Determine which Domain Controller a client is connected to with PowerShell

When a Windows client comes online, it must find a domain controller to bind to. Either through a static configuration or DHCP, the client will request a list of all Domain Controllers in the domain from a DNS server. Once the list is received, the client will randomly go through the list to find a DC that will respond. Once the client has authenticated itself with the DC, the DC will transmit the site information to the client. The site information will contain the site name, the subnet(s) associated with that site, and any domain controllers in that site. The client will then take a look at it’s own IP address to determine which site it is in. From the list of DCs in the same site, it will attempt to bind to one of those DCs to receive it’s Group Policies.

You can use PowerShell and WMI to locate the domain controller that a client is connected to.

Get-WMIObject Win32_NTDomain

Look for the DomainControllerName property.

Comments

therook711 said…

I really appreciate this as the simple "set" command doesn't work in Windows 2012.

February 19, 2013 at 11:44 AM

Geert said…

This is an old topic but just a reminder to therook: set command does work, just not in a PS command prompt, type cmd in a ps prompt and you will be able to use set l

March 17, 2015 at 2:11 AM

Jason Yoder, MCT said…

Yes, SET does work in DOS mode. The difference is that SET does not produce an object. This makes it harder for us to use. The PowerShell method formats the data in a way that allows us to continue to use it in the pipeline.

March 17, 2015 at 2:55 PM

Sticky Key problem between Windows Server 2012 and LogMeIn

This week I instructed my first class using Windows Server 2012 accessed via LogMeIn and discovered a Sticky Key problem every time you press the Shift key. Here is my solution to resolve this. First off, in the Preferences of LogMeIn for the connection to the Windows Server, click General . Change the Keyboard and mouse priority to Host side user and click Apply at the bottom. On the Windows 2012 server, open the Control Panel – Ease of Access – Change how your keyboard works . Uncheck Turn on Sticky Keys . Click Set up Sticky Keys . Uncheck Turn on Sticky Keys when SHIFT is pressed five times . Click OK twice. If you are using Windows Server 2012 as a Hyper-V host, you will need to redo the Easy of Use settings on each guest operating system in order to avoid the Sticky Key Problem. Updated Information: March 20, 2013 If you continue to have problems, Uncheck Turn on Filter Keys .

With the AD Recycle Bin Turned on, What Happens when you Create a User Account with a Password that does not meet the Password Policy?

This was an interesting observation from one of my Windows Server 2012 classes. While working with the AD Recycle bin in a lab, one of my students discovered some interesting accounts that were created. When he created user accounts that did not meet password complexity requirements, an account is temporarily made and then deleted. When a new password is provided that meets the password requirements, then a new account is made. We discovered this in two places. First off in the Active Directory Administrative Center. This is what caused the initial confusion. Take a look. This is in the Deleted Objects OU. You can see multiple deleted accounts for Test2 and one for Test3. Test3 is a valid, functioning user account. Using the PowerShell command Get-ADObject –IncludeDeletedObjects –Filter * –Properties ObjectSID we can see that indeed, two accounts were created, with one of them deleted. Notice the RID portion of the SID is different. ...

Where did a User’s Account Get Locked Out?

Updated: May 15, 2015 When this article was originally published, two extra carriage returns were add causing the code to malfunction. The code below is correct. My client for this week’s PowerShell class had a really interesting question. They needed to know where an account is being locked out at. OK, interesting. Apparently users hop around clients and forget to log off, leading to eventual lock out of their accounts. The accounts can be unlocked, but are then relocked after Active Directory replication. This problem is solved in two parts. The first one is to modify the event auditing on the network. The second part is resolved with PowerShell. The first part involves creating a group policy that will encompass your Domain Controllers. In this GPO, make these changes. Expand Computer Configuration \ Policies \ Windows Settings \ Security Settings \ Advanced Audit Policy Configuration \ Audit Policies \ Account Management Double click User Account Management C...

Jason Yoder, MCT

Search This Blog