Join a server to the domain

it says welcome to the domain, but it doesn't show up in AD

I can ping it from a different workstation though

I checked all the DCs and it doesn't show up

we forced replication through Active Directory Sites and Services, but in vain.

are all the DC in the same site?

How many DC's and what operating system?

If Windows Server 2003 make sure your firewall settings are properly set.

Yes they are all in the same domain

I don't think I could have pingged it if the firewall was on

just as an aside,

Can you log into your new server using you domain administrator account?
If so, its on the domain :)

Don't forget to change it to the domain at the logon box rather than the local machine... :)

Rgds
keith

I guess it was replication issue. it's working now

it took too long though to replicate

For faster replication, check replication partners and change if neccessary.

Thats a hard one to call. I don't think I would be alone in saying I leave servers for quite a while to settle down and sort themselves out. If I am raising a server to be a domain controller it is significantly longer.

:)

Here are a few other hints.

These scripts are not mine and the credits are in the scripts themselves.

To enumerate (list) all servers in the domain run this script by copying and pasting it into a notepad document and save as "ListServers.vbs".

' EnumServers.vbs
' VBScript program to enumerate all servers in the domain.
'
' ----------------------------------------------------------------------
' Copyright (c) 2002 Richard L. Mueller
' Hilltop Lab web site - http://www.rlmueller.net
' Version 1.0 - November 10, 2002
' Version 1.1 - February 19, 2003 - Standardize Hungarian notation.
' Version 1.2 - March 11, 2003 - Remove SearchScope property.
' Version 2.0 - February 9, 2004 - Find computers with server operating
'                                  systems.
'
' Program enumerates the Distinguished Name of all computer objects that
' have the string "server" in the operating System attribute.
'
' You have a royalty-free right to use, modify, reproduce, and
' distribute this script file in any way you find useful, provided that
' you agree that the copyright owner above has no warranty, obligations,
' or liability for such use.

Option Explicit

Dim objRootDSE, strDNSDomain, objConnection, objCommand, strQuery
Dim objRecordSet, strComputerDN, strOS

' Determine DNS domain name from RootDSE object.
Set objRootDSE = GetObject("LDAP://RootDSE")
strDNSDomain = objRootDSE.Get("defaultNamingContext")

' Use ADO to search Active Directory for all computers.
Set objCommand = CreateObject("ADODB.Command")
Set objConnection = CreateObject("ADODB.Connection")
objConnection.Provider = "ADsDSOObject"
objConnection.Open "Active Directory Provider"
objCommand.ActiveConnection = objConnection

strQuery = "<LDAP://" & strDNSDomain _
  & ">;(objectCategory=computer);" _
  & "distinguishedName,operatingSystem;subtree"

objCommand.CommandText = strQuery
objCommand.Properties("Page Size") = 100
objCommand.Properties("Timeout") = 30
objCommand.Properties("Cache Results") = False

Set objRecordSet = objCommand.Execute

' Enumerate computer objects with server operating systems.
Do Until objRecordSet.EOF
  strOS = objRecordSet.Fields("operatingSystem")
  If InStr(UCase(strOS), "SERVER") > 0 Then
    strComputerDN = objRecordSet.Fields("distinguishedName")
    Wscript.Echo strComputerDN
  End If
  objRecordSet.MoveNext
Loop

' Clean up.
objConnection.Close
Set objRootDSE = Nothing
Set objCommand = Nothing
Set objConnection = Nothing
Set objRecordSet = Nothing

Wscript.Echo "Done"

If that isn't enough information try this script which enumerates (lists) all servers with roles.  Copy and paste this into a notepad document and save as "ComputerRoles.vbs".

' ComputerRoles.vbs
' VBScript program to determine the role of all computers in the domain.
'
' ----------------------------------------------------------------------
' Copyright (c) 2004 Richard L. Mueller
' Hilltop Lab web site - http://www.rlmueller.net
' Version 1.0 - February 9, 2004
'
' Program enumerates the NetBIOS name and role of all computer objects
' in the domain.
'
' You have a royalty-free right to use, modify, reproduce, and
' distribute this script file in any way you find useful, provided that
' you agree that the copyright owner above has no warranty, obligations,
' or liability for such use.

Option Explicit

Dim objRootDSE, strDNSDomain, objConnection, objCommand, strQuery
Dim objRecordSet, strComputer
Dim objWMIService, colComputers, objComputer, intRole, strRole

' Determine DNS domain name from RootDSE object.
Set objRootDSE = GetObject("LDAP://RootDSE")
strDNSDomain = objRootDSE.Get("defaultNamingContext")

' Use ADO to search Active Directory for all computers.
Set objCommand = CreateObject("ADODB.Command")
Set objConnection = CreateObject("ADODB.Connection")
objConnection.Provider = "ADsDSOObject"
objConnection.Open "Active Directory Provider"
objCommand.ActiveConnection = objConnection

strQuery = "<LDAP://" & strDNSDomain _
  & ">;(objectCategory=computer);sAMAccountName;subtree"

objCommand.CommandText = strQuery
objCommand.Properties("Page Size") = 100
objCommand.Properties("Timeout") = 30
objCommand.Properties("Cache Results") = False

Set objRecordSet = objCommand.Execute

' Enumerate computer objects. Connect to each computer with WMI and
' determine computer role from Win32_ComputerClass.
Do Until objRecordSet.EOF
  strComputer = objRecordSet.Fields("sAMAccountName")
  ' Remove trailing "$".
  strComputer = Mid(strComputer, 1, Len(strComputer) - 1)
  On Error Resume Next
  Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:" _
    & "{impersonationLevel=impersonate}!\\" _
    & strComputer & "\root\cimv2")
  If Err.Number <> 0 Then
    On Error GoTo 0
    Wscript.Echo strComputer & " does not have WMI installed"
  Else
    On Error GoTo 0
    Set colComputers = objWMIService.ExecQuery _
      ("SELECT * FROM Win32_ComputerSystem")
    For Each objComputer In colComputers
      intRole = objComputer.DomainRole
      Select Case intRole
        Case 0
          strRole = " is a standalone workstation"
        Case 1
          strRole = " is a member workstation"
        Case 2
          strRole = " is a standalone server"
        Case 3
          strRole = " is a member server"
        Case 4
          strRole = " is a backup domain controller"
        Case 5
          strRole = " is a primary domain controller"
      End Select
      Wscript.Echo strComputer & strRole
    Next
  End If
  objRecordSet.MoveNext
Loop

' Clean up.
objConnection.Close
Set objRootDSE = Nothing
Set objCommand = Nothing
Set objConnection = Nothing
Set objRecordSet = Nothing
Set objWMIService = Nothing
Set objComputer = Nothing

Wscript.Echo "Done"

Because these scripts run through LDAP replication shouldn't be an issue.