Domain Controller on 2kServer

[benitos]

On a Win. 2k server, do I have to install Active Directory in order to make a server a pdc? My boss says no, but I havent found any other way to install a domain controller without having to go through "configure your server" then "install active directory". Is there a way??
Benito

 

[crows27]

All domain controllers have AD. Without AD they are member servers without a global catalog to keep user information etc.

 

[mikemcintosh]

This is commonly misunderstood. You will install Active Directory, but in mixed mode, which means that you will continue to be able to interact and replicate with NT 4.0 domains. Native mode is pure Active Directory. So, when you get to that screen, press on.

Windows 2000 has another means of storing user and other object information, so while some people in your organization may think that it is just the same old domain, it really isn't. When everything is upgraded, you can switch to native mode and take advantage of additional security and better, more hierarchical control of the objects in your domain.

Cheers,

Mike I

 

[ianf]

Benito,

Having recently gone through this from beginning to end, this is what I have learnt.

W2k doesn't know what a PDC is. Active Directory doesn't have this concept of Primary & Backup domain controllers.

There seems to be no way around using Active Directory if you want to retain any useful functionality from you domain controllers.

In order to migrate from an NT4 domain to a W2K domain, you will have to use W2K with Active Directory installed in Mixed mode. This will allow it to interact with you existing PDC/BDC setup. As your migration progresses, your next stop will be to have moved all you servers over to W2K running Active Directory in Mixed mode. Once you have no NT4 domain controllers left, you can switch your W2K servers from Mixed mode to Native mode in order to use all the functionality of Active Directory.

Hope this helps Ian

"IF" is not a word it's a way of life