Need to "Clone" An AD

  • Thread starter Thread starter Hank Arnold
  • Start date Start date
H

Hank Arnold

I'm setting up a development domain on our network on a new server. Running
W2K Server w/TS and AD. Intent here is to provide a testbed for
updates/proposed changes/new software before we implement it on the
production domain. I want the AD on the server to be a copy of the current
AD on the production domain. It must be a separate thing. I don't want it as
a "backup" DC or to even interact with the original domain. I just want
people to be able to log into the test server and see the same environment
that they see on the production server. This doesn't have to be an automatic
procedure (would be nice, though). I'm willing to do it whenever we want to
do a "real" test of some change. No need to keep them in sync continuously.

Any ideas would be appreciated...
 
You could take a system state backup of a production DC and then do a
restore to your test server. Then all you would need to do is seize the FSMO
roles and configure a GC and DNS.
 
That should work well. Just make sure you completely
seperate them on every level possible. You could really
make things ugly if the dev touches the prod.

Something else I would do is if you have an replicating
partners setup, I would remove them all on the test
environment, that way there is no way that the bad data
could be mixed in with the good data.

-Jack
 
Hello Hank Arnold

You can use a tool called MOVETREE to move object between driffrent Active
Directory Trees.

//Christoffer Andersson
 
Excellent!! I was looking at going in that direction. I'm not familiar with
the terms FSMO and GC...... Could you elaborate? Thanks so much......
 
Thanks. Currently the development server is in it's own domain and is
serving as the DNS and AD server as well as the DC. The server is in the
same subnet as the production servers (192.168.1.xxx). is this "completely
separate" as you define it?

What are "replicating partners"? are you talking about secondary DC's in the
production domain? Currently the DC there is the only one. It is something
we are working on.......... As far as I'm aware, there are no servers
anywhere replicating from the production servers...
 
Thanks. Looks like a utility to keep in the toolbox. Looks like a "move
only" tool, though. What I want to do is "Copy" ...
 
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