Migrating from NT4 to 2000 AD

[Guest]

Yes, you will have to install AD to make it a domain
controller. Is your NT4 server with the mission critcal a
DC? If not, the migrate that one to 2k at your convience.
This is the process we followed, we had a simple single
NT4 domain.

If you have more then one BDC, take one offline, shut it
down turn it off. If you only have one BDC, bring up
another for backup for the time being.

Upgrade in place your PDC to 2k, this way you can keep
your domain name, and will have your FSMO roles such as
PDC emulator for your down level clients. (If the upgrade
fails, you can take this offline, and bring the shutdown
BDC up, and promote it.)

Once the PDC is upgraded, upgrade the rest of your BDCs,
installing AD as you go making them part of the existing
domain. Do this as time and comfort level permits. All
the Win2k DC's are peers at this point, except for the
first DC you create in the 2k domain (the PDC) which will
again have your FSMO roles. I wouldn't bother using the
ADMT if its a simple domain transition. To answer your
last question, I'm not sure. We changed our domain to the
DNS suffix of our web presence to make things more
standardized. This can be done during the PDC upgrade.

-----Original Message-----
I am wanting to migrate a small single domain network to

Windows 2000 Server, and am determined to do it myself to
a) learn, b) be more confident, c) make myself more
marketable, and d) save paying anyone.

I have an old NT4 server with not a huge amount of space

available and obviously business critical, so I did not
want to upgrade in place on that server.

I have a new server in the waiting, and can install Win2k

Server no problem. I assume I will then have to install
Active Directory to make the new server a domain
controller.

Questions... there may be more....
If I use ADMT migration tool, can I use the same domain

name as I currently have. And if not, as I suspect, what
are domain naming standards, I simply use 'domain' now. Do
people tend to use their website address even if they do
not host themselves ??

 

[13th_Victor]

I just did this migration last night and it went very
smooth, I did leave one of the BDC's at NT4 because it is
running Exchange 5.5, so if there are NT4 machines they
can remain as member servers in a AD domain no
problem....I do have a question though on migration path
though....

now that the old PDC is a w2k AD DC, and because it was
first DC of new tree/new forest that means it hosts the
FSMO roles (right?), now how can I move these roles to my
other w2k DC (that was a clean w2k install) and do a clean
install of w2k on the old PDC?

I do not want to let w2k ride on top of NT4 install and
its dlls long, I only did this kind of migration because
of ease of use, and though easy and painless I dont like
the idea of w2k running on top of an old NT4 install,
feels bad...