Web hosting e commerce - Part 3: Windows Server 2003 Upgrades and Migrations
Part 3: Windows Server 2003 Upgrades and Migrations Upgrading to Windows Server 2003 Thus, to simplify upgrade operations, unless you have a specific issue that precludes upgrading to Service Pack 3, it is recommended that you apply it (or a later service pack) to all domain controllers that run Windows 2000 in the forest. For more information about applying service packs to Windows 2000 domain controllers, refer to Knowledge Base articles 331161 and 325465 at the Microsoft support site. Troubleshooting Domain controller fails to join a Windows 2000 domain or forest You might be unable to promote a Windows Server 2003 system to be a domain controller in an existing Windows 2000 domain or to join a new domain to an existing Windows 2000 forest. This is because Windows Server 2003 has a different schema (Version 30) than Windows 2000 (Version 13). To enable a Windows Server 2003 domain controller to join a Windows 2000 domain, you must first use the Active Directory Preparation Wizard (Adprep.exe) to update the Windows 2000 forest and domain. For more detailed information on this, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base article 278875. General Upgrade Preparation Tools Upgrading member servers and domain controllers requires a bit of preparation and testing, both prior to installing the new operating system as well as after. A set of tools useful for testing the Active Directory and networking environments is located on the Windows Server 2003 product CD in the SupportTools folder. The tools include the following functionalities: . DNS configuration Dnscmd.exe allows you to view the configuration of DNS zones and resource records, which is useful in analyzing the DNS configuration of DNS servers and domain controllers. . Replication management To assess Active Directory replication, use the Repadmin utility to determine inbound and outbound replication partners. You can also use this tool to monitor replication status and replication consistency. Prior to upgrading a Windows 2000 domain, you must verify successful replication between at least two domain controllers in the domain (to ensure that you have rollback domain controllers in case the upgrade fails). . Network diagnostics To analyze connectivity issues and verify network operations, use the Netdiag utility, which allows you to run tests on the network clients and their connectivity to the rest of the network. . Domain controller diagnostics The Dcdiag utility lets you test connectivity to Active Directory and test whether the domain controller is providing the functionality required. Chapter 8
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