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ERROR_DS_SHUTTING_DOWN
The domain controller is leaving its serviceable directory state
This is a service lifecycle condition rather than a semantic problem with the DN or attributes. A DC that is shutting down cannot safely begin arbitrary new directory work while internal services, database access, and network endpoints are being withdrawn. The same request can be valid when sent to an available directory server.
Correlate the timestamp with system shutdown, AD DS service events, restart, promotion or demotion activity, and service recovery. For client software, classify the failure as server availability and select another appropriate DC when the operation is safe to retry. Do not rewrite the LDAP request merely because it failed during this transition.
What to inspect
- Check System and Directory Service events around the failure time.
- Verify whether the contacted DC restarted or changed directory-service state.
- Use DC discovery or failover logic while preserving operation idempotency.
References
- Microsoft: RootDSE naming-context metadata
- IETF RFC 4511: LDAP protocol operations and result semantics
- MS-ADTS: constraints on Active Directory Modify operations
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