How to view and transfer FSMO roles in the graphical user interface

There are five Flexible Single Master Operations (FSMO) roles in a Windows 2000 forest. There are two ways to transfer a FSMO role in Windows 2000. This article describes how to transfer all five FSMO roles by using Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-ins. The five FSMO roles are:

• Schema Master - One master role holder per forest. The schema master FSMO role holder is the domain controller responsible for performing updates to the directory schema.
• Domain Naming Master - One master role holder per forest. The domain naming master FSMO role holder is the DC responsible for making changes to the forest-wide domain name space of the directory.
• Infrastructure Master - One master role holder per domain. The infrastructure FSMO role holder is the DC responsible for updating an object's SID and distinguished name in a cross-domain object reference.
• RID Master - One master role holder per domain. The RID master FSMO role holder is the single DC responsible for processing RID Pool requests from all DCs within a given domain.
• PDC Emulator - One master role holder per domain. The PDC emulator FSMO role holder is a Windows 2000 DC that advertises itself as the primary domain controller (PDC) to earlier version workstations, member servers, and domain controllers. It is also the Domain Master Browser and handles password discrepancies.

For additional information about FSMO roles in Windows 2000, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Note To successfully perform the steps in this article, you must be a member of the Enterprise Administrators group.

Transferring FSMO Roles with MMC Tools

You can transfer all five FSMO roles through the MMC tool in Windows 2000. In order for a transfer to work both computers must be available on-line. If a computer no longer exists, then the role must be seized. To seize a role, you must use a utility called Ntdsutil. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Transferring the Domain-Specific Roles: RID, PDC, and Infrastructure Master

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Users and Computers.
2. Right-click the icon next to Active Directory Users and Computers, and then click Connect to Domain Controller.NOTE: If you are not on the domain controller where you want to transfer the role ,you need to take this step. It is not necessary if you are connected to the domain controller whose role you want to transfer.
   
   
3. Click the domain controller which will be the new role holder, and then click OK.
4. Right-click Active Directory Users and Computers icon, and then click Operation Masters.
5. In the Change Operations Master dialog box, click the appropriate tab (RID, PDC, or Infrastructure) for the role you want to transfer.
6. Click Change in the Change Operations Master dialog box.
7. Click OK to confirm that you want to transfer the role.
8. Click OK.
9. Click Cancel to close the dialog box.

Transferring the Domain Naming Master role

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Domains and Trusts.
2. Right-click the Active Directory Domains and Trusts icon, and then click Connect to Domain Controller.NOTE: If you are not on the domain controller where you want to transfer the role ,you need to take this step. It is not necessary if you are connected to the domain controller whose role you want to transfer.
   
   
3. click the domain controller that will be the new role holder, and then click OK.
4. Right-click Active Directory Domains and Trusts, and then click Operation Masters.
5. In the Change Operations Master dialog box, click Change.
6. Click OK to confirm that you want to transfer the role.
7. Click OK.
8. Click Cancel to close the dialog box.

Transferring the Schema Master Role

You can use the Schema Master tool to transfer the role. However, the Schmmgmt.dll dynamic-link library must be registered in order to make the Schema tool available as an MMC snap-in.

Registering the Schema Tool

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. Type regsvr32 schmmgmt.dll, and then click OK. A message should be displayed stating that the registration was successful.

Transferring the Schema Master Role

1. Click Start, click run, type mmc, and then click OK.
2. On the Console, menu click Add/Remove Snap-in.
3. Click Add.
4. Click Active Directory Schema.
5. Click Add.
6. Click Close to close the Add Standalone Snap-in dialog box.
7. Click OK to add the snap-in to the console.
8. Right-click the Active Directory Schema icon, and then click Change Domain Controller.NOTE: If you are not on the domain controller where you want to transfer the role ,you need to take this step. It is not necessary if you are connected to the domain controller whose role you want to transfer.
   
   
9. Click Specify Domain Controller, type the name of the domain controller that will be the new role holder, and then click OK.
10. Right-click Active Directory Schema, and then click Operation Masters.
11. In the Change Schema Master dialog box, click Change.
12. Click OK.
13. Click OK .
14. Click Cancel to close the dialog box.

For additional information about a related topic, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: