How to identify naming  contexts on a Domain Controller

SUMMARY

This article describes how to use the Active Directory Services Viewer (Advsw.exe) tool to determine for which naming contexts a server is responsible.

A naming context is a contiguous subtree of the Active Directory and is also a unit of replication. For example, the classes and attributes that make up the schema (which defines the objects that can be created in the directory) exist in a separate naming context than that of the actual directory objects in the domain.

MORE INFORMATION

To navigate to the location that stores naming context information, use the following steps:
 

1. Log on using an account with administrator privileges, and then start the Adsvw tool. To start the Adsvw tool, click Start, click Run, type "adsvw.exe" (without quotation marks) in the Open box, and then click OK.
   
    
2. On the File menu, click New, click ObjectViewer, and then click OK.
   
    
3. In the Enter Ads Path box, use the format: "LDAP://cn=Configuration," followed by the domain name using the format "dc=<domain>,dc=<com>" where <domain> is the name of the root domain of the Active Directory forest. For example, to browse the root domain "mydomain.com," type the following line:

   LDAP://cn=Configuration,dc=mydomain,dc=com

   NOTE: You must type "LDAP" in uppercase, as shown in this example.
   
    

4. Click the Use OpenObject check box to clear it, and then click OK.
   
    
5. Click the "CN=Configuration" object to select it, and then click again to expand it.
   
    
6. Click the "CN=Sites" object to select it, and then click again to expand it.
   
    
7. Click the appropriate site to select it, and then click again to expand it. By default, the site is called FirstSite.
   
    
8. Click the "CN=Servers" object to select it, and then click again to expand it.
   
    
9. Click the server object for which you want to determine the naming contexts to select it, and then then click again to expand it.
   
    
10. Click the "CN=NTDS Settings" object to select it for the selected server
    
     
11. Use the appropriate step:
    
     
    1. To determine the read-only naming contexts on the domain controller, click HasPartialReplicaNCs in the Properties box.
       
       NOTE: The HasPartialReplicaNCs property may not contain any data if there is only one domain in the enterprise.
       
       The Property Value box displays the Active Directory path(s) to the naming contexts. If more than one naming context is listed, the contexts are separated by a number sign (#). If the result is "E_ADS_PROPERTY_NOTFOUND," a naming context is not present for the specified type.
       
        
    2. To determine the read/write naming contexts on the domain controller, click HasMasterNCs in the Properties box (the server is authoritative for the NC). The Property Value box displays the Active Directory path(s) to the naming contexts. If more than one naming context is listed, the contexts are separated by a number sign (#). If the result is "E_ADS_PROPERTY_NOTFOUND," a naming context is not present for the specified type.