Unusual error following DC reboot

[Roeee]

I have built two DC's (Windows 2003 SP2) which serve the one domain. When I reboot both DC's at the same time each server displays the message "The specified domain either does not exist or could not be contacted", when I connect over RDP immediately afterward the reboot.

This message remains on both DC's for around five minutes, preventing logon over RDP. Following the five minute period I can then login to the boxes. The event logs do complain about DNS however subsequent messages say that all errors have now been resolved.

Would you expect to receive this error if all DC's in a domain are rebooted at the same time? If I reboot the DC's independantly, the boxes come back without issue?

I just need to clarify whether this issue is standard when all DC's in a domain are rebooted at the same time?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Davetoo]

That's normal...unfortunately, I forget why exactly.

I'm Certifiable, not cert-ified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

 

[itsp1965]

The whole purpose of having multiple DCs and AD intg DNS environments is for redundancy purposes. If you shutdown all DCs then there are NO global catalog servers available to process user requests, NO PDC emulators to time synching, etc. Rebooting all DCs at once will indeed cause you the probs you specified

 

[Davetoo]

GC's! That's it! Couldn't remember. Without a GC you can't login...and the GC depends on the DC's being up, etc. So there is a delay after rebooting until the GC can handle queries.

I'm Certifiable, not cert-ified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

 

[itsp1965]

That's entirely true Davetoo, in the absence of a GC, only a domain administrator can logon to servers (where they have rights). As for all other users, then yes a GC has to be available.