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Installing a domain controller from media (IFM)
Step 3 of 6 in Deploying domain controllers · video 3:06
What you will learn
- When installing from media beats promoting over the WAN
- Creating an IFM snapshot with ntdsutil on a writable DC
- Pointing the promotion wizard at the local IFM folder
- How the new DC catches up on changes after its restart
About this lesson
When a branch office sits behind a slow, unreliable or expensive WAN link, promoting a new domain controller over the network means copying the whole AD DS database and SYSVOL across that link. Install from media (IFM) avoids most of that traffic. On a writable domain controller, not an RODC, the ntdsutil tool creates a snapshot of the directory: ntdsutil "activate instance ntds" ifm "create sysvol full C:\IFM" quit quit writes the database and SYSVOL to a folder that can be carried to the branch, for example on a USB drive. At the remote site, the AD DS role is added in Server Manager, the promotion wizard is started from the post-deployment notification, and the install from media option is pointed at the local folder. After the restart the new domain controller contacts the other DCs and replicates only the changes made since the snapshot was taken, which saves bandwidth and time for remote sites.
Check yourself
1. What problem does install from media solve for a branch-office domain controller?
It stops the full AD DS database and SYSVOL being copied over a slow or costly WAN link. Most data comes from local media, and only later changes cross the link.
2. Which tool creates the IFM snapshot, and on what kind of domain controller should you run it?
ntdsutil, at an elevated command prompt on a full, writable domain controller rather than an RODC, so the media contains a complete writable copy of the directory.
3. What does ntdsutil "activate instance ntds" ifm "create sysvol full C:\IFM" produce?
A full copy of the AD DS database together with the SYSVOL contents in the C:\IFM folder, ready to be carried to the server that will be promoted.
4. What happens to changes made in the domain after you created the IFM snapshot?
They are not lost. When the new domain controller restarts, it contacts the other DCs and replicates the changes made since the snapshot over the network.
Go deeper
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