New Win2003 DC, what happens to old Win2000 DC?

[Guest]

I have a single forest, single domain with one Windows 2000 domain
controller. I want to add one Windows 2003 Server and make it a domain
controller.

I know to prepare the Windows 2000 DC by running adprep/forestprep and
adprep/domainprep, then run DCPromo on the Windows 2003 server (as outlined
in MS KB Article 325379).

I can't upgrade the Windows 2000 server to Windows 2003 just yet.

My questions: What happens to my Windows 2000 DC? Will it still be a DC? I'd
like to have it as backup for the Windows 2003 DC.

 

[Eric Fleischman [MSFT]]

Hello,

Yes, it'll absolutely still be a DC. The only limitation is that you can't
increase the domain or forest functional level to something above what a
2000 DC can support (such as 2003 domain/forest functional level). This
might nto matter to you in the short term....recall that functioanl level
just "turns on" new features that we added to AD when only 2003 and such is
present. But in the future, increasing functional level might be something
you want to do.

So the short answer is, you can have a mix of 2k and 2k3 DCs no problem.

~Eric

 

[Guest]

Eric -- That's good news and thanks for the quick reply!