Check the replication topology

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

To check the replication topology

Open Active Directory Sites and Services.
In the console tree, click the domain controller you want to use to check replication topology.

Where?
- Active Directory Sites and Services/Sites/site that contains the domain controller whose replication topology you want to check/Servers/server you want to use to check replication topology
In the details pane, right-click NTDS Settings, point to All Tasks, and then click Check Replication Topology.

Notes

To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Domain Admins group or the Enterprise Admins group in Active Directory, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. As a security best practice, consider using Run as to perform this procedure. For more information, see Default local groups, Default groups, and Using Run as.
To open Active Directory Sites and Services, click Start, click Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Active Directory Sites and Services.
Active Directory runs the intersite topology generator on one domain controller in a site to consider the cost of intersite connections and to check if any previously available domain controllers are no longer available or if new domain controllers have been added. Then, the Knowledge Consistency Checker (KCC) uses this information to add or remove connection objects as needed for efficient replication. This process does not affect manually created connection objects. Only one domain controller per site assumes the role of the intersite topology generator.
To identify the intersite topology generator in each site, you can use the Dcdiag Windows Support tool available on your operating system installation CD.

Your server might function differently based on the version and edition of the operating system that is installed, your account permissions, and your menu settings. For more information, see Viewing Help on the Web.