Web server version - Part 3: Windows Server 2003 Upgrades and Migrations
Part 3: Windows Server 2003 Upgrades and Migrations Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Inside Out Chapter 7 additional Windows NT domain hitting the maximum number of objects is no longer an issue. There are benefits to having fewer domains, such as faster searches, fewer domain controllers, simplified management, and a network that is easier to use. Unfortunately, there are also likely to be roadblocks to eliminating domains politics and inertia, to start with. For more information about the Active Directory planning process, see Part 7, Managing Active Directory and Security. You must design the DNS namespace(s) for Active Directory (the domains and domain trees), as well as any additional DNS domains you want to support. Determine which Windows NT domains will be maintained, whether additional domains will be added, and where in the DNS domain tree(s) each of your existing domains will go. When you upgrade each domain s primary domain controller, you must know where in the DNS namespace that specific domain is assigned. Caution Support for Windows NT 4 domain controllers is provided in the initial Active Directory configuration, but it is dropped once you switch the domain to Windows Server 2003 functional level. Make sure that you are really finished using Windows NT before making the switch. You can t go back once you make the change. Restructuring Domains If you re upgrading domains from Windows NT 4 to Windows Server 2003 on a one- to-one basis, you will initially have multiple (perhaps many) domains. If so, you can collapse multiple domains into a single one to simplify your Active Directory implementation. You can perform the domain restructure operations at two times: . Restructuring domains after upgrading In most circumstances, you will want to upgrade the domain controller and then migrate the user, group, and computer accounts settings to domains in your actual Active Directory forest. This method frees you from the Windows NT 4 limitations and allows you to take advantage of the ADMT as a means of restructuring your domains. . Restructuring domains before upgrading If you have only a few domains to merge, you can restructure your Windows NT 4 domains prior to upgrading to Windows Server 2003. You must keep in mind, however, that all the standard Windows NT 4 limitations apply. This means that if the Security Accounts Manager (SAM) database will get too large or replication traffic will be an issue, you should wait to restructure domains until after you have upgraded the server. Remember that the domain controllers from a domain that is subsumed go offline, so make sure there are no additional services or applications running on them before making the change. 226
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