DSMOD.EXE

By | 2009-12-29

Dsmod is a command-line tool that is built into Windows Server 2008.  It is available if you have the Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) server role installed.

To use dsmod, you must run the dsmod command from an elevated command prompt. To open an elevated command prompt, click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator.

Syntax

   DSMOD computer
   DSMOD contact
   DSMOD group;    
   DSMOD ou         
   DSMOD server
   DSMOD user  
   DSMOD quota  
   DSMOD partition


Key

   DN=Distinguished Name(s)
   OU=Organisational Unit

Pretty much all the attributes can be modified (Name, display name, tel number etc), run the command with /? for a full list

Commas
Commas must be escaped with the backslash \ character (other than separators in distinguished names)

e.g.
"CN=Company\, Inc.,CN=Users,DC=mydomain,DC=com"

Backslashes
Backslashes used in distinguished names must be escaped with a backslash

(for example, “CN=Sales\\ Latin America,OU=Distribution Lists,DC=mydomain,DC=com”).

Redirection
You can pipe results from DSQUERY into DSMOD in order to modify an object.  For example, To find all users in the Marketing OU (organizational unit) and add them to the Sales group:
Following is all on one line:

DSQUERY user -startnode "ou=Marketing,dc=mydomain,dc=com" | DSMOD group "cn=Sales,ou=Marketing,dc=mydomain,dc=com" -addmbr

Spaces
If any value contains spaces, use quotation marks:

   "CN=John Smith,CN=Users,DC=mydomain,DC=com"

Special Tokens
The token $username$ (case insensitive) may be used to place the SAM account name.  Entering * as a password will cause DSMOD to prompt for the new password.

For any DS command you can enter multiple values separated by spaces, .e.g., to modify several user accounts at once just supply a list of the distinguished names separated with spaces.

Author: dwirch

Derek Wirch is a seasoned IT professional with an impressive career dating back to 1986. He brings a wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience that is invaluable to those embarking on their journey in the tech industry.

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