Verify communication with other domain controllers

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

This procedure verifies that domain controllers can be located.

Administrative Credentials

To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Domain users group in Active Directory.

To verify communication with other domain controllers

  1. Open a Command Prompt.

  2. On a Windows Server 2003 computer, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

    netdiag /test:dsgetdc

    Note

    For a more detailed response from this command, add /v to the end of the command.

    If domain controllers are successfully located, the last line of the response is DC discovery test……..: Passed. The verbose option lists the specific domain controllers that are located.

    On a Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 computer, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

    nltest /dclist:<domain name>

    If domain controllers are successfully located, the last line of the response is The command completed successfully.

    If the tests fail on any of the operating system versions, do not attempt any additional steps until you determine and fix the problem that prevents communication with other domain controllers.