Non-auto replication connection count should be investigated
AD-REPL-02InfoActive DirectoryReplication
Part of Active Directory · Active Directory · Replication · All checks
Invoke-Maester -TestId AD-REPL-02Overview
Section titled “Overview”Non-auto-generated (manual) replication connections bypass the Knowledge Consistency Checker (KCC) automatic topology generation. While sometimes necessary for specific scenarios, manual connections require careful management:
- Topology Bypass: Manual connections don’t benefit from automatic optimization and failover
- Documentation Gap: Manual connections may lack proper documentation of their business purpose
- Operational Debt: Accumulated manual connections from past troubleshooting may no longer be needed
- Security Risk: Undocumented connections may hide unauthorized replication paths
Control Type
Section titled “Control Type”Operational
Security Recommendation
Section titled “Security Recommendation”- Prefer auto-generated connections for standard replication topology
- Document all manual connections with business justification
- Regularly audit manual connections to ensure they are still required
- Remove manual connections that are no longer needed
- Use manual connections only for specific scenarios like site bridging
How the Test Works
Section titled “How the Test Works”This test retrieves all Active Directory replication connections and identifies:
- Auto-generated vs. manual connections
- Count and percentage of manual connections
- Total replication connection count
Related Tests
Section titled “Related Tests”Test-MtAdDisabledReplicationConnectionCount- Identifies disabled replication connections
Details
Section titled “Details”Every attribute of this check
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Test ID | AD-REPL-02 |
| Severity | Info |
| Suite | Active Directory |
| Product | Active Directory |
| Feature | Replication |
| Area | Infrastructure hardening |
| Resource type | DomainController |
| MITRE ATT&CK | None |
| PowerShell test | Test-MtAdNonAutoReplicationConnectionCount |
| Services | ActiveDirectory |
| Permissions | ActiveDirectory:Ldap:nTDSConnection:ReadProperty |
Source
Section titled “Source”- Test:
tests/ad/replication/Test.AD-REPL-02.ps1 - Documentation:
tests/ad/replication/Test.AD-REPL-02.md