Im not a expert admin in Active Directory so I'm in need of some help.
At my work, we have bought a new server with the 2008 server OS. And the old AD domain controller is run on a 2003 server.
The thought is to make the 2008 server the new DC and the 2003 server is to be a file server.
What is the best way to move the AD and all it's settings, members, groups, rights etc to the new server?
And how do you remove the AD-settings from the old one?
Thank you in advance.
Best Answer
The quick answer is to use dcpromo to add the 2008 server as a domain controller in the same domain that the 2003 server is in. Once the 2008 server is a DC, you can run dcpromo on the 2003 server to remove it as a domain controller. This will allow you to keep your Active Directory intact, but move the services to another server.
Also, as a general rule, it's highly recommended to have 2 servers be domain controllers (and global catalog servers) for your domain. That way your Active Directory stays up in the event of a failure (or reboot!)
There are lots of good articles from Microsoft and bloggers that describe this process. Here are some links:
2003 to 2008 Active Directory
Upgrading to Windows 2008 Active Directory