Mastering Active Directory

Seize FSMO roles

In the previous section, I explained how to transfer FSMO roles from one domain controller to another. But there are certain situations where we will not be able to transfer the FSMO roles, such as the following:

• Hardware failures: If the domain controller that holds the FSMO roles failed due to hardware issues and there is no other way to bring it back online, it is possible to seize the FSMO roles. However, if the failed server is protected by a backup DR solution, it's still worth going through that process than the seize process because it will still be able to recover the domain controller in the most up-to-date, usable status.
• System operation issues: If the domain controller has issues such as operating system corruptions, ...