Configuring Active Roles Synchronization Service
Configuring Synchronization Service
You can modify the default values of the Synchronization Service parameters related to password synchronization. These parameters and their default values are described in the next table.
Table 125: Synchronization Service parameters
Interval between attempts to reset password |
The Capture Agent sends information on changes made to Active Directory user passwords to Synchronization Service. After receiving this information, Synchronization Service tries to reset passwords in the target connected systems you specified.
This parameter determines the time interval (in minutes) between attempts to reset passwords in the target connected systems. |
10 minutes |
Synchronization Service connection point update period |
Synchronization Service publishes its connection point in Active Directory.
This parameter determines the frequency of updates (in minutes) of the Synchronization Service connection point. |
60 minutes |
Certificate to encrypt Capture Agent traffic |
This parameter specifies the thumbprint of the certificate used to encrypt the password sync traffic between Capture Agent and Synchronization Service. The same certificate must be used for the Capture Agent and the Synchronization Service. |
By default, a built-in certificate is used. |
You can modify the Synchronization Service parameters using Group Policy and the Administrative Template supplied with Synchronization Service.
To modify Synchronization Service parameters using Group Policy
- On the computer running the Synchronization Service, start Group Policy Object Editor, and then connect to the Local Computer Policy Group Policy object.
- In the Group Policy Object Editor console, expand the Local Computer Policy node, expand the Computer Configuration node, and select Administrative Templates.
- On the Action menu, point to All Tasks, and click Add/Remove Templates.
- In the Add/Remove Templates dialog box, click Add, and then use the Policy Templates dialog box to open the SyncService.adm file that holds the Administrative Template.
By default, the SyncService.adm file is stored in <Active Roles installation folder>\SyncService\Administrative Templates
- Under Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Active Roles, select Sync Service Settings, and then in the details pane, configure the appropriate group policy settings.
The names of group policy settings correspond to the names of the Synchronization Service parameters provided in the table in Configuring Capture Agent.
- For the changes to take effect, refresh the Group Policy settings by running the following command at a command prompt: gpupdate /force
Specifying a custom certificate for encrypting password sync traffic
By default, Synchronization Service uses a built-in certificate to encrypt password sync traffic between the Capture Agent and the Synchronization Service. If necessary, you can use a custom certificate for this purpose.
This section illustrates how to use a custom certificate for encrypting the password synchronization traffic in Windows Server 2012.
Complete the following steps:
Step 1: Obtain and install a certificate
To obtain and install a certificate, you have to make a certificate request. There are two methods to request a certificate in Windows Server 2012:
- Request certificates using the Certificate Request Wizard. To request certificates from a Windows Server 2012 enterprise certification authority, you can use the Certificate Request Wizard.
- Request certificates using the Windows Server 2012 Certificate Services Web interface. Each certification authority that is installed on a computer running Windows Server 2012 has a Web interface that allows the users to submit certificate requests. By default, the Web interface is accessible at http://servername/certsrv, where servername refers to the name of the computer running Windows Server 2012.
This section provides steps to request certificates using the Windows Server 2012 Certificate Services Web interface. For detailed information about the Certificate Request Wizard, refer to the documentation on Certification Authority.
To request a certificate using the Windows 2012 Certificate Services Web interface
- Use a Web browser to open to http://servername/certsrv, where servername refers to the name of the Web server running Windows Server 2012 where the certification authority that you want to access is located.
- On the Welcome Web page, click Request a certificate.
- On the Request a Certificate Web page, click advanced certificate request.
- On the Advanced Certificate Request Web page, click Create and submit a certificate request to this CA.
- On the Web page that opens, do the following:
- Select the Store certificate in the local computer certificate store check box.
- Under Additional Options, select the PKCS10 option, and in the Friendly Name text box, specify a name for your certificate (such as My QC Certificate).
Keep default values for all other options.
- Click Submit.
- On the Certificate Issued Web page, click Install this certificate.
After you install the certificate, it becomes available in the Certificates snap-in, in the Personal/Certificates store.
Step 2: Export custom certificate to a file
In this step, you export the issued certificate to a file. You will need the file to install the certificate on each domain controller running Capture Agent and on each computer running Synchronization Service.
To export the certificate
- On the computer where you installed the certificate in step 1, open the Certificates - Local Computers snap-in.
- In the console tree, click the Personal/Certificates store.
- In the details pane, click the issued certificate you want to export.
- On the Action menu, point to All Tasks, and then click Export.
- Step through the wizard.
- On the Export Private Key page, select Yes, export the private key, and then click Next.
This option is available only if the private key is marked as exportable and you have access to the private key.
- On the Export File Format page, do the following, and then click Next:
- To include all certificates in the certification path, select the Include all certificates in the certification path if possible check box.
- To enable strong protection, select the Enable strong protection (requires IE 5.0, NT 4.0 SP4 or above) check box.
- On the Password page, use the Password text box to type a password to encrypt the private key you are exporting. In Confirm password, type the same password again, and then click Next.
- On the File to Export page, use the File name text box to specify the PKCS #12 file to which you want to export the certificate along with the private key, and click Next.
- On the Completion page, revise the specified settings and click Finish to create the file and close the wizard.