# How to determine current domain controller?



## Doug Vitale

How can you find out which domain controller an XP client machine is using for authentication and Group Policy replication?

Normally I issue the "set" command and look at the LOGONSERVER line in the results. Is there another (or better) way?

The problem is that I think my XP machine is authenticating to Active Directory with a DC that is at a remote site rather than with the DC on the LAN.

Thank you!


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## StumpedTechy

With group policy you can find the server its applied from by doing a gpresult. As for the set command I usually just echo %logonserver% if I wanted to JUST see the logon server and not go through all the other info.


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## Doug Vitale

StumpedTechy said:


> With group policy you can find the server its applied from by doing a gpresult.


Good call.

What's weird is that when I run gpresult I get:

Group Policy was applied from: server00.company.Corp​
But when I run SET I get:

LOGONSERVER=\\SERVER02​
Server00 is at the (remote) main site, and Server02 is the local DC in my branch office.

Anyone ever see this before? Shouldn't I be getting Group Policy updates from Server02 and not Server00? Any suggestions on how to proceed? Thanks.


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## StumpedTechy

I would think you should get it from the local DC before it goes remote. Is this on one computer or all computers that are local to that branch? If its all local have you verified the GPOs are replicating?

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc775849.aspx


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## rhynes

the windows support tools will give you all you need to know... download from here: 
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...78-8BE1-4E81-B3BE-4E7AC4F0912D&displaylang=en

install to c:\support on any domain controller

From a dos prompt, navigate to the directory it installed to. run the following command:

health_chk servername

It'll create a directory in the support tools directory. check the dcdiag and netdiag files.


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## Doug Vitale

StumpedTechy said:


> I would think you should get it from the local DC before it goes remote. Is this on one computer or all computers that are local to that branch? If its all local have you verified the GPOs are replicating?
> 
> http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc775849.aspx


Thanks for the informative link. The whole "Group Policy Operations Guide" section of TechNet is great.

After doing some investigation, I am pretty sure that the problem is that all the computer objects in the forest are in one Active Directory site, even though there are many physical LANs/subnets that make up the greater network.

Rhynes, thanks for your link, too.


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