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Specify Domain Controller for Editing Group Policy - Active Directory


Author: Nirmal Sharma MVP

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Summary

This article explains about the problem when opening a Group Policy in a forest where you have more than 1 or more domain controllers and running on a different sites.

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Symptoms

When you open up Active Directory Users and Computers > Right Click an OU > Property > Go to Group Policy Tab and Open the GPMC or Edit Group Policy > then again you right click on a Policy and click on Edit > then snap-in will open the policy but it will open on a very distant server.

You will see something like that:

Policy Name [name of the distant server]

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Cause

This happens because when you open a GPO it contacts the Domain Controller for editing GPO according to the settings configured in GPO. By default it contacts PDC Emulator to avoid the collisions in FRS.

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Resolution

To resolve this you can set a policy setting in GPO:

If multiple administrators manage a common GPO, all administrators should use the same domain controller when editing a particular GPO in order to avoid collisions in the File Replication service (FRS).

Use the Change Domain Controller function to specify the domain controller to be used for a given domain or for all sites in a forest. In each case, you have four options:


The domain controller with the Operations Master token for the PDC emulator (the default option)

Any available domain controller

Any available domain controller running Windows Server�2003 or later.

This domain controller: Select a specific domain controller to be used.


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More information

Group Policy: Change Domain Controller Selection:

http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer/en/Library/a0786e93-f803-4b4a-b926-723ac4ea110b1033.mspx?mfr=true

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Keywords: kbpubmvp, kbpubtypecca, kbhowto, KB555649

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Article Info
Article ID : 555649
Revision : 1
Created on : 6/29/2006
Published on : 6/29/2006
Exists online : False
Views : 370