Forcing a machine to use a particular logon server?

mrbios · 22 Aug 2008 at 13:02

How can i force one machine to use a particular DC as its logon server?

i can obviously do "cmd > type set logonserver=*dcname*" but that isnt permenent, infact it changes the second i log off

So how can i force a machine to use a logon server i specify?

oldbag · 22 Aug 2008 at 13:03

Cant you:

create a GPO for the machine in question, place the machine in the GPO and apply a start up script to it?

sidethink · 22 Aug 2008 at 13:55

Without appearing to be a pain, why would you want to do this? Having multipple DCs is a good thing.

K.C. Leblanc · 22 Aug 2008 at 14:01

If you don't need internet on it you could try bunging it in a different IP range and then setting the DC up with a second IP in the same range as the work station.

Or install windows 98 on it and then it'll use whichever DC is running the PDC role.

mrbios · 22 Aug 2008 at 14:09

sidethink - its purely for testing something, and having the PC grabbing a different DC on every reboot was becoming a pain in the ass as it meant waiting for replication from whatever DC i was working on at the time

As much as i would love to do it KC im afraid i wont be installing 98 on it

haha

oldbag - startup script sounds like the way ill go with this, cheers (surprised there isnt a proper way of doing it though)

K.C. Leblanc · 22 Aug 2008 at 14:15

mrbios said:
As much as i would love to do it KC im afraid i wont be installing 98 on it haha

It would work with ME aswell.

Curiosityx · 22 Aug 2008 at 15:13

Can i ask if all the DC's are located in a single site or geographically split amongst several sites?

From what you have written it sounds like your trying to stop clients authenticating across a WAN connection and wish clients to authenticate on there local dc within the site.

Have you configured sites and services to match each site to a subnet and associate a DC to said site?

^^Gord^^ · 22 Aug 2008 at 22:04

mrbios said:
How can i force one machine to use a particular DC as its logon server?

Curiosityx is on the right track. It is all done in AD sites. To give you the correct answer you would need to give us some more information.

But assuming you wanted a single host to use a single DC, you would need to create a subnet for the IP of that machine. Create it with a 255.255.255.255 mask so it matches just that host. Assign that subnet to site containing the DC you want to use.

It other DCs are in the site you would need to either move those to other sites or move the DC to a new site and assign the subnet you have created to that instead.

This will prefer that DC. If that DC is down the machine will try to find another DC by transversing the AD site links (using the link with the lowest cost if configured).

To stop this you would need to set the DisableNSRecordsAutoCreation registry key located in HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\DNS\Parameters on all DCs so they only registered it's SRV records for the site it is in. This of course could reduce the fault tollerance of your Domain.

mrbios said:
i can obviously do "cmd > type set logonserver=*dcname*" but that isnt permenent, infact it changes the second i log off

I don't believe that actually works (although I've not tested it so happy to be proved wrong). I strongly suspect it will only change the environmental variable and not which DC is being used.