. I've yet to come across a documented solution for creating a bonafide test lab consisting of the existing domain structure and its network objects. I've heard talk that it's possible but have yet to see a KB article or be pointed to a link orsite with this "easy" info
You don't need a KB article on anything like that. What do you think happens when a network link goes down? No one can logon to any DCs because they can't communicate with every other DC? All you need to do to get this working is some knowledge of AD fundamentals. Good point but that's not possible at the moment and work won't stop because of it so I have to continue to move on and use what I have. I'd have more sympathy for your position if you actually put something back into this list, but a quick skim through the past few months worth of archives just shows you asking questions on site auth, time sync, how DNs work, group policy etc. It's almost like your attitude is "I could put the time into reading up on AD fundamentals, but it's just easier if I get someone else to spend their time writing out detailed answers for me". Here's my tip: Yes, it can be done. Yes, I have done it. Cheers Ken From: MarvinC [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, 8 January 2008 3:06 PM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: Re: Copying AD data to another server (lab) "You probably want to go and buy (and read) some AD books." Good point but that's not possible at the moment and work won't stop because of it so I have to continue to move on and use what I have. To date I've come across two processes "Domain rename" & "AD disaster recovery". I tried the disaster recovery method by backing up an old Dell Precision 410 DC and restoring it to an older Gateway ???. This worked with the exception of some TCP/IP errors I get after logging in. Other than that all network services are running, the domain name is the same, and I have access to the domain and all AD objects. #2. I haven't tried the domain rename because I need to keep as much of the existing domain in place. #3. I've yet to come across a documented solution for creating a bonafide test lab consisting of the existing domain structure and its network objects. I've heard talk that it's possible but have yet to see a KB article or be pointed to a link orsite with this "easy" info. The Error: "The system cannot log you on becasue the domain is not available" This is a given being that none of the services are available. What I can't figure out is what's going wrong to cause this. What steps do I apply once the server has been promoted to a DC? thanks On Jan 7, 2008 8:28 PM, Ken Schaefer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>> wrote: You probably want to go and buy (and read) some AD books. I do this all the time - I have 5 DCs in virtual machines on this laptop, and I have no need to start all of them to be able to login to one of them. But there are many things that could break what you are trying to do. "I get an error" isn't very helpful either. Cheers Ken From: MarvinC [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>] Sent: Tuesday, 8 January 2008 11:32 AM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: Re: Copying AD data to another server (lab) I'm missing something and it's driving me nutz! I dcpromo the member server making it a DC in an existing domain, make sure DNS is installed, make the server a GC and allow a full replication, yet when take it offline and attempt to log in I get an error. On Dec 27, 2007 10:58 AM, Michael B. Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>> wrote: Sure. Just on your "lab" domain you need to seize all the fsmo roles. Regards, Michael B. Smith MCSE/Exchange MVP http://TheEssentialExchange.com<http://theessentialexchange.com/> From: MarvinC [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>] Sent: Thursday, December 27, 2007 10:12 AM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: Copying AD data to another server (lab) I may have asked this but don't recall getting a response so excuse me for posting it again but I need to know if this is possible. Has anyone ever tried and/or been successful at moving active directory data to an alternate server? I'm trying to create a test lab for this environment and wanted to copy the existing AD structure to the new test server. As of right now I've brought up a new server on the network, ran dcpromo and selected it to function as a DC in an existing domain. I take the server off the network and log in with cached credentials but when trying to open ADUC I'm informed that the "Naming information cannot be located because the specified domain doesn't exist or cannot be contacted". I'm sure one of the reasons is the FSMO roles so I'm trying to figure out the best way to get them and the entire forest moved to this new server. In NT4 you could configure a server to be a BDC, take it offline, and then promote it to a PDC and the entire structure would remain intact. Is this possible with Windows Server 2003 SP2? ANY responses appreciated. ~ Upgrade to Next Generation Antispam/Antivirus with Ninja! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbelt-software.com/SunbeltMessagingNinja.cfm> ~
