Description of the /chooseDC switch in Exchange Server 2003

Exchange Server 2003 includes a new switch that is supported by the Exchange 2003 Setup program. This switch is named the /chooseDC switch, and you can use it to specify the domain controller that Setup must use during installation to read and to write Microsoft Active Directory directory service information. You can use the /chooseDC switch in combination with other Exchange 2003 Setup switches, including /domainprep.

You can use the /chooseDC switch when you are installing multiple Exchange servers at the same time, in a domain that contains multiple domain controllers. If you do so, you can direct all the servers to use the same domain controller during Setup.

Note The Exchange server that is being installed must reside in the same domain as the domain controller that is specified in the /chooseDC switch.

The following command is an example of how you can use the /chooseDC switch:In this example, NameOfDomainControllerToUse is the name of the domain controller you want Setup to use.

When you run Setup using the /chooseDC switch, Setup adds the Exchange server's computer account to the Exchange Domain Servers group on the specified domain controller. This addition is replicated to the remaining domain controllers in the domain. If you do not use the /chooseDC switch, Setup communicates with multiple domain controllers. In this scenario, replication issues may occur, and some Exchange services may not start after the installation has completed.

Note Microsoft Exchange Server 2000 Setup communicates with multiple domain controllers during Setup.

When you use the setup.exe /choosedc NameOfDomainControllerToUse command line during Setup, the following entry is logged in the Exchange Server Setup Progress.log file: If you use the /chooseDC switch in a command line that contains a server name that cannot be resolved or if the command line contains incorrect syntax, the following entry is logged in the Exchange Server Setup Progress.log file:Note Microsoft recommends that you establish your Exchange administrative groups before you use the /chooseDC switch to add additional Exchange 2003 servers to an administrative group.