New Djoin.exe utility in Windows Server 2008 R2
Windows Server 2008 R2 domain controllers include a new feature named Offline Domain Join. A new utility named Djoin.exe lets you join a computer to a domain, without contacting a domain controller while completing the domain join operation, by obtaining a blob from a Windows Server 2008 R2 domain controller at an earlier point in time. The computer is domain-joined when it first starts, so no restart is needed as with a normal domain join. The general steps for using Djoin.exe are:
- Run djoin /provision to create the computer account metadata. The output of this command is a .txt file that includes a base-64 encoded blob.
- Run djoin /requestODJ to insert the computer account metadata from the .txt file into the Windows directory of the destination computer.
- Start the destination computer, and the computer will be joined to the domain.
The computer where you run djoin /provision and the destination computer both need to run Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7. We have a step-by-step guide published at https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd392267(WS.10).aspx and appreciate any feedback you have.
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