11 guides
Understand Active Directory Sites and Services: sites, subnets, site links, and the KCC. How to set up replication and DC locator for branch offices and WAN links.
Set account lockout threshold, duration, and reset counter with Group Policy. Practical settings, where the policy lives, common mistakes, and how to find locked-out users.
Diagnose and fix Active Directory replication error 5 (Access is denied) — from Kerberos and time skew to RPC sealing policy, secure channel, and UDP fragmentation.
Pillar Guide
Migrate Active Directory from Server 2012 R2 to 2022 the safe way: add a 2022 DC, transfer FSMO, raise functional levels, move DNS/DHCP, then demote the old DC.
Force AD replication on demand with repadmin /syncall /AdeP, replicate now in Sites and Services, and verify the result with repadmin /replsummary and /showrepl.
Pillar Guide
Step-by-step guide to installing the AD DS role on Windows Server 2022, promoting the first domain controller, setting functional levels, DNS, and verifying with dcdiag.
Retire an old domain controller without breaking your domain. Pre-checks, moving FSMO/GC/DNS/DHCP roles, graceful demotion, metadata cleanup, and DNS cleanup.
How to configure DNS on domain controllers the right way: partner-first then loopback, AD-integrated zones, forwarders, and how to avoid the DC islanding problem.
Protect your domain with a proper Active Directory system state backup. Learn wbadmin backups, DSRM, authoritative vs non-authoritative restore, and why snapshots aren't enough.
Pillar Guide
Learn the 5 FSMO roles, when to transfer them gracefully vs seize them after a DC failure, and how to do both with ntdsutil and PowerShell — safely.
Pillar Guide
A practical, step-by-step guide to diagnosing and fixing Active Directory replication error 1722 — the RPC server is unavailable — from DNS to firewall to RPC ports.