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Version: 2.2.1-preview

AD-DC-08 - DC operating system details should be retrievable

Michael SouleAgnivesh S.Merill Fernando
Contributed by Michael Soule with 2 co-contributorsAll contributors →

Overview​

Understanding the operating system distribution across your domain controllers helps with:

  • Security compliance: Identifying DCs on unsupported OS versions
  • Patch management: Planning update cycles across different OS versions
  • Upgrade planning: Prioritizing which DCs to upgrade first
  • Capacity planning: Understanding feature availability across DCs
  • Risk assessment: Evaluating exposure from outdated systems

Domain controllers running end-of-life operating systems are a critical security risk as they no longer receive security updates, making them vulnerable to known exploits.

Security Recommendation​

Upgrade domain controllers running end-of-life operating systems immediately.

Priority order for upgrades:

  1. Windows Server 2008 R2 and earlier (unsupported)
  2. Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 (extended support ended)
  3. Windows Server 2016 (still supported, but older)

Upgrade process:

  1. Promote new DCs on supported OS versions
  2. Transfer FSMO roles if needed
  3. Demote old DCs
  4. Remove from domain

How the Test Works​

This test retrieves the OperatingSystem attribute from all domain controllers and groups them by OS version, showing:

  • Count of DCs per OS version
  • Percentage distribution
  • Names of DCs running each OS
  • Test-MtAdDcOperatingSystemCount - Count of unique OS versions
  • Test-MtAdDomainControllerCount - Total DC count

Test Metadata​

FieldValue
Test IDAD-DC-08
SeverityHigh
SuiteActive Directory
CategoryAD.DomainController
PowerShell testTest-MtAdDcOperatingSystemDetails
TagsAD, AD-DC-08, AD.DomainController

Source​

  • Pester test: tests/ad/domaincontroller/Test-MtAdDcOperatingSystemDetails.Tests.ps1
  • PowerShell source: powershell/public/ad/domaincontroller/Test-MtAdDcOperatingSystemDetails.ps1