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<span id="openzim-page-title" class="mw-page-title-main"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Domain controller</span></span>
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<p>A <b>domain controller</b> (<b>DC</b>) is a <a href="Server_(computing)" title="Server (computing)">server</a><sup id="cite_ref-DomainControllerRoles_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-DomainControllerRoles-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> that responds to security authentication requests within a computer <a href="Network_domain" title="Network domain">network domain</a>. It is a <a href="Network_(computing)" class="mw-redirect" title="Network (computing)">network</a> server that is responsible for allowing <a href="Host_(network)" title="Host (network)">host</a> access to domain resources. It authenticates users, stores user account information and enforces <a href="Security_policy" title="Security policy">security policy</a> for a domain.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It is most commonly implemented in <a href="Microsoft_Windows" title="Microsoft Windows">Microsoft Windows</a> environments (see <a href="Domain_controller_(Windows)" title="Domain controller (Windows)">Domain controller (Windows)</a>), where it is the centerpiece of the Windows <a href="Active_Directory" title="Active Directory">Active Directory</a> service. However, non-Windows domain controllers can be established via <a href="Identity_management" class="mw-redirect" title="Identity management">identity management</a> software such as <a href="Samba_(software)" title="Samba (software)">Samba</a> and <a href="Red_Hat" title="Red Hat">Red Hat</a> <a href="FreeIPA" title="FreeIPA">FreeIPA</a>.
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Software">Software</h2></div>
<p>The software and operating system used to run a domain controller usually consists of several key components shared across <a href="Computing_platform" title="Computing platform">platforms</a>. This includes the operating system (usually <a href="Windows_Server" title="Windows Server">Windows Server</a> or <a href="Linux" title="Linux">Linux</a>), an <a href="Lightweight_Directory_Access_Protocol" title="Lightweight Directory Access Protocol">LDAP</a> service (<a href="389_Directory_Server" title="389 Directory Server">Red Hat Directory Server</a>, etc.), a network time service (<a href="Ntpd" title="Ntpd">ntpd</a>, <a href="Chrony" title="Chrony">chrony</a>, etc.), and a computer network authentication protocol (usually <a href="Kerberos_(protocol)" title="Kerberos (protocol)">Kerberos</a>).<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Other components, such as a <a href="Public_key_infrastructure" title="Public key infrastructure">public key infrastructure</a> (Active Directory Certificate Services, DogTag, <a href="OpenSSL" title="OpenSSL">OpenSSL</a>) service and <a href="Domain_Name_System" title="Domain Name System">Domain Name System</a> (Windows DNS or <a href="BIND" title="BIND">BIND</a>) may also be included on the same server or on another domain-joined server.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Implementation">Implementation</h2></div>
<p>Domain controllers are typically deployed as a <a href="Computer_cluster" title="Computer cluster">cluster</a> to ensure high-availability and maximize reliability. In a Windows environment, one domain controller serves as the Primary Domain Controller (PDC) and all other servers promoted to domain controller status in the domain serve as a Backup Domain Controller (BDC).<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In Unix-based environments, one machine serves as the master domain controller and others serve as replica domain controllers, periodically replicating database information from the main domain controller and storing it in a read-only format.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2></div>
<ul><li><a href="Apple_Open_Directory" title="Apple Open Directory">Apple Open Directory</a></li>
<li><a href="Domain_controller_(Windows)" title="Domain controller (Windows)">Domain controller (Windows)</a></li>
<li><a href="Active_Directory" title="Active Directory">Microsoft Windows Active Directory</a></li>
<li><a href="FreeIPA" title="FreeIPA">Red Hat Identity Manager</a>/<a href="FreeIPA" title="FreeIPA">Red Hat FreeIPA</a></li></ul>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2></div>
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<li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.freeipa.org/page/V4/Replica_Setup">"V4/Replica Setup - FreeIPA"</a>. <i>www.freeipa.org</i>.</cite></span>
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