Change NetBios hostname of Exchange 2000 server

[rheller]

I have two MS Exchange 2000 servers, each in a different Windows domain, each in a different DNS domain, each on a different physical network. Both are named EMAIL -- genius, huh?

I need to put them both on the same LAN, but when I do, they complain about duplicate NetBios names. I didn't think this would happen, as they belong to different Windows domains.

Question: Can I rename one of them without breaking Exchange? The research I've done so far suggests I have to build another Exchange 2000 server, and migrate the mail accounts over. Can't do that -- not enough resources.

Any helpful suggestions? Thanks!

 

[wallsa]

I'm not sure that you wouldn't have this same problem even if you were to have two different names and were able to add this other server to this domain. With Exchange 2000, you can only have one Exchange organization per forest. It sounds like you had two Exchange orgs on two different forests.

 

[rheller]

wallsa,
Lemme describe my situation in more detail:

I have two entirely separate Active Directory domains, each with its own DC, workstations & printers, living on two separate LAN's. Each domain has its own Exchange server, too.

I need to move both AD domains, in their entirety, to the same physical network. The two Exchange servers have the same NetBios name, EMAIL. I need to rename one of them to something else, to avoid a name conflict.

When I change the NetBios server name from EMAIL to EMAIL2, what happens to Exchange? Is the functionality of Exchange intrinsically tied somehow to the server's NetBios name?

Thanks,
-- rheller