Active Directory Administration Cookbook

Promoting a read-only domain controller using dcpromo.exe

Read-only domain controllers can be promoted using dcpromo.exe with an answer file or with all of the installation arguments specified, just like fully-writable domain controllers. An added benefit is that dcpromo.exe will install the Active Directory Domain Services server role automatically when it's not yet present.

Using dcpromo.exe with an answer file consists of running the following command line:

dcpromo.exe /unattend: C:\install\dcpromo.txt

A prime example of an answer file to add a read-only domain controller would look like the following:

[DCINSTALL]ReplicaorNewDomain= readonlyreplicaReplicaDomainDNSName= lucernpub.comUserDomain= LUCERNPUBUserName= AdministratorSiteName= ...