Windows command prompt is like the old distant uncle you have,you dont speak much with him normally but whenever you go to him for help,help is guaranteed.
Let’s take a look at a domain based scenario wherein I want to check connectivity from client system to any
available domain controller.
I call upon the Windows command prompt to help me on checking this.
Here,we do two things:
1.Open command prompt.
2.Use the set command in Windows to get us the required info.
Here is what I see :
C:UsersAVP>set logon
LOGONSERVER=\BOX
This means that I am currently using a domain controller named \BOX if it is a domain based environment.If I see the name of my own Windows client on running the set logon command in a domain environment,there is a high possibility of the connection to the DC being botched up and needs a fix.
Personally,I have removed and rejoined the systems to domain whenever I have seen set logon return the name of the local machine instead of the DC [this saves a lot of time from troubleshooting GPOs,doesnt it? :)].Even after returning the correct DC value,if there is something wrong,you can go ahead and check the GPOs.
I hope this post helps in diagnosing the connection to DC as a first step before actually jumping in and start troubleshooting GPOs or DC settings.
Peace.