CIFS domain controller selection is governed by the CIFS server discovery configuration, because ONTAP must discover and select domain controllers for authentication, name lookup, and domain services. Site membership can influence which domain controllers are preferred when Active Directory Sites and Services is correctly configured, but the configuration mechanism that determines how domain controllers are discovered is discovery mode. Enabled SMB versions control client protocol negotiation and do not define domain controller selection. Trusted domains define authentication trust boundaries but do not directly decide which domain controllers a specific CIFS server uses. In a troubleshooting context, when users experience CIFS authentication delays, logon failures, or inconsistent access, the support engineer checks DNS, site awareness, domain controller discovery, and CIFS domain status. The exam wording asks for the CIFS server configuration that determines the domain controllers used by the CIFS server, which is the discovery mode setting. References/topics: ONTAP SMB/CIFS server configuration, domain controller discovery, Active Directory site awareness, and CIFS authentication troubleshooting.
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