4) Mixed mode vs 2003
Interim Mode : we have placed the upgraded domains into 2000 Mixed Mode. If
someone can tell me the advantages of 2003 Interim Mode, please. We spoke to
Microsoft about their reasons, and they didn't really have anything
compelling.
When switching
only the domain mode to 2003 interims, your benefit is minimal: some
improvement on replication (mainly different compression algorithm), but you
also keep any other admins from adding Win2000 DCs to your domain (which
just add an obstacle to make the switch later on).
When also
switching the forest mode to 2003 interms, your main benefit is Linked Value
Replication (LVR) which doesn't only improve speed of replication of your
group memberships (incl. ensuring no overwrites by multiple admins and
allowing very large group > 5000 members), but if you're in a single
domain, it also is very benefitial for Disaster Recovery scenarios. With
LVR, authoritative restores of deleted/tombstoned objects will also revive
the group-memberships (links) - which is not the case for the Windows 2000
style replication (i.e. the mode used prior to switching to Interims or 2003
forest functional level).
/Guido
I am just now finishing a NT/Novell
4.11/E5.5 to W2K3 AD/E2K3 migration and is was very similar to a W2K
migration. I used the docs in the previous posts, but we found some
interesting new caveats.
1) Site links : for many environments, the site
link costs would stay the same (the default 100), either due to the WAN
configuration (such a central access point with sites radiating from it) or
due to ignorance. We have found that the default setting in W2K3 doesn't
always replicate properly, therefore if you discover any replication issues
that you can't explain, split up the site costs based of off WAN load or
server capacity.
2) NT BDCs : there is a registry entry that we
have found that should be added on the PDC and any other NT-based DCs
that you plan to upgrade to W2K3. Once the upgrade/migration has
occured, all of the W2K Pro and later clients will ONLY log in on the
newly upgraded PDC emulator. The reg entry will take care of this. It is
located at
HKEY_Local_Machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Netlogon\Parameters,
add a new value called NT4Emulator, make it a REG_DWORD, and set its value
to 1.
3) WINS and LMHOSTS : yeah, this is a "duh" one
but one that a lot of people don't think about. Make sure that you know what
static WINS entries there are and that the LMHOSTS or HOSTS file point to
the CORRECT entries. (I would recommend staying as far away from both of
these as you can, but there are obvious situations in which one would be
required).
4) Mixed mode vs 2003 Interim Mode : we have
placed the upgraded domains into 2000 Mixed Mode. If someone can tell me the
advantages of 2003 Interim Mode, please. We spoke to Microsoft about their
reasons, and they didn't really have anything compelling.
5) The usual AD-prep stuff : Use the guides
that the other posts denoted, the 2003 migration/upgrade path is similar to
2000.
We drew info from our test labs, Microsoft's
MSA docs, Mastering Windows Server 2003 by Mark Minasi, the Microsoft
Migration forum on msnews (the one that Daryn posted). We also checked
kbAlertz everyday for new and exciting "challenges" that Microsoft had
posted. All in all, the client is extremely happy, and the new OWA/OMA is
awesome. If you need any Exchange info, let me know, there are some things
that we discovered there also.
Hope that helps.
Richard Boswell
Senior Enterprise Engineer - AD/eDir SME
Sarcom - Nashville
Office 615.232.7467
Nextel 615.445.5944 / Direct Connect 148*145792*2
AOL IM : bswrchrd
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2003 5:31
AM
Subject: RE: [ActiveDir] Migration :
NT to Win 2k3 Active Directory
I meant to include this also
-
regards
dar
-----Original
Message-----
From: Hughes. Daryn (IT Solutions)
Sent:
24 July 2003 10:37
To:
'[EMAIL PROTECTED]'
Subject: RE: [ActiveDir]
Migration : NT to Win 2k3 Active Directory
Here's a few Microsoft links I came across
recently -
Migrating from Windows NT Server 4.0 to Windows Server
2003 - (a seven chapter book
than can be downloaded individually or in a complete zip of around 5MB
in size) - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=e92cf6a0-76f0-4e25-8de0-19544062a6e6&DisplayLang=en
regards
daryn
Hi,
What would be a good reference for migrating from an NT domain
to Win2k3 Active Directory ?
I'm looking for a HOW-TO document.
Also, any peculiar experiences, things-to-watch-out
for would be very useful
too.
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