they receive a higher version recently changed data on other
domain controllers does not overwrite system state data during replication.
86. Why cant you restore a DC that was backed up 4 months ago?
Because of the tombstone life which is set to only 60 days
87. How can you determine what GPO was and was not applied for a user? Name a few ways to
do that.
Simply use the Group Policy Management Console created by MS for that very purpose, allows you to
run simulated policies on computers or users to determine what policies are enforced. Link in sources
88. What are administrative templates?
Administrative Templates facilitate the management of registry-based policy. An ADM file is used to
describe both the user interface presented to the Group Policy administrator and the registry keys that
should be updated on the target machines.

You want to standardize the desktop environments (wallpaper, My Documents, Start menu, printers etc.)
on the computers in one department. How would you do that?
Login on client as Domain Admin user change whatever you need add printers etc go to system-User
profiles copy this user profile to any location by select Everyone in permitted to use after copy change
ntuser.dat to ntuser.man and assign this path under user profile

AD features in Windows server 2012

Virtualization: Virtualization and cloud computing is the emerging tech in an IT infrastructure over
the past few years. Support virtual snapshot (AD 2012 virtualization features correctly resets the
invocation ID) & Support virtual clone (We can clone existing virtual domain controllers without any issue).

Simplifies AD upgrades and deployments: Dcpromo not available in AD 2012. AD domain

services installation wizard is relocated in Server Manager. Forest preparation and domain preparation
happens automatically (Forestprep and ADprep) while doing 2012 DC installation. Seems to be a simple
and easy procedure.

Dyanamic Access control: Native access control require a user or group needs to be add to
file/Folder NTFS permission to get an access. In 2012 added new features to an existing system. If the
user Dept. is Finance in AD user able to the FINANCE related data's from file server using dynamic
access control feature.

Customized audit polices: You can fine tune the audit polices as per your requirement.
Event Logs: If you enable auditing for multiple items and configuring the customized audit policies,
then security logs will grow faster and by default the log will overwrite old events when it runs out of
space. In 2012 you can select the option "Archive the log when full, do not overwrite events"

Offline Domain Join: Offline domain join is improved in Windows server 2012 AD DS.
AD federation Services ( AD FS) : Adding ADFS no longer requires a separate installation. ADFS
also gains multiple improvements.

Windows PowerShell: Windows PowerShell History Viewer , Will have a readymade command for
what action you did in AD administrative center

AD Recycle Bin: We can recover deleted object with in graphical user interface through AD
administrative center (ADAC)

Kerberos Constrained Delegation across Domains (KCD) : The KCD in Windows server
2012 supports across-domain, across forest scenarios, it's very demanding feature and reduce the pass
through authentication load.

Flexible Authentication secure tunneling (FAST) : More secure Kerberos in Windows server
2012 through Flexible authentication secure tunneling, it provides a protected channel between a domain
joined client and DC

Active Directory-Based Activation (ADBA): This will eliminates the need for KMS servers