Active Directory replication health cheat sheet
Compare domain-controller replication and locate recent failures.
AD DS with RSAT ActiveDirectory module and repadmin available.
Updated · Active Directory · 7 min read
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
Get-ADDomainController -Filter * | List domain controllers |
Get-ADReplicationFailure -Target 'corp.example.com' -Scope Domain | Inspect recorded replication failures |
repadmin /replsummary | Summarize replication failures |
repadmin /showrepl | Inspect local controller replication partners |
Walkthrough
Run from an authorized domain administration workstation with network reachability to domain controllers. Collect results before changing replication topology.
Step 1: List domain controllers
Get-ADDomainController -Filter *
Compare host names and site assignments with your topology. Confirm whether an affected controller is reachable before interpreting replication failures.
Step 2: Inspect recorded replication failures
Get-ADReplicationFailure -Target 'corp.example.com' -Scope Domain
Replace the example domain. Record the partner, error code, first failure time and failure count. Empty output does not independently certify overall directory health.
Step 3: Summarize replication failures
repadmin /replsummary
Compare failed attempts and largest delta across sources and destinations. Investigate persistent deltas against the configured site-link schedule.
Step 4: Inspect local controller replication partners
repadmin /showrepl
Run on the controller you are investigating or specify the intended controller per repadmin help. Correlate last successful replication with the incident window.