Organizations that have implemented Microsoft^® Windows Active Directory^® need to make sure that Active Directory is configured and operating properly. Even an Active Directory that is properly installed can easily have components fail or stop working, which causes problems with the Windows networking environment. An organization should run an Active Directory^® Health Check at least every quarter, with some very large enterprises that have made it a best practice to run subsets of the Active Directory Health Check daily.

This Digital Short Cut guides an administrator through step-by-step procedures of running free tools and utilities against a Windows Active Directory (2000 or 2003) to validate the operations of components, such as AD replication, DNS configuration, File Replication Service (FRS), and the like. This guide

• identifies the tools the administrator should use.

• provides a selection of best practice parameters and settings from which to choose when running the tools.

• specifically identifies what to look for and how to resolve problems identified by the output of the tools and utilities.

Performing an Active Directory^® Health Check (Digital Short Cut) is an absolute must-have, step-by-step guide for any organization that uses Windows Active Directory^®. It outlines methods for administrators to confirm AD is correctly operating and explains how free tools and utilities can be deployed to identify key components that are failing and need repaired.

Section 1     What This Digital Short Cut Will Cover

Section 2     Understanding the Tools Used in an AD Health Check

Section 3     Performing an AD Health Check

Section 4     Interpreting the Data from AD Health Check Tools

Section 5     Fixing Common Problems Found in AD Health Checks

Section 6     Other Resources

Section 7     Appendix