Moving Roaming Profiles to a different Server

[mholbert]

I have about 30 users with roaming profiles in my Windows Server 2003 Active Directory network. I want to move the location where the profiles are stored from one server (a db server) to another (my AD controller).

Is there a problem with having roaming profiles, or home directories, stored on my AD controller?

Is there a utility that will assist in moving the folders and permissions from one server to another?

MH

 

[w33mhz]

Well believe me when I say that trying to use your domain controller as a fileserver is not the best idea. You should really not put more roles on a domain controller than you have to. It will more than likely work just fine, but there is a lot to be said about "All in one" Servers, and none of it is good.

 

[porkchopexpress]

If you create a new share on another server then alter the path for the user profile then next time the user logs on and off the local profile will be copied to the new location. For this to work you will need to make sure that the users local profile is not deleted at logoff. The old profiles will still be in the old location as a backup anyway.

Another option is to copy the profiles to the new location using robocopy or just explorer if they aren’t too big.

As far as having the files on your DC it's not like you have much choice in a small setup but with 30 users your DC isn't going to be under much load. This is how almost all SBS networks are setup and it's not an issue, in fact these also run Exchange and more.

 

[porkchopexpress]

If you don't like the command line robocopy you can use the GUI version.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/issues/2006/11/UtilitySpotlight/