AD newbie / questions

[Steve Grosz]

I have been running just DNS on my Win2003 server for a while now, know
how it works, how to add records, etc., and am cofortable with it.

Now I'm thinking about exending it so it does AD as well. I guess I'm a
little nervous about this as I haven't worked with AD before, so can
someone tell me where I can find a step-by-step process to do this?

Also, what risks am I taking by doing this? This is a production DNS
server, and I can't afford to have anything happen to it.

What are the benefits of running AD? Besides Exchange, which I'd like
to install on a different machine at some point.

What are the pitfalls?

Thanks so much!

Steve

 

[Ryan Hanisco]

If you can't afford risks then don't take them.

You'll need to get books on AD and Windows 2000/2003 and spend some serious
time with this before implementing this. There are loads of docs covering
best practices, but this really isn't the best route if you are working on
production equipment. Hire someone to do this for you and learn from them
as they go.

 

[Ace Fekay [MVP]]

In

I have been running just DNS on my Win2003 server for a while now,
know how it works, how to add records, etc., and am cofortable with
it.
Now I'm thinking about exending it so it does AD as well. I guess
I'm a little nervous about this as I haven't worked with AD before,
so can someone tell me where I can find a step-by-step process to do
this?
Also, what risks am I taking by doing this? This is a production DNS
server, and I can't afford to have anything happen to it.

What are the benefits of running AD? Besides Exchange, which I'd like
to install on a different machine at some point.

What are the pitfalls?

Thanks so much!

Steve

In addition to Ryan's response, I would recommend attending a course on AD.
Here's an excellent 5 day hands-on course that is very informative about AD
and DNS with very good interactive labs. If you mess up the machines, the
instructor can reset them for you or you can fix them yourself to understand
how and why, instead of experimenting on your own machines. The instructor
is a good resource as well for emails, etc.

Planning, Implementing, and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003
Active Directory Infrastructure
Course 2279-Five days-Instructor-led
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/syllabi/en-us/2279Bfinal.mspx

If you need info on where to attend, email me (acefekay at hotmail) your
location and I will see what centers are around you that I can recommend.


--
Regards,
Ace

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and confers no rights.

Ace Fekay, MCSE 2003 & 2000, MCSA 2003 & 2000, MCSE+I, MCT, MVP
Microsoft Windows MVP - Windows Server - Directory Services

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