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A child domain is created when you take a member server from scratch and
promote it into the existing forest while opting to make it a DC in a new
child domain. If you are implying taking the other company's DC and trying
to make it a domain controller in a child domain in your infrastructure, it
will not work. That's not how AD works.
Also, I understand you can config your Exchange 2000 server to accept mail
for their domain, but what about the users? I suggest to create an OU or a
child domain, whatever you prefer, and use ADMT, (which you need to createa
trust to their domain anyway), and choosing to retain their SID Histories,
to migrate their users, passwords, groups, and computers into your domain.
Then mail-enable the new accounts. Then use the Exmerge to 2 step method
pumping out the emails from their users' mailboxes into PSTs (it names them
based on the alias) and use that to populate the mailboxes you just enabled.
This way the users have all their emails, desktop profiles, etc. You can
co-exist as you plan to do it in batches, which the SID histories allow the
newly created users to still be able to access their old domain. This is the
cleanest method.
The following are links to explain in more detail about migrations and ADMT.
Download details Active Directory Migration Tool v.2.0:
http://microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=788975b1-5849-47...
326480 - How to Use Active Directory Migration Tool Version 2 to Migrate
from Windows 2000 to Windows Server 2003 (it doesn't matter if going from
2000 to 2003, NT4 to 2000, 2000 to 2000, or 2003 to 2003, the procedure is
the same:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=326480
How to configure the Active Directory Migration Tool to migrate user
passwords from a Windows NT 4.0 domain to a Windows Server 2003 domain (can
be used for your scenario):
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/832221/en-us
How to use a SID mapping file with the ADMT tool to perform a resource
domain migration to Windows Server 2003http://support.microsoft.com/kb/835991/en-us
How to use the Exchange Migration Wizard to migrate mailboxes from an
Exchange organizationhttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/328871/en-us
A comparison of the migration methods for migrating from Exchange Server 5..5
to Exchange Server 2003 or to Exchange 2000 Serverhttp://support.microsoft..com/kb/327928/en-us
You can also opt to use the ADC method, which was really created for Ex55 to
Ex 2000/2003 migrations, but I am not fond of, but is viable with larger
migrations such as yours. But honestly I have not tried the ADC for
migrations between Exchange 2000/2003 and Exchange 2000/2003.
ADC installation requirementshttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/253286/en-us
XGEN: How to Configure a Two-Way Recipient Connection Agreement for Exchange
Server 5.5 Usershttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/296260/en-us
How to configure a two-way recipient Connection Agreement for Exchange
Server 5.5 and Exchange Server 2003 usershttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/822921/en-us
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