To seize an operations master role is to move it without the cooperation of its current owner. You seize an operations master role assignment when a server that is holding a role fails and you do not intend to restore it. The operations master role assignment is seized (reassigned) to a domain controller you select to act as a standby operations master. Some operations master roles are crucial to the operation of your network. Others can be unavailable for quite some time before their absence becomes a problem. Generally, you will notice that a single master operations role holder is unavailable when you try to perform some function controlled by the particular operations master.
Before seizing the operations master role, determine the cause and expected duration of the computer or network failure. If the cause is a networking problem or a server failure that will be resolved soon, wait for the role holder to become available again. If the domain controller that currently holds the role has failed, you must determine if it can be recovered and brought back online. You must also determine which domain controller can effectively serve as a standby operations master. In general, seizing an operations master role is a drastic step that should be considered only if the current operations master will never be available again. The decision depends upon the role and how long the particular role holder will be unavailable. The impact of various role holder failures is discussed in the following topics.
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