4. Querying and Resetting Secure Channels with netdom
You can use the netdom command to query and verify secure channels between computers in the domain. When needed, you can use the netdom command to reset these channels.
Tip
Computers have passwords used to establish the
secure channels. When the password kept on the system doesn’t match the
password kept in the domain, the secure channel is broken. This can
happen when the computer has been turned off for a long time, or after
restoring Active Directory.
The basic command to query and verify the secure channel with computers in the domain is
netdom query server /verify
The following output shows the partial result of this command:
C:\> netdom query server /verify
Verifying secure channel setup for domain members:
Machine Status/Domain Domain Controller
======= ============= =================
\\SALES73 PEARSON \\DC1.PEARSON.PUB
\\SALES74 PEARSON \\DC1.PEARSON.PUB
\\WIN7PCG ERROR! ( The network path was not found. )
\\DC2 PEARSON \\DC1.PEARSON.PUB
\\PC-1 PEARSON \\DC1.PEARSON.PUB
\\SC1 PEARSON \\DC1.PEARSON.PUB
The command completed successfully.
Notice that the majority of these systems show the
domain and the domain controller where the secure channel (trust
relationship) has been verified. However, the \\win7pcg computer has a
problem.
Note
Before resetting the trust, you should verify that the system is up and operational.
You can also check the channel with just a single computer using the following command:
netdom verify /d:domain computer-name
For example, the following listing shows how to
verify the channel with a computer named dc2 in the pearson.pub domain,
and the result:
C:\> netdom verify /d:pearson.pub dc2
The secure channel from DC2 to the domain PEARSON.PUB has been
verified. The connection is with the machine \\DC1.PEARSON.PUB.
The command completed successfully.
If the command fails, you can reset the secure channel between the domain and the computer with the following command:
netdom reset /d:domain computer-name
The following listing shows how to reset the secure channel with the computer named dc2 in the pearson.pub domain:
C:\> netdom reset /d:pearson.pub dc2
The secure channel from DC2 to the domain PEARSON.PUB has been reset.
The connection is with the machine \\DC1.PEARSON.PUB.
The command completed successfully.