Re: Duplicate W2k onto a W2k3 server

Tech-Archive recommends: Speed Up your PC by fixing your registry

Snipher wrote:
SENARIO: I have one w2k server running AD, DNS and DHCP, being used as a file server with 80 users. No applications or printers. The company is going to segment off 50 of their 80 users and put them on a new server (W2k3). When everything is done, each server will be in its' own seperate LAN/WAN. Each server will be running its' own AD, DNS, DHCP. The 2 servers will not exist in the same network.

NEED: I want to basically duplicate the W2k server environment on a W2k3 server. Then remove the unwanted data and users.

Please let me know the best way to handle this.



Migrating to a new 2003 domain is the cleanest solution, but as you say,
you will have to deal with new profiles for the users, as well as joining the PC's to the new domain, etc.

You could snag a copy of Trueimage Enterprise server,(www.acronis.com)
and clone the existing w2k server.
The product will let you create a custom CD for your W2k server, from which you can boot, and then image the drive/array to an external USB/Firewire drive, or internal SCSI/IDE drive

Then, assuming you have similar enough hardware, you can move that cloned drive to a new server, boot up, restore the image to drive 0, and deal with any hardware issues.
UPgrade that server to Win2k3, and you have your AD intact as it was.

There isn't much risk associated with that, because if the clone/move/upgrade doesn't go as planned, your original AD forest is untouched. But, as I said, there may be other factors, including
future internet email/web issues that may result in complications.

YMMV... have a fine new year
LK




.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: 2008 SBS no longer boots
    ... driver issue initially, the fact that it seems to happen randomly now ... weird with a hardware problem that consistently doesn't get through boot ... other customer, even a 2 week old one, the problem immediately returned. ... There was a time when a server was fired up with a specialized OS and had a battery of tests run against each component to purposefully stress it. ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)
  • Re: How to install if you cant boot CD?
    ... It can boot from CD. ... It's currently running NT4. ... I only want it as a print server, ... But I'd rather recycle old hardware than put it in landfill, ...
    (comp.os.linux.setup)
  • Re: Disaster Recovery of Win2003 Domain controller to different hardware
    ... it could be related to the hardware of the server. ... help me know if you can boot the server in Safe Mode. ... This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.active_directory)
  • RE: Recommendation for 1000BASE-SX card?
    ... supported and drivers that aren't. ... on current versions of hardware. ... Cheapo crappy desktop gear, and expensive high quality ... into the high-end server market in a big way. ...
    (freebsd-questions)
  • Server crawls during backup
    ... It seems that the server freezes almost solid at times and then several ... Other than the problems during the backup it runs ... Information Store First Storage Group: A request to write to the ... Please contact your hardware vendor for further assistance ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)