Windows Server 2003 : Using DNS Monitoring Tools (part 1) - Using Replication Monitor

Using Replication Monitor

Replication Monitor (replmon.exe) is a graphical tool, included in Windows Support Tools, that allows you to monitor and troubleshoot Active Directory replication. This feature is essential in monitoring DNS data transfer for Active Directory–integrated zones.

You can use Replication Monitor to perform the following functions:

• Force replication of DNS data throughout various replication scopes.

• See when a replication partner fails.

• Display replication topology.

• Poll replication partners and generate individual histories of successful and failed replication events.

• Display changes that have not yet replicated from a given replication partner.

• Monitor replication status of domain controllers from multiple forests.

After you have installed Windows Support Tools, you can launch Replication Monitor by typing replmon at a command prompt (or in the Run dialog box) and then pressing Enter. This procedure opens the Replication Monitor, shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Replication Monitor console

Replication Monitor allows you to monitor Active Directory replication through specific domain controllers on your network. However, no domain controllers are included in the console tree by default. To add a domain controller to the Replication Monitor console tree, right-click the Monitored Servers icon and then click Add Monitored Server. Once you have added all the servers you intend to monitor, you can save this console configuration as an .ini file and open the file from within Replication Monitor on subsequent uses.

For each server listed in the console tree, you can display the Active Directory partitions installed on that server by expanding the associated server icon. Domain controllers that are DNS servers and that host a single Active Directory–integrated zone include a replica of five such partitions by default.

The following list describes these five partitions for an Active Directory domain and DNS zone named contoso.com:

• DC=contoso,DC=com The domain partition, which contains objects (such as users and computers) associated with the local domain. Each domain controller stores a full replica of the domain partition for its local domain. In addition, in this partition DNS data is stored for compatibility with Microsoft Windows 2000 DNS servers. To store DNS zone data in the domain partition, set the zone replication scope in the DNS console to All Domain Controllers In The Domain. (This is the default setting.)

• CN=Configuration,DC=contoso,DC=com The configuration partition, which contains replication topology and other configuration information that must be replicated throughout the forest. Each DC in the forest has a replica of the same configuration partition. However, this partition does not include DNS zone data.

• CN=Schema,DC=contoso,DC=com The schema partition, which contains the classSchema and attributeSchema objects that define the types of objects that can exist in the Active Directory forest. Every DC in the forest has a replica of the same schema partition. However, this partition does not include DNS zone data.

• DC=DomainDnsZones,DC=contoso,DC=com The built-in application directory partition named DomainDnsZones, which is replicated among all Windows Server 2003 domain controllers that are also DNS servers in a particular Active Directory domain. To store DNS zone data in the DomainDnsZones partition, set the zone replication scope in the DNS console to All DNS Servers In The Active Directory Domain.

• DC=ForestDnsZones,DC=contoso,DC=com The built-in application directory partition named ForestDnsZones, which is replicated among all Windows Server 2003 domain controllers that are also DNS servers in an Active Directory forest. To store DNS zone data in the ForestDnsZones partition, set the zone replication scope in the DNS console to All DNS Servers In The Active Directory Forest.

You can also create custom application directory partitions and enlist the domain controllers you choose to store a replica of that partition. In Figure 1, Replication Monitor displays such an application directory partition, named Custom. To store DNS zone data in a custom application directory partition, set the zone replication scope in the DNS console to All Domain Controllers Specified In The Scope Of The Following Application Directory Partition. Then select the desired application directory partition from the drop-down list.

To find out which Active Directory partition is used to store data for a particular DNS zone, you can either check the DNS zone properties in the DNS console or use the Dnscmd /zoneinfo command.

Forcing Active Directory–Integrated Zone Replication

Once you know the directory partition in which DNS zone information is stored, you can force replication for that zone in Replication Monitor. This procedure can help resolve name resolution problems caused by outdated zone data.

To force Active Directory–integrated zone replication, right-click the appropriate partition in the Replication Monitor console tree and select Synchronize This Partition With All Servers.

This procedure opens the dialog box shown in Figure 2.

When forcing a replication, you can use this dialog box to replicate only to neighboring servers, to replicate out to all servers on the local site, or to replicate to all servers across sites.

Searching for Replication Errors

DNS errors in Active Directory–integrated zones can result from faulty zone replication. You can use Replication Monitor to search the domain for such replication errors. To do so, from the Action menu select Domain, and then select Search Domain Controllers For Replication Errors, as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Searching for replication errors

As an alternative, you can configure Replication Monitor to send an e-mail to an administrator after a specified number of replication failures. To perform this task, from the View menu select Options. In the Active Directory Replication Monitor Options dialog box, select the Notify When Replication Fails After This Number Of Attempts option, and then specify the number of failures that you want to trigger an e-mail. Finally, select the Send Mail To check box and specify an e-mail address in the associated text box.

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