For some organizations, all domain controllers may not be reachable by standard servers. Maybe they are in remote offices, on slow WLAN links, or on a ship in the middle of the ocean. One of the steps that Entra ID Connect does when you first configure it is checking to make sure it can reach all of your domain controllers. This can be a problem if they are reachable.
This blog will address a quick way to solve this problem. Note that this is a temporary workaround that should be used only while configuring Entra ID connect. Once it’s configured, you should remove the items in this blog.
This process will use the host file on the server to direct traffic bound for unreachable DCs to DCs that are reachable.
Configuring Entra ID Connect with Unreachable Domain Controllers
Follow these steps to modify the host file to redirect traffic bound for unreachable DCs. These steps are performed on the server running Entra ID Connect.
- Run Notepad as administrator.
- Open the file C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts. Note that hosts have no file extension, so you may need to change the File Type to All Files (*.*).
- At the bottom of the host file, add the IP of a reachable DC, press tab to tab over, then add the hostname of the unreachable DC, like this:
<reachable DC IP> <unreachable DC host name>
192.168.1.3 PacificOceanDc1.contoso.com
Add all your unreachable DCs to the host file on separate lines.
- Save the file. Note, if you get a permissions error when saving, be sure that you launched Notepad as administrator.
Once Entra ID Connect is installed, repeat steps 1-4, but remove the added lines to the host file. You can also comment them out by putting a “#” at the beginning of the line.
Entra ID Connect Preferred Domain Controllers
Now that we’ve been able to get Entra ID Connect installed with unreachable domain controllers, we need to make sure that Entra ID Connect doesn’t try to use them in the future. Entra ID Connect should only connect to DCs within its AD site. You can use this procedure to make sure of this.
- From the server running Entra ID Connect, launch the Synchronization Service application.
- Click Connectors in the ribbon and select the connector with type Active Directory Domain Services.
- Right-click and select Properties.
- In the left pane, select Configure Directory Partitions.
- Check the box for Only user-preferred domain controllers. This should launch the Configure Preferred DCs box. If not, click the Configure button.
- Type the name of the DC you want in the list and click Add. Do this for each DC.
- You can reorder the list using the Up and Down buttons.
- Click ok and save your changes.
Final Thoughts
For large and geographically dispersed organizations, getting Entra ID Connect installed may be a challenge if all DCs are not reachable by the Entra ID Connect server. Hopefully this post helps you get Entra ID Connect installed and working. If you need assistance, please contact WME and reference this blog post.
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