I have 2 seperate domains Domain A which is an NT4 domain with a single NT4 Domain Controller (no DNS setup) and Domain B which is a Windows 2000 mode domain with 2 Windows 2003 Domain Controllers (DNS is AD Integrated) .Both domains are linked via a trust.

My question is do i need to have both DC's in Domain B setup to be Global Catalogs? I didn't think i did but someone suggested that if i only had one DC setup as a Global Catalog  and it failed then the other DC that is not a global catalog  would not be able to process logons?? Both DC's in Domain B only need to authenticate users from Domain B.

The trust is so users can still run applications from the NT4 domain.

Any advice gratefully received.

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The only thing to do with good advice is pass it on. It is never any use to oneself.

You are correct in the fact that a Global Catalog Server primarily processes logons.  If you want both of the DCs to be GCs, then that is perfectly fine.  It will prove useful if one DC is rebooted or perhaps unavailable.  Having multiple GCs is essentially like having multiple DNS Servers, or DHCP Servers, or Print Servers....It's all about the uptime!

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Ryan Patel
Sr. Network Engineer|BS|MCSE|CCNA

Thanks for your reply Ryan, i'll make the 2nd DC a global catalog for redundancy purposes.

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The only thing to do with good advice is pass it on. It is never any use to oneself.