Skip to main content

Windows 2003 Domain Rename

This functionality is not available in Microsoft Windows 2000 Server family. 

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 family provides the capability to rename domains in an Active Directory forest after the forest structure is in place. The structure of an Active Directory forest is the result of the order in which you create domains and the hierarchical names of those domains. Beginning with the forest root domain, all child domains derive their distinguished names and default DNS names from the forest root domain name. The same is true of every additional tree in the forest. The way to change the hierarchical structure of an existing domain tree is to rename the domains. For example, you can rename a child domain to have a different parent, or rename a child domain to be a new tree-root domain. In each case, you reposition an existing domain to create a different domain-tree structure. Alternatively, you can rename domains without affecting the structure. For example, if you rename a root domain, the names of all child domains below it are also changed, but you have not created a different domain-tree structure.
In Windows Server 2003, the goal of the domain rename functionality is to ensure a supported method to rename domains when necessary; it is not intended to make domain rename a routine operation. Thus, although renaming domains is possible in Windows Server 2003, the process is complex and should not be undertaken lightly.

Constraints to Restructuring Domains in a Windows 2000 Forest

The restructuring capabilities in a Windows Server 2003 forest provide solutions to problems that are not addressed in Windows 2000 Server family. In a Windows 2000 forest, renaming domains is essentially not possible after the forest structure is in place without moving domain contents or recreating them. The constraints associated with making domain name changes or domain-tree restructuring in Windows 2000 Active Directory are prohibitive.
In a Windows 2000 forest, you cannot:
  • Change the DNS name or the NetBIOS name of a domain. Although you cannot rename a domain, you can achieve the same results by moving its contents into a new domain that has the name you want the existing domain to have. (Active Directory Object Manager (MoveTree) in the Windows 2000 Server family Support Tools can be used to move directory objects between domains.)
  • Move a domain within a forest in a single operation. As above, you can clone items in and move items from a domain, but you cannot move the entire domain itself within a forest.
  • Split a domain into two domains in a single operation. To split a domain, you must create a new domain and then move appropriate users and resources from the existing domain into the new domain.
  • Merge two domains into a single domain in a single operation. To merge domains, you must move all the contents from one of the domains into the other and then demote all domain controllers in the empty domain and decommission it.
Thus, in a Windows 2000 forest, significant administrative overhead is associated with performing such manual move operations to achieve the domain-tree restructuring or renaming one or more domains.
Windows Server 2003 family provides tools with which you can safely rename domains to restructure a Windows 2003 forest. When making a decision about whether to restructure an existing Windows Server 2003 forest, be sure to consider what you cannot do with forest restructuring. Although a Windows 2003 forest has forest restructuring capability, certain types of structural changes are not supported.
In a Windows Server 2003 forest, you cannot:
  • Change which domain is the forest root domain. Changing the DNS or the NetBIOS name of the forest root domain, or both, is supported.
  • Drop domains from the forest or add domains to the forest. The number of domains in the forest before and after the rename/restructure operation must remain the same.
  • Rename a domain with the same name that another domain gave up in a single forest restructure operation.

Popular posts from this blog

HOW TO EDIT THE BCD REGISTRY FILE

The BCD registry file controls which operating system installation starts and how long the boot manager waits before starting Windows. Basically, it’s like the Boot.ini file in earlier versions of Windows. If you need to edit it, the easiest way is to use the Startup And Recovery tool from within Vista. Just follow these steps: 1. Click Start. Right-click Computer, and then click Properties. 2. Click Advanced System Settings. 3. On the Advanced tab, under Startup and Recovery, click Settings. 4. Click the Default Operating System list, and edit other startup settings. Then, click OK. Same as Windows XP, right? But you’re probably not here because you couldn’t find that dialog box. You’re probably here because Windows Vista won’t start. In that case, you shouldn’t even worry about editing the BCD. Just run Startup Repair, and let the tool do what it’s supposed to. If you’re an advanced user, like an IT guy, you might want to edit the BCD file yourself. You can do this

DNS Scavenging.

                        DNS Scavenging is a great answer to a problem that has been nagging everyone since RFC 2136 came out way back in 1997.  Despite many clever methods of ensuring that clients and DHCP servers that perform dynamic updates clean up after themselves sometimes DNS can get messy.  Remember that old test server that you built two years ago that caught fire before it could be used?  Probably not.  DNS still remembers it though.  There are two big issues with DNS scavenging that seem to come up a lot: "I'm hitting this 'scavenge now' button like a snare drum and nothing is happening.  Why?" or "I woke up this morning, my DNS zones are nearly empty and Active Directory is sitting in a corner rocking back and forth crying.  What happened?" This post should help us figure out when the first issue will happen and completely avoid the second.  We'll go through how scavenging is setup then I'll give you my best practices.  Scavenging s

AD LDS – Syncronizing AD LDS with Active Directory

First, we will install the AD LDS Instance: 1. Create and AD LDS instance by clicking Start -> Administrative Tools -> Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services Setup Wizard. The Setup Wizard appears. 2. Click Next . The Setup Options dialog box appears. For the sake of this guide, a unique instance will be the primary focus. I will have a separate post regarding AD LDS replication at some point in the near future. 3. Select A unique instance . 4. Click Next and the Instance Name dialog box appears. The instance name will help you identify and differentiate it from other instances that you may have installed on the same end point. The instance name will be listed in the data directory for the instance as well as in the Add or Remove Programs snap-in. 5. Enter a unique instance name, for example IDG. 6. Click Next to display the Ports configuration dialog box. 7. Leave ports at their default values unless you have conflicts with the default values. 8. Click N