Upgrading a Win 2000 DC to Win 2003

[Eddiefdz]

Hello,

I currently have a Win 2000 Server farm of about 7 machines and they are all domain controllers. I want to upgrade one of the 2000 machines to Win 2003 Standard and leave it as a domain controller. Have any of you successfully upgraded from 2000 to 2003? I have installed 2003 from scratch but I have never upgraded from 2000, which is why i am asking.

Thanks!

Eddie Fernandez
CCNA, Network+, A+, MCP

 

[dberg35]

Check this out

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/upgrading/w2k/default.mspx

 

[LWComputingMVP]

By adding/creating a 2003 DC in a 2000 domain you are essentially upgrading the domain.

Why do you have 7 DCs? That really doesn't make sense unless you have at least 4 sites or have a client base of 70,000+ users or are running the DCs on Pentium Pro 200 MHz systems.

This can be done and isn't THAT big a deal, but if you've never done it before, I would strongly suggest you try upgrading a test domain first to familiarize yourself with things.

Further, check out the links below:

Common Mistakes When Upgrading a Windows 2000 Domain To a Windows 2003 Domain

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;555040

How to upgrade Windows 2000 domain controllers to Windows Server 2003

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/325379

[If using R2 release of Windows 2003] Extending Your Active Directory Schema for New Features in Windows Server 2003 R2

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...03-84DD-480F-98F9-526EC09E9BA8&displaylang=en

Hotfixes to install before you run adprep /Forestprep on a Windows 2000 domain controller to prepare the Forest and domains for the addition of Windows Server 2003-based domain controllers

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=331161

Commodore.ca | Windows | How To Upgrade Windows 2000 Domain to Windows 2003 Server [This is somewhat dated but can still have valuable points]
Quote from the top of this article: "Several glossy Microsoft presenters have stated that all you need to do to complete a Windows 2003 Domain upgrade is run ADPREP and then upgrade away. This may work for very small / simple environments but it is definitely not good advice for most companies. After upgrading five servers in two unrelated domains and installing many fresh copies of 2003 I can say that I personally would not skip a single step in the process I have developed below."

http://www.commodore.ca/windows/windows_2003_upgrade.htm

Windows Server 2003 Upgrade Assistance Center

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/upgrading/nt4/upgradeassistance/default.mspx

Here are some links that should help you in replacing existing domain controllers and/or transferring services and Active Directory functions to another/new system:

How can I transfer some or all of the FSMO Roles from one DC to another?

http://www.petri.co.il/transferring_fsmo_roles.htm

How To Create or Move a Global Catalog in Windows 2000

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=313994

How to move a DHCP database from a computer that is running Windows NT Server 4.0, Windows 2000, or Windows Server 2003 to a computer that is running Windows Server 2003

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=325473

How can I move a DHCP database from one server to another?

http://www.windowsitpro.com/Article/ArticleID/13473/13473.html

How can I move DNS from one Windows 2000 Server to another Windows 2000 Server?
(Two Related if going 2000 to 2003 - read both before moving)

http://www.jsifaq.com/subG/TIP3300/rh3357.htm

http://www.jsifaq.com/SUBN/tip6700/rh6731.htm

Exchange Considerations:
[If you run Exchange 2000] Windows Server 2003 adprep /forestprep Command Causes Mangled Attributes in Windows 2000 Forests That Contain Exchange 2000 Servers

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=314649