Control Active Directory Intrasite Replication Interval

Daniel Petri

Jan 7, 2009

How do I change the intrasite replication interval in Windows 2000 for domain information?

Active Directory intrasite replication for naming context data doesn’t occur until 5 minutes after a change.
When you make a change to the naming context (i.e., domain) data, the DC’s local copy of Active Directory (AD) records the change, then the DC waits 5 minutes (by default) before notifying its replication partners of the change. You can continue to make changes during this time period. The delay exists so that all changes transmit at once. If no changes occur during a particular time period (which you can configure in the intrasite connection object schedule), a replication sequence initiates to ensure no changes were missed.
This delay lets all changes transmit at once. You can change this 5-minute delay by using the registry editor:

Warning!

This document contains instructions for editing the registry. If you make any error while editing the registry, you can potentially cause Windows to fail or be unable to boot, requiring you to reinstall Windows. Edit the registry at your own risk. Always back up the registry before making any changes. If you do not feel comfortable editing the registry, do not attempt these instructions. Instead, seek the help of a trained computer specialist.

Start Regedit.exe.
Go to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NTDS\Parameters

Double-click Replicator notify pause after modify (secs).

Note: The default value data for the “Replicator notify pause after modify (secs)” DWORD value is 0x12c, which in hexadecimal format is 300 decimal (5 minutes).

Enter the number of seconds you want for the delay, and click OK.
Close the registry editor.
Reboot the machine.

Notice the parameter Replicator notify pause between DSAs (secs). This parameter determines the number of seconds between notification of directory service agents (DSAs). This parameter prevents simultaneous replies by replication partners.

Note: The default value data for the “Replicator notify pause between DSAs (secs)” DWORD value is 0x1e, which in hexadecimal format is 30 decimal (30 seconds).