Windows 2003 Server - Changing domain name

[Tom Del Rosso]

Is it possible and practical to change the LAN domain name, where there are
2 servers running 2003 Server, without reinstalling both servers from
scratch?

The problem is that the servers were configured with the dot-com name, at a
time when the company had no website. Now they have a website with that
name and they can't view their own site. (It wasn't me, I must say -- I
would have used dot-local.)

 

[Ron Lowe]

Is it possible and practical to change the LAN domain name, where there
are
2 servers running 2003 Server, without reinstalling both servers from
scratch?

The problem is that the servers were configured with the dot-com name, at
a
time when the company had no website. Now they have a website with that
name and they can't view their own site. (It wasn't me, I must say -- I
would have used dot-local.)

I'm assuming the domain name is something.com,
and the website is www.something.com.

You have several options.
The easiest is this:

1) Leave the domain name as it is.
Then in the DNS server, make an entry for the host 'www'.
Point that entry to the ( external? ) website IP address.



2) Windows server 2003 does support domain re-naming.
I'd only consider this as a last resort, and I'd not do it in your case.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/downloads/domainrename.mspx
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;819145

 

[Tom Del Rosso]

1) Leave the domain name as it is.
Then in the DNS server, make an entry for the host 'www'.
Point that entry to the ( external? ) website IP address.

2) Windows server 2003 does support domain re-naming.
I'd only consider this as a last resort, and I'd not do it in your

case.

Thanks much Ron. I will just add it to the DNS entries, but the rename
utility is noted for reference.