Mastering Active Directory

Single forest – multiple clusters

This is the extended configuration of a single forest--a single cluster topology. There are two types of AD RMS clusters. The AD RMS root cluster is the default cluster, and it answers for both certificates and licensing requests. The licensing-only cluster can also be deployed in the same forest, and it will respond to licensing requests only. This suits infrastructures that have sites in different geographical locations. Then, it will rule out the requirement of contacting RMS clusters via slow links. Instead, it will use a license-only cluster on each site for licenses. There is only one root cluster for the forest. But it can have multiple licensing-only clusters.

Based on the role installed in the AD ...