7 Appendix B: Product Behavior

The information in this specification is applicable to the following Microsoft products or supplemental software. References to product versions include updates to those products.

The terms "earlier" and "later", when used with a product version, refer to either all preceding versions or all subsequent versions, respectively. The term "through" refers to the inclusive range of versions. Applicable Microsoft products are listed chronologically in this section.

Windows Client

  • Windows 2000 Professional operating system

  • Windows XP operating system

  • Windows Vista operating system

  • Windows 7 operating system

  • Windows 8 operating system

  • Windows 8.1 operating system

  • Windows 10 operating system

  • Windows 11 operating system

Windows Server

  • Windows 2000 Server operating system

  • Windows Server 2003 operating system

  • Windows Server 2008 operating system

  • Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system

  • Windows Server 2012 operating system

  • Windows Server 2012 R2 operating system

  • Windows Server 2016 operating system

  • Windows Server operating system

  • Windows Server 2019 operating system

  • Windows Server 2022 operating system

  • Windows Server 2025 operating system

Exceptions, if any, are noted in this section. If an update version, service pack or Knowledge Base (KB) number appears with a product name, the behavior changed in that update. The new behavior also applies to subsequent updates unless otherwise specified. If a product edition appears with the product version, behavior is different in that product edition.

Unless otherwise specified, any statement of optional behavior in this specification that is prescribed using the terms "SHOULD" or "SHOULD NOT" implies product behavior in accordance with the SHOULD or SHOULD NOT prescription. Unless otherwise specified, the term "MAY" implies that the product does not follow the prescription.

<1> Section 1.7: Windows RPC protocol returns RPC_S_PROCNUM_OUT_OF_RANGE to notify the client that an RPC method is out of range, as specified in [MS-RPCE].

<2> Section 2.1: Applicable Windows Server releases listen on all protocols bound to RPC. Windows clients attempt only to connect via RPC over the above-named pipe.

<3> Section 2.2.2: Read-only domain controllers are not supported in Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003.

<4> Section 2.2.4: In the Windows implementation, after a promotion or demotion operation that requires a reboot, and prior to that reboot, the RPC interface used by this protocol can be unavailable or it can reject connections with authentication errors.

<5> Section 2.2.5: DSROLE_UPGRADE_IN_PROGRESS is only set for an operating system upgrade from a Windows NT 4.0 operating system domain controller. A Windows computer returns this under the following conditions: (1) it was previously a Windows NT 4.0 domain controller, (2) the operating system upgrade from Windows NT 4.0 has completed, and (3) it has not yet transitioned to being a domain controller.

<6> Section 3.1.3: This protocol configures the RPC runtime to perform a strict NDR data consistency check at target level 5.0 for Windows 2000 operating system, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003, as specified in [MS-RPCE] section 3.

The protocol configures the RPC runtime to perform a strict NDR data consistency check at target level 6.0 for Windows Vista and later and Windows Server 2008 and later.

<7> Section 3.2.1: A Windows Active Directory domain has a domain GUID, and a Windows NT 4.0 domain does not have a domain GUID. Computers running Windows 2000 can be members of a Windows NT 4.0 domain.

<8> Section 3.2.3: This protocol configures the RPC runtime to perform a strict NDR data consistency check at target level 5.0 for Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003, as specified in [MS-RPCE] section 3.

It configures the RPC runtime to perform a strict NDR data consistency check at target level 6.0 for Windows Vista and later and Windows Server 2008 and later.

In Windows Vista and later and Windows Server 2008 and later, this protocol configures the RPC runtime to reject a NULL unique or full pointer (as specified in [C706] section 14.3.10) with a nonzero conformant value, as specified in [MS-RPCE] section 3.

This protocol configures the RPC runtime via the strict_context_handle attribute to reject the use of context handles that are created by a method of a different RPC interface than this one, as specified in [MS-RPCE] section 3.

<9> Section 3.2.4.1: Windows reinitializes all protocols on the server by rebooting the server.

<10> Section 3.2.4.2: Windows reinitializes all protocols on the server by rebooting the server.

<11> Section 3.2.4.3: Windows only uses a legacy domain as a source for suggested promotion input. Windows allows modification of the suggested input by an administrator before promotion, such as modification of the NetBIOS name of the new domain.

<12> Section 3.2.5: Gaps in the opnum numbering sequence apply to Windows as follows:

Opnum

Description

1-11

Only used locally by Windows, never remotely.

<13> Section 3.2.5.1: Windows domain controllers allow any authenticated or unauthenticated connection to invoke DsRolerGetPrimaryDomainInformation. Computers running Windows that are not domain controllers require the connection not to be anonymous.

<14> Section 3.2.5.1:  Read-only domain controllers are not supported in Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003.