Failing DNS/DHCP/WINS Server, how do I replace it? 1

[rvchan]

Hello all,

Currently, we have a windows 2000 server that runs as a DNS / DHCP / WINS / DC server for our West Coast division. This server however is really old, and it seems to be locking up very frequently. I have a spare windows 2003 server that can replace our dying server however, I do not even know where to begin!

On the 2003 server, I already installed and configured DNS, WINS, DC and DHCP (DHCP can't be configured for some reason because it says it is overlaping on the IP address from our 2000 server).

After all the configurations on the 2003 server, I tried to shutdown the 2000 server. This caused a lot of problems... users could not get their emails and access programs etc...

My question to all is - is there an easy way to do this or a guide somewhere to replace my aging server??

Regards,
Ray.

 

[chipk]

Your main problem is going to be with DHCP, but you can work around them. Couple questions: how many scopes do you have and what are their IP ranges?

 

[rvchan]

We currently only have 1 scope that is being controlled by the windows 2000 machine xxx.xxx.xxx.1 - xxx.xxx.xxx.254

 

[chipk]

Microsoft has their way of doing things, which can be found here

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/325473,

but I prefer a phased approach instead of doing the export/import/migration process.

How many actual machines do you have on that segment? The ideal thing to do would be to split the scope between the two servers, if you could manage that with your number of clients. So, let's say you have 100 clients on that segment. The 2000 DHCP could be changed to hand out addresses xxx.xxx.xxx.1 - xxx.xxx.xxx.125 (you'd want to change your lease time to a day). The 2003 DHCP could then be configured with xxx.xxx.xxx.126 - xxx.xxx.xxx.254.

This article has some good information about splitting scopes for redundancy, but much of the information still applies to you:

http://technet2.microsoft.com/windo...5ab8-4427-89cc-e2a92ee561611033.mspx?mfr=true

The process would look something like this:

-Enable WINS on 2003 server and add option to DHCP in 2000 server to hand that out to clients.
-Ditto for DNS.
-Split your scope between the 2000 and 2003 server.
-Change lease duration to 1 day.
-After 2 days, turn off DHCP on 2000 server, when clients renew their address they will get it from the 2003 server, and after that you can extend the scope again if necessary to include all 254 addresses.

Those last two steps may seem cumbersome, but that's how you will prevent address conflicts.

 

[chipk]

Sorry, I just realized that you'll also want to turn enable conflict detection during this process, and leave it on permanently, if you don't have it on already. That also helps to mitigate conflicts, but it's not fool-proof.

http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver/en/library/4950c160-33e0-4c7a-a0c8-ece07458699b1033.mspx

 

[rvchan]

Thank you chip for the advice!

I will try this over the weekend. I will update what happens in the next few days.

Much thanks for your wisdom

 

[chipk]

No problem. I've made a couple assumptions myself, such as that you're either using DDNS or have already replicated your static records from the 2000 DNS to the 2003 DNS. If that's not true, you'll want to make that happen. You may also want to set up replication push/pull partnership in WINs between the two servers, but probably not totally necessary. WINS is just pretty much plug and play in a small environment like this.

 

[GlenJohnson]

ChipK has covered it pretty good. If you have any problems, don't post them here. Post them indivually and we'll cover them one at a time as individual items. That way things won't get mucked up. Good luck.

Glen A. Johnson
Johnson Computer Consulting

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http://www.fred08.com/index.aspx

 

[rvchan]

Thank you ChipK - the guide you provided worked wonderfully. All seems to be running well!

Best regards!

 

[chipk]

Outstanding.