Upgrade to new Win2K Server

[techjulie]

Here's the scenerio:
I have a NT 4.0 PDC (OLDADMIN),
2 NT 4.0 BDC,
2 2K Servers (file servers not DC),
and a new box waiting to be the new 2K Server DC).

Problem is the current PDC doesn't have enough room for a regular upgrade to 2K server. So I'm looking for other ways to keep my user accounts intact for the upgrade.

Brainstorm:
1) Make new box NT4.0 BDC
2) Syncing user accounts
3) Remove current PDC (OLD ADMIN) from network
4) Promote new box to PDC
5) Upgrade new box to 2K server

Anything wrong with this theory?

I haven't ever had PDC fall off a network.... since there will be several BDCs... I'm assuming that there will not be any sort of automatic promotion to PDC. I'll get to pick the machine to promote to PDC, correct?

Thanks for your help!!
-JN

 

[gbiello]

Looks good to me with the exception that I'd promote the new box to PDC before removing the old PDC from the network.
-gbiello

 

[techjulie]

Thanks!
As I understand it, the promotion of the new PDC, will at the same time demote the old PDC to BDC??
-JN

 

[emmertmr]

The steps you have outlined are okay. We are planning to do this very thing, yet this week. One thing we want to make certain, the new Win2K server, needs to have an active and working copy of the DNS zones.
So I would promote the new server to a PDC before upgrading to Win2K. Once that is done, make absolute certain that your new server has DNS installed and operational correctly. Other wise you will have some problems.

MRE