Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows
For scalability and resilience, the local Active Directory domain is replicated between sets of domain controllers. However, some programs and services such as Exchange 2000 require access to a full listing of the objects in Active Directory to perform forest-wide queries. Global catalog servers exist for this purpose. Any domain controller can become a global catalog server. Global catalog servers hold the configuration and schema naming contexts for the forest. This is a complete replica (read/write) of the domain-naming context in which the server is installed, and a partial replica (read-only) of all other domains in the forest. A partial replica indicates that although every domain object is represented in the global catalog, only a limited number of attributes for that object are replicated to it. For example, although the user "Joe User" is represented in the global catalog, his telephone number is not, although "Joe's" telephone number has been entered into the Active Directory.
For more information about how MAPI clients use Active Directory, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
256976
How MAPI clients access Active Directory
On an Exchange 2000 Server-based computer with Service Pack 1 or later installed, you can view the global catalog servers that it distributes to MAPI clients:
- Start Exchange System Manager. To do this, click Start, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Exchange, and then click System Manager.
- Expand Administrative Groups if Administrative Groups is enabled, expand Servers, right-click the Exchange 2000 Server-based computer that you want to view, and then click Properties.
- Click the Directory Access tab, and then click Global Catalog Servers in the Show list.
On Microsoft Outlook 2000 SR-1 and later clients, you can use Registry Editor to view the global catalog server that is used:
- Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
- Click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows Messaging Subsystem\Profiles\Outlook\dca740c8c042101ab4b908002b2fe182
- In the right pane, the global catalog server to which Outlook points is listed in the Data column.
- Quit Registry Editor.