NT4 and 2000 DNS

[RobG2001]

I'm in the need of replacing my PDC with a different box because of lack of resources (it's also a fax server). It's going to be a Win 2k server so I would like to know if this is a good time to go to AD and DNS. I only have the PDC and one BDC at this location so if I make this a plain Win 2k server, I'll be down to one DC at the main office. Any recommendations would be appreciated. I can't keep the original server because of lack of rack space.

TIA
Robert

 

[Seaspray0]

If you are planning to add a new computer and make it a 2000 domain controller in your NT environment, the method is as follows: Install NT server on the new computer and make it a BDC. Promote it to PDC and then upgrade it to 2000, making it a 2000 Domain Controller. You will preserve your SIDs. Active directory requires DNS to function, but nothing says you still can't use WINS resolution like you always have. The 2000 server will work fine with an NT server (PDC/BDC operations). It will operate in "mixed mode" (NT DC's in the environment). Should you upgrade the other NT DCs to 2000, you can switch to "native mode" which enables features available only in 2000. The decision is up to you what to do but keep in mind the improvements available to you over an operating system that was written before windows 95.

 

[RobG2001]

How about DNS planning? I've Microsoft articles about using subdomains but I've read about using .local domains. Any suggestions?

 

[egolds]

We did a similar re-configuration. We had the file server on the same box as our PDC and I wanted to separate it. Upgrading to 2000 at the same time. I built an NT box as BDC promoted to PDC and then upgraded to 2K worked very well. The only additional piece of advice I would give is to give the box a couple of days to act as the NT PDC before upgrading to 2000. I've heard of some nightmare situations when it was all done at one sitting because of replication issues.

We have a ISP acting as our DNS so our internal DNS is a .local If your situation matches just add the forwarders.

You don't mention your DHCP (I'll assume you are using one)but I would use the new 2000 DHCP so that it can automatically register the IP addresses with the DNS. Moving DHCP servers is a pretty stright forward process.

Those were the main issues we had. It went very well with no glitches.