Planning Domain Controller Placement

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

After you have gathered all of the network information that will be used to design your site topology, plan where you want to place domain controllers, including regional domain controllers, forest root domain controllers, operations master role holders, and global catalog servers. Figure 3.9 shows the process for determining domain controller placement.

Figure 3.9   Planning Domain Controller Placement

Although this process helps you plan where you intend to place domain controllers, it does not address how you determine the proper number of domain controllers and the domain controller hardware requirements for each domain that is represented in each site. For more information about determining the proper number of domain controllers for each domain that is represented in each site, see "Planning Domain Controller Capacity" in this book.