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Global Catalog

Last post 07-22-2008, 12:31 AM by Killerbananas. 8 replies.

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  •  06-30-2008, 10:39 AM 2063

    Global Catalog

    Hi,

    I have a single Windows 2003 Active Directory Domain with 2 Domain Controllers, i know the first DC is made a Global Catalog by default. Do i need to make the 2nd DC a Global Catalog so that users can logon in the event of a failure of the first DC? I didn't think i needed too because 2003 is a multi master setup so i thought that the info required to authenticate logons would be replicated to the second DC anyway without needing a second a global catalog?


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

  •  06-30-2008, 4:31 PM 2065 in reply to 2063

    Re: Global Catalog

    The GC does not authenticate users, multiple GC's is pretty much a waste of bandwith, you will be fine with just one, especially on such a small network.

  •  07-09-2008, 3:32 PM 2086 in reply to 2065

    Re: Global Catalog

    Killerbananas,

    Thanks for your reply but i didn't realise i had already asked the question on a different thread and got the following response:-

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

     


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

  •  07-09-2008, 3:56 PM 2088 in reply to 2086

    Re: Global Catalog

    I claim he is wrong :) but I am sure someone will correct me very shortly lol

  •  07-15-2008, 5:59 AM 2094 in reply to 2088

    Re: Global Catalog

    Killerbananas,

    I believe you are correct, as my new understanding on this matter is as follows:-

    A Global Catalog is required to log on to a network within a multidomain environment. By providing universal group membership information, it greatly improves the response time for queries. In its absence, a user will be allowed to log on only to his local domain if his user account is external to the local domain. 

    Cheers

    Cybersurfer


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

  •  07-18-2008, 10:10 PM 2111 in reply to 2094

    Re: Global Catalog

    Thanks for the update !

  •  07-19-2008, 5:03 PM 2117 in reply to 2111

    Re: Global Catalog

    I have to ask: What are the key differences between a DC and a DC that's not a GC ?

     

    Also, which forum did you recieve that answer ?

     

     

  •  07-21-2008, 5:22 AM 2118 in reply to 2117

    Re: Global Catalog

    A simplified answer is:- 

    A DC holds the whole information within the domain and a GC holds the whole information of this domain and partial information of the other domains in the same forest.

    The following link explains the placement of the Infrastructure Master FSMO and the GC in a domain:-

    http://msmvps.com/blogs/ulfbsimonweidner/archive/2005/03/08/37975.aspx

    Hope this helps

     


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

  •  07-22-2008, 12:31 AM 2123 in reply to 2117

    Re: Global Catalog

    hboogz:

    I have to ask: What are the key differences between a DC and a DC that's not a GC ?

    The global catalog is a distributed data repository that contains a searchable, partial representation of every object in every domain in a multidomain Active Directory forest. The global catalog is stored on domain controllers that have been designated as global catalog servers and is distributed through multimaster replication. Searches that are directed to the global catalog are faster because they do not involve referrals to different domain controllers.

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