RE: Can i change my NT 4 domain name during upgrade to W2K3 AD?

From: Rebecca Chen [MSFT] (v-rebc_at_online.microsoft.com)
Date: 09/16/04 

Date: Thu, 16 Sep 2004 08:56:28 GMT

Hello,

Please help me clarify the following information:
1. Is Company your NT domain NetBIOS name?
2. What kind of name does ad in ad.company.local stand for? Do you want to
give Windows 2003 NetBIOS name called "ad" or you want to create a child
domain called "ad"?
3. Is ad.company.local the DNS name you desirable in the new Win2k3 domain?
Technically speaking, company.local should be the DNS name instead of the
NetBIOS name.

DNS name is :
A hierarchical, distributed database that contains mappings of DNS domain
names to various types of data, such as IP addresses. DNS enables the
location of computers and services by user-friendly names, and it also
enables the discovery of other information stored in the database.
NetBIOS name is:
A 16-byte name of a process using network basic input/output system
(NetBIOS). The NetBIOS name is a name that is recognized by WINS, which
maps the name to an IP address.

More details can be found from the link below:
Renaming domains
DNS name and NetBIOS name are different.
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/WindowsServ/2003/standard/p
roddocs/en-us/Default.asp?url=/resources/documentation/WindowsServ/2003/stan
dard/proddocs/en-us/domainrename.asp

If you only want to change the DNS name, you can specify it when you
promote Windows 2003 to DC.

If you mean you want to rename the Domain NetBIOS name, for example, the
original NetBios name is company and you want to change it to NewCompany,
you can choose to change the NetBIOS in NT PDC or after promote Windows 2k3
to DC.

However, renaming domains is a complex, multi-step process that will affect
every computer in your forest and should not be considered a routine
operation. If not necessary, please do not considering renaming the domain.

Method 1: Change NT DC NetBIOS name
===============================
If you want to rename a domain name from OLDDOMAINNAME to NEWDOMAINNAME,
perform the following operations:

1. Rename the domain on the primary domain controller (PDC) and restart the
computer.

2. On all backup domain controllers (BDCs), use the Network tool in Control
Panel to rename the domain and restart the computer.

3. On all members (that is, workstation and stand-alone server members),
leave the domain and then rejoin the domain.

Method 2: Change Windows 2003 NetBIOS name
=====================================
Windows Server 2003 domain includes a new feature of domain rename (using a
new tool called RenDom.exe), however, please know we are unable to rename
the domain name when using Exchange Server 2003.

The rename operation has many requirements as follows:

1. All domain controllers must be running Windows 2003.

2. The Windows 2003 forest functionality level must be raised to Windows
Server 2003.

3. Rendom cannot be used to 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.

4. Domain rename operations are not supported in an Active Directory forest
that includes an Exchange deployment. The domain rename tool will detect
this fact and refuse to proceed.

The following are some additional items needed to be considered when
planning a domain rename operation:

1. The forest will be out of service for a short period of time. Forest
service is interrupted during the time it takes for each domain controller
to perform the directory database updates necessary for the domain rename
and then reboot.

2. All domain controllers must either successfully complete the rename
operation or be eliminated from the forest.

3. Each member computer joined to a renamed domain must be rebooted twice
after all domain controllers have been updated. Machines running Windows NT
4.0 will need to unjoin and then rejoin the renamed domain instead of
rebooting.

Please refer to the following document:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/docs/Domain-Rename-Procedure.doc

Therefore, if it is necessary to rename the domain name, I think that we
can build a new AD domain from scratch with the correct domain name, and
then use a tool named ADMT to migrate everything (users, groups, settings,
services, shares, client computers...) from the old domain to the new
domain.

Further questions, let us get in touch!

Best regards,

Rebecca Chen

MCSE2000 MCDBA CCNA

Microsoft Online Partner Support
Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security

=====================================================

When responding to posts, please "Reply to Group" via your newsreader so
that others may learn and benefit from your issue.

=====================================================
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: W2k3 NETBIOS name change?
    ... Once you are in Windows 2003 forest mode you can use rendom.exe to rename ... You can't change the DNS or NetBIOS name of a domain ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.migration)
  • Re: Renaming NetBIOS name
    ... can change the way the migration will take place. ... recommend migration vs. rename; as Jorge alluded to, ... YYY.com with NetBIOS name YYY. ... YYY.DOMAIN.COM(in a new forest) ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.active_directory)
  • Re: Renaming NetBIOS name
    ... I suggest you take a look at the migration documents at ... recommend migration vs. rename; as Jorge alluded to, ... YYY.com with NetBIOS name YYY. ... YYY.DOMAIN.COM(in a new forest) ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.active_directory)
  • Re: W2k3 NETBIOS name change?
    ... A follow up question for the original upgrade. ... This is assuming we keep ABC1.com as our NetBIOS domain ... Windows IP Configuration ... >Once you are in Windows 2003 forest mode you can use ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.migration)
  • Re: Server DOWN, Please Help!
    ... Apparently something in the startnet.cmd file caused the system to rename ... The name of the computer in windows though was still the same, ... The solution was simple yet not as apparent as it could have been. ... change the NETBIOS name of a computer. ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.general)