FSMO Role Explanation

Question

Accepted Answer

FSMO roles are specialized domain controller tasks in Active Directory.

There are 5 FSMO roles: Schema Master, Domain Naming Master, RID Master, PDC Emulator, and Infrastructure Master.
Schema Master: responsible for updating the Active Directory schema.
Domain Naming Master: responsible for adding or removing domains in a forest.
RID Master: responsible for allocating RIDs to domain controllers.
PDC Emulator: responsible for time synchronization and password changes.
Infrastructure Master: responsible for updating group-to-user references within a domain.
Only one domain controller can hold a particular FSMO role at a time.
If a domain controller holding an FSMO role fails, another domain controller must be manually assigned the role.
FSMO roles can be transferred between domain controllers if necessary.

Popular interview questions of Windows System Administrator