Re: NT4 to Server 2003 Migration
- From: lk <anon2130_@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 08 Feb 2006 11:28:43 -0500
hi Megan,
based on everything you've said here, I would hire an experienced consultant, if only to assist you in the planning stage.
There are several reasons for this:
1. I would not upgrade your current PDC to 2003. A new server with the disk space and processors(s) will be able to handle 2003
much better. If you check your C drive on the current PDC, you'll find
it's only 4-8 gig, not nearly large enough for 2003 server with SP1, and future service packs & upgrades.
There is a method called "swing" which will allow you to replace
your current PDC with a 2003 server having the same name, IP address,
and retain all the groups, users, and domain sids.
(A short explanation of swing migration is at www.sbsmigration.com, but
that does apply mostly to the small business versions of Win servers)
2. With Exchange 5.5 in the mix, this will require a migration to
Exchange 2003 at some point, which is another large project.
But you have to have the domain running AD to do that, so there is a logical progression of tasks involved.
3. You have a number of BDC's that are running important services, and
to get those all running 2003, and/or being a domain controller will require quite a bit of research. Application compatibility and best migration scenarios are involved.
4. You didn't say if you have remote sites connected over a WAN, but that's important too because DNS & replication in 2003 have
different requirements. The number of PC clients at each site also
has a bearing on exactly how you would want to approach this project.
Mark Minasi has a consulting service that I've not used, but he has a lot of experience with various scenarios like yours. FYI I don't
work for him, and have no stake in his business.
Consulting service http://www.minasi.com/adnow.htm
Help forums for posting questions http://web2.minasi.com/forum/
Bottom line: you have a complex set of tasks ahead of you.
But, you can define a plan for each server and service,
and so cut it down to size, with a fallback plan for each server.
The best case is to replicate the setup in a lab, and
run through this at least twice. I would at all cost
avoid going ahead with this until you have a tested plan.
Making a major mistake in an AD implementation could easily result
in an emergency situation in which you then have to hire a consultant
to recover the domain. Users could be down for days, which is not
going to benefit anyone.
If your manager doesn't agree with hiring a consultant to assist you,
and testing this in a lab setting, they are blind and shortsighted.
Just my $.02..
Best of luck, and cheeers,
-
remove the _ for replies to my yahoo account
Megan wrote:
Planning on migrating from NT4 to 2003, and have a few questions I have
found the answers to in various MS white paper.
The network runs NT4, has 4 BCDs (all of which perform other various
functions, too), 1 PDC (only function is to be a PDC), and a few member
servers.
BDC 1 - RAS, Print Server, File Storage (90% inactive data)
BDC 2 - RAS, Goldmine, Quotewerks, and 2 license servers
BDC 3 - Licensing server, file storage (active data)
BDC 4 - Exchange 5.5, proxy through IIS, file storage (80% active data)
Member Server 1 - Blackberry server (approx. 12 users who require blackberry
service)
Member Server 2 - (2000 Adv Server) OWA (don't really care about this
server, no one uses it)
Member Server 3 - (2000 Adv Server) Inactive Exchange 5.5 server, file
storage (no active data)
The PDC put in place is temporary, as it's only a P4 3.0.
The hardware for BDC 1 and 2 will not support Windows 2003 Server. I fear
the hardware in BDC 4 is slowly dying...
From my understanding, I first need to upgrade the PDC to Server 2003. It's
my understanding that each BDC will see the new 2003 PDC as a NT4 PDC.
There's a few things I'm curious about...
Will Exchange will be able to properly communicate and authenticate after
the PDC upgrade?
Will clients using RAS be affected? Or will it all be transparent?
Now comes the next issue....I also need to deploy AD so I can later on setup
clustered Exchange servers.... However, the PDC I currently have cannot be
permanent, this is only in place because the new server purchased for the
PDC doesn't support NT4. How should I go about doing this? In the end, I
need to make the new server a PDC running Windows 2003 with AD, and
decommission the P4 PDC. I'd like to get the current PDC out of there ASAP.
I apologize for my ignorance, but this is such a huge learning curve for me
and have been given very little time to plan and implement the new network
(this is only the tip of the iceberg). Any input is greatly appreciated!!!
-
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- From: Megan
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