Trying to move schema master : The directory service is unavailable

Question

I have a new server 2022 connected to the domain.

I've raised it to a domain controller and I'm trying to make it the schema master but I get that error.

Move-ADDirectoryServerOperationMasterRole : The directory service is unavailable

At line:1 char:1

• Move-ADDirectoryServerOperationMasterRole -Identity "******-SRVR23" -O ...

• 
      + CategoryInfo          : NotSpecified: (\*\*\*\*\*\*-SRVR23:ADDirectoryServer) [Move-ADDirector...ationMasterRole], ADEx 
  
     ception 
  
      + FullyQualifiedErrorId : ActiveDirectoryServer:8207,Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.Commands.MoveADDirectory 
  
     ServerOperationMasterRole
  
  

When I try to use the Active Directory Users and Computers, operations Masters, and click on change, I get:

The current Domain Controller is the operations master. To transfer the operations master role to another computer, you must first connect to it.

The original server "****-Server" windows server 2012R2 Standard

The new server "****-Srvr23" Windows server 2022 standard

Answer 1

Hi Fady,

The error message "The directory service is unavailable" usually indicates that the domain controller is not reachable or there is a network connectivity issue. Here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot the issue:

1. Check the network connectivity between the two domain controllers. Ensure that they can ping each other by IP address and hostname.
2. Verify that the new server has replicated all the necessary Active Directory information from the existing domain controller. You can use the "repadmin /showrepl" command to check the replication status.
3. Ensure that the Windows Firewall is not blocking the necessary ports for Active Directory communication. You can temporarily disable the firewall to test if this is the issue.
4. Check the DNS configuration on the new server. Ensure that it is pointing to the correct DNS server(s) and that the DNS records for the domain controllers are correct.

Once you have resolved any issues with network connectivity, replication, firewall, and DNS, you should be able to transfer the schema master role to the new server using the "Move-ADDirectoryServerOperationMasterRole" command.

Best regards,

Qiuyang