Active Directory Member servers and snapshots

[redeagle]

I work in a testing environment and we install new application builds on our guest windows 2003 servers on at least a daily basis. There are 3 guests for each application system. We use snapshots on theses guests, which are domain member servers, so that we are installing each application build from the same point every time.

We have found that we also have to remove each member server from the AD domain and then add it back in each time. This allows our application to work, but it adds quite a bit of time to the build install process.

We never snapshot the domain controller(s).

I was wondering if anyone has a different way to remove/add the domain member servers without going through the gui and all the reboots required.

[oreeh · Accepted solution]

The easiest way to fix this is to disable machine account password changes.

See

http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver/en/library/2EE8CF56-7DCC-4C79-AF46-737C40ABBF8B1033.mspx

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/154501

The article is for Windows 2000 and NT but works for 2003 and XP as well.

I wouldn't do this in a production environment.

[redeagle]

Thanks - I will give this a try in our test systems.

[redeagle]

Looks like this did the trick for us. Thanks!:)