FSMO’s – Flexible Single Operations Masters

Operations Master (used to be called FSMO’s – Flexible Single Operations Masters)

Operations Master (used to be called FSMO’s – Flexible Single Operations Masters) are specific jobs that a DC can do apart from all the regular day-to-day stuff (any DC can do stuff like authenticating/logging on, adding users, etc., these are special).

q The Forest Level Operation Masters

q The Domain Level Operation Maters

q The Forest Level Operations Masters

• Domain Naming --- Responsible for adding and removing Domains from inside your forest. Sits back and drinks coffee most of the time until you need to add or remove Domain.


To find out Domain Naming Master please follow below screen shots.

Go to Start > Administrative Tools > Active Directory Domain and Trust.

Right Click on Active Directory Domain and Trusts and than Operation Master.

 This screen shot is the Domain Naming Master.

• Schema --- Handles all the database definitions. Also on coffee break until you or an application you install needs to change the Active Directory Schema.


By Default Schema master is hide in Windows server 2008. We need to install. please find below screen shots for Schema Master.
Go to Start > Rum > type MMC

Click on File > Add/Remove Snap-in

See here no Schema Master found.

so we need to install to view Schema master. Follow below steps.

Go to Start > Right Click on Command prompt and run as Administrator.

Type: regsvr32 schmmgmt.dll

Add Active directory Schema.

Save to your desktop for quick access.

 These two can and should go on the same DC!

q The Domain Level Operations masters

• PDC Emulator --- This is the big one. PDC stands for Primary Domain Controller. It handles password updates, Group Policy Updates, time updates and acts as the master browser.

vMake all your Group Policy Changes on the Server that has the PDC role for best performance!

• Relative Identifier (RID) --- Provides Security Identifiers (also known as SIDs) for new Users, Computers and anything else that gets added to your Active Directory. If the server with this role goes down, you may not be able to add any Users or Computers to the Domain.

vSID a unique identifier for an Object in Active Directory.

• Infrastructure Master --- Keeps track of who’s in what Group. Extremely vital if you have multiple Domains in your forest.

v The Infrastructure Master should be on a Server that is not a Global Catalog, unless every single Domain Controller is also a Global Catalog!

Follow below screen shots to find PDC, RID & Infrastructure Master FSMO Role.

Got to Start > Administrative Tools > Active Directory Users & Computers.

Right Click on the Domain Name, here dhaka.com and click on Operation Masters. 

Here you will find three FSMO Role RID, PDC & Infrastructure.

For more information please go to: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/324801

If you have several Additional Domain in you organization, in that case you can follow images for FSMO Roles.

Some more big words!

v Operations Master --- An assignable role/job for a Domain Controller that only one Domain Controller at a time can do.

v Security Identifier (SID) --- A unique value assigned to an object in Active Directory for identification in an Active Directory based network. May be assigned by a Domain Controller, but also may be created by an Operating System in the case of Computer Accounts and simply used by AD.