2003 tips, suggestion or hints...please

[pikk]

Hi,

I'm getting ready to setup a new 2003 Server and welcome any suggestions. My current network is a Winnt 4.0 Domain with two other NT servers, one for Exchange and one for finance. I will be throwing the 2003 server on my network this weekend (after disconnecting my NT box of course) and I'm a little nervous about screwing up trusts (between the NT servers) and user logins. Is there anything that I need to consider? My thought is that I can simply enable DHCP on the 2003 box, setup the IP range and then login from any of my workstations. Am I dreaming? What about my other servers? Will they complain when I try to login to them and when I go back to my NT 4 system, after the test...will it be out of sorts? I know, lots of questions but this is my first big server upgrade and I want to be sure.

Any help or thoughts or even links to help sites would be welcome.

TIA

P'

 

[snootalope]

My thought is that I can simply enable DHCP on the 2003 box, setup the IP range and then login from any of my workstations."

Tell me your not thinking that's all it's going to take..

Your going to from NT4 to 2003. HUGE frickin difference. What about your Active Directory, Users, Printers, Shares, Home Folders, DNS, Gateways, Trusts, Email, bla bla bla.

You've planned this stuff right?

 

[pikk]

Actually...I was kidding or perhaps being sarcastic. Yes, I did do some planning and I'm still in the midst of finalizing everything...including the email, finance server etc etc.

What I thought i would start with would be installing my AD and then exporting my user accounts from NT. Any thoughts on importing them? Is this a relatively smooth process?

Another question is...should I run this in Mixed mode considering I will have some 2000 and NT server boxes on the network?

Thanks for the humour and insight.

P

 

[xmario2013]

just setup a BDC in NT if you run into anything bad always a way to roll back, mixed mode will be the way to go for a while before you got all the AD stuff setup (when you have both NT/2000/2003 DC only) member server doesn't count

just remember don't go to native 2000/2003 mode for all DCs when you are not ready !!! there is no turning back

XM

 

[pikk]

XM

Thanks for the tips. My intention is to try and...keep it simple.

Right now I have only one DC (NT) and no BDC. My other systems are an Exchange 5.5 server (NT) and a Finance Server (NT) running Great Plains.

Ideally...all remains the same except I swap the PDC for the new 2003 server box.

Thnx again...

P

 

[pikk]

Update for all interested:

I've decided to go a different route for my upgrade. Instead of trying a completely fresh install of everything, I have decided to first install NT4.0 SP 6 to my new server box as a Backup domain Controller and then promote it and then run the upgrade for 2003. This makes more sense and should give me less headaches. If anybody has comments...I welcome them.

Thanks to all for your help.

P'