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asdfsadlkj

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Global Catalog Placement in Windows 2003 Empty Root - Child Domain enviornment

Empty Forest GEAP.COM
3 Child Domains - am.geap.com, emea.geap.com, apac.geap.com

Larger locations contain one root domain controller for geap.com which also is a global catalog server.  
All locations contain at one GC server for the child domain they represent.

My question is for the larger locations where both an empty forest domain controller (geap.com) exists and a child domain controller exists does it make any sense to have both these act as GC servers.  Should only one of these be a GC and if so which one the empty forest DC (geap.com) or the DC that represents the child domain that it is currently in.
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tmorrison3

I would place a Global Catalog on all DC except the infrastructure master

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/WindowsServ/2003/standard/proddocs/en-us/Default.asp?url=/resources/documentation/WindowsServ/2003/standard/proddocs/en-us/gc_when.asp

Microsoft gives its recommendations in kb article Q223346:
Place the RID and PDC FSMO emulator roles on the same DC.
Place the infrastructure FSMO master on a non-global catalog server.
Place the domain naming FSMO master on a Global Catalog Server

If the Global Catalog and the Infrastructure master are on the same controller, the infrastructure master will never find any outdated data. Don't worry about why. Just remember that the GC and the Infrastructure master must be on different DCs unless there is only one. AD manages this automatically but the gotcha arises when you manually transfer or sieze the role and move it to the same DC which has the Global Catalog. Caution. Additionally if all of the domain controllers in a domain are also hosting the global catalog, all of the domain controllers will have the current data and it does not matter which domain controller holds the infrastructure master role.
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cfairley
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