Which FSMO role is responsible for time synchronization across the domain and forest?

Which FSMO role is responsible for time synchronization across the domain and forest?

• A. RID Master
• B. Domain Naming Master
• C. PDC Emulator
• D. Schema Master

Answer: (C)

Time synchronization in Active Directory is handled by the PDC Emulator. This FSMO role is the authoritative time source for its domain, so all other domain controllers in that domain align their clocks to the PDC Emulator. If you configure the PDC Emulator to sync with an external, reliable time source (like an NTP server), that external time reference is distributed across the domain and, for a forest, can propagate through the root domain to keep the entire forest in sync. The other FSMO roles serve different purposes: the RID Master allocates security IDs, the Domain Naming Master controls adding or removing domains in the forest, and the Schema Master handles updates to the AD schema.

Time synchronization in Active Directory is handled by the PDC Emulator. This FSMO role is the authoritative time source for its domain, so all other domain controllers in that domain align their clocks to the PDC Emulator. If you configure the PDC Emulator to sync with an external, reliable time source (like an NTP server), that external time reference is distributed across the domain and, for a forest, can propagate through the root domain to keep the entire forest in sync. The other FSMO roles serve different purposes: the RID Master allocates security IDs, the Domain Naming Master controls adding or removing domains in the forest, and the Schema Master handles updates to the AD schema.