Monitoring FSMO Role Modifications

Monitoring FSMO Roles
The script I created for the FSMO role-monitoring task, FSMOMonitor.wsf, is available at the Windows Scripting Solutions Web site. (Go to http://www.winnetmag.com/windowsscripting, enter InstantDoc ID 42101 in the InstantDoc ID text box, then click the 42101.zip hotlink.) Listing 2 shows an FSMOMonitor.wsf excerpt that implements the logic of the FSMO-role—monitoring technique. The logic and structure is similar to the group-monitoring code from the earlier article, so I won't repeat all the details here but will instead comment on some of the differences.

One major difference is the number of WMI Query Language (WQL) event queries the code submits. Instead of executing one such query, FSMOMonitor.wsf executes five WQL event queries (one per FSMO role). The WQL queries all have the same structure. To detect whether the examined AD object has had a change related to an FSMO role modification, the WQL event query compares the object property DS_fSMORoleOwner before the change (PreviousInstance.DS_fSMORoleOwner) with the object property DS_fSMORoleOwner after the change (TargetInstance.DS_fSMORoleOwner). Figure 1 shows the WQL event queries the script uses for the different FSMO roles. . . .