Creating an additional ___domain controller

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Creating additional ___domain controllers

If you already have one ___domain controller in a ___domain, you can add additional ___domain controllers to the ___domain to improve the availability and reliability of network services. Adding additional ___domain controllers can help provide fault tolerance, balance the load of existing ___domain controllers, and provide additional infrastructure support to sites.

More than one ___domain controller in a ___domain makes it possible for the ___domain to continue to function if a ___domain controller fails or must be disconnected. Multiple ___domain controllers can also improve performance by making it easier for clients to connect to a ___domain controller when logging on to the network. You can add additional ___domain controllers over the network or from backup media.

Before adding ___domain controllers you should thoroughly understand Active Directory and the requirements necessary to set up additional ___domain controllers in an existing ___domain. For more information, see Checklist: Creating an additional ___domain controller in an existing ___domain and Create an additional ___domain controller.

Using backup media to create additional ___domain controllers

With Windows 2000, the only way you can create an additional ___domain controller in an existing ___domain is by replicating the entire directory database to the new ___domain controller. With low network bandwidth or a large directory database, this replication can take hours or days to complete. With servers running Windows Server 2003, you can create an additional ___domain controller using a restored backup taken from a ___domain controller running Windows Server 2003. This backup can be stored on any backup media (tape, CD, or DVD) or a shared resource.

Using restored backup files to create an additional ___domain controller will greatly reduce the network bandwidth used when installing Active Directory over a shared resource; however, network connectivity is still necessary so that all new objects and recent changes to existing objects are replicated to the new ___domain controller.

It is recommended that you use the most recent backup available. Older backups require more network bandwidth for replication. The backup used cannot be older than the tombstone lifetime of the ___domain, which is set to a default value of 60 days (180 days in a forest that is created on a server running Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 [SP1]).

If a ___domain controller that was backed up contained an application directory partition, it will not be restored on the new ___domain controller. To manually create an application directory partition on a new ___domain controller, see Create or delete an application directory partition.

When adding an additional ___domain controller using backup media, a System State backup taken only from a ___domain controllers running Windows Server 2003 can be used once it has been restored. For more information about how to restore a System State backup, see Restore System State data.

For general information about restoring backups, see Authoritative, primary, and normal restores.