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.
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