JSI Tip 0790. A better way to get specific BDCs to validate your logon.

In tip 463, we used a LMHOSTS file to get a specific BDC to validate your logon.

SP4 (Service Pack 4) includes SETPRFDC.EXE, which will direct a secure channel client to a preferred list of domain controllers. The syntax is:

SETPRFDC <DomainName> <DC1 DC2 ..... DCn>

SETPRFDC will try each DC in the list in order, until a secure channel is established. If DC1 does not respond, DC2 is tried, and so on.

Once you run SETPRFDC on a WinNT 4.0, SP4 computer, the list is remembered until you change it.

You can run SETPRFDC in batch, via the scheduler, or even in a logon script (for future logons).

Don't forget to undo any LMHOSTS entries you might have set.