How To Disable AD Replication

How to Disable AD Replication for Schema Changes

Active Directory (AD) replication is the process of synchronizing data between domain controllers (DCs) in a domain or forest. Replication ensures that all DCs have consistent and up-to-date information about the objects and attributes in the directory.

However, there are some scenarios where you may want to disable AD replication temporarily, such as when you are making major changes to the schema. The schema defines the structure and types of objects and attributes that can be stored in AD. Schema changes are replicated to all DCs in the forest, and they are irreversible once applied.

Disabling AD replication can help you test the schema changes on a single DC before applying them to the entire forest. It can also help you roll back the changes if they are not satisfactory, without affecting other DCs. Disabling AD replication can also prevent replication conflicts or errors that may occur due to schema mismatch between DCs.

In this article, we will show you how to disable or enable AD replication using Windows PowerShell cmdlets. We will also explain how to check the replication status and troubleshoot any issues that may arise.

How to Disable AD Replication on a Single DC

To disable AD replication on a single DC, you can use the repadmin command-line tool or the Set-ADReplicationConnection PowerShell cmdlet. Both methods require administrative privileges on the target DC.

The repadmin command syntax is:

repadmin /options <DC> +DISABLE_OUTBOUND_REP

The Set-ADReplicationConnection cmdlet syntax is:

Set-ADReplicationConnection -Identity <connection> -Enabled $false

Where:

<DC> is the name of the DC where you want to disable replication.

<connection> is the name of the connection object that represents the replication partner of the target DC.

For example, to disable outbound replication from DC1 to DC2, you can run:

repadmin /options DC1 +DISABLE_OUTBOUND_REP

Set-ADReplicationConnection -Identity \"DC1\\DC2\" -Enabled $false

Note that disabling outbound replication on a DC will not affect inbound replication from other DCs, unless you disable inbound replication on them as well.

When you disable AD replication on a DC, a warning event 1115 will be logged in the Directory Service event log. The event message will indicate that outbound replication has been disabled by using /options.

How to Enable AD Replication on a Single DC

To enable AD replication on a single DC, you can use the same tools as above, but with different parameters. The repadmin command syntax is:

repadmin /options <DC> -DISABLE_OUTBOUND_REP

The Set-ADReplicationConnection cmdlet syntax is:

Set-ADReplicationConnection -Identity <connection> -Enabled $true

For example, to enable outbound replication from DC1 to DC2, you can run:

repadmin /options DC1 -DISABLE_OUTBOUND_REP

Set-ADReplicationConnection -Identity \"DC1\\DC2\" -Enabled $true

Note that enabling outbound replication on a DC will not affect inbound replication from other DCs, unless you enable inbound replication on them as well.

When you enable AD replication on a DC, a warning event 1116 will be logged in the Directory Service event log. The event message will indicate that outbound replication has been enabled by using /options.

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