Upgraded to Active Directory - Now what?

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Ok. I was running a NT Domain with 3 Domain Controllers, and also Exchange
5.5 I upgraded my Primary Domain Controller to 2000 AD and am running in
Mixed Mode. So right now I am in Mixed Mode, where do I go from.....from
here? How or what do I need to do to get everyone onto Active Directory?? Do
I need to get off Exchange 5.5 First? Do I need to build a Exchange 2000
Server first?
 
news.microsoft.com said:
Ok. I was running a NT Domain with 3 Domain Controllers, and also Exchange
5.5 I upgraded my Primary Domain Controller to 2000 AD and am running in
Mixed Mode. So right now I am in Mixed Mode, where do I go from.....from
here?
Click to expand...

Upgrade or replace the BDCs with Win2003/2000 DCs.

How or what do I need to do to get everyone onto Active Directory??
Click to expand...

In some sense they already are 'in AD' but you will want to remove those
BDCs as soon as practical.
Do I need to get off Exchange 5.5 First? Do I need to build a Exchange
2000 Server first?
Click to expand...

No.
 
So, I need to Upgrade the BDC's to 2000. Will they still act as Backup
Domain Controllers....if Upgrade them to 2000 I won't have any troubles
with authenication correct??

My BDC's are my Exchange 5.5 Servers. Can Exchange 5.5 run on Windows
2000??
 
news.microsoft.com said:
So, I need to Upgrade the BDC's to 2000.
Click to expand...

Yes or replace them with Win2000+ server and DCPromo to DC.
Will they still act as Backup Domain Controllers....
Click to expand...

They will then be "just DCs" -- there are no BDCs running Win2000+,
just DCs.

As long as the hardware supports the upgrade to Win2000+ you can
just buy and do the upgrade.

If not, you buy a new server (hardware and software), add it to the
domain, and DCPromo it to DC afterwards. (Unlike BDCs under
NT4 which become DCs during initial install.)
if Upgrade them to 2000 I won't have any troubles
with authenication correct??
Click to expand...

Not due to such upgrades. Most of the trouble with AD authentication
and Replication are caused by DNS problems.
My BDC's are my Exchange 5.5 Servers. Can Exchange 5.5 run on Windows
2000??
Click to expand...

Double check with the Exchange folks if that one can be upgraded to a DC
or must be a regular Server. (I am not an Exchance Expert. I can get buy
but don't know Exchance stuff for all the possibilities, esp, the older
upgrades.)
 
Herb said:
Yes or replace them with Win2000+ server and DCPromo to DC.


They will then be "just DCs" -- there are no BDCs running Win2000+,
just DCs.

As long as the hardware supports the upgrade to Win2000+ you can
just buy and do the upgrade.

If not, you buy a new server (hardware and software), add it to the
domain, and DCPromo it to DC afterwards. (Unlike BDCs under
NT4 which become DCs during initial install.)


Not due to such upgrades. Most of the trouble with AD authentication
and Replication are caused by DNS problems.


Double check with the Exchange folks if that one can be upgraded to a DC
or must be a regular Server. (I am not an Exchance Expert. I can get buy
but don't know Exchance stuff for all the possibilities, esp, the older
upgrades.)
Click to expand...
It is not recommended to run any Exchange server on a DC. You should
take this opportunity to move Exchange off the Domain Controller.

Exchange 5.5 will run on 2000. However I suggest that it would be a good
idea to upgrade - is 5.5 still supported?

I don't believe Exchange 5.5 can be upgraded in place, and even if it
can I would recommend a migration rather than an upgrade. Install
Exchange 2000 on another box and move all mailboxes and public and
system folders to it.

It's been a long time since I did this, and I *know* there's a couple of
gotchas, so research it well. And as Herb says, the Exchange newsgroups
would be better for such questions.

Cheers,

Cliff
 
news.microsoft.com said:
Ok. I was running a NT Domain with 3 Domain Controllers, and also Exchange
5.5 I upgraded my Primary Domain Controller to 2000 AD and am running in
Mixed Mode. So right now I am in Mixed Mode, where do I go from.....from
here? How or what do I need to do to get everyone onto Active Directory?? Do
I need to get off Exchange 5.5 First? Do I need to build a Exchange 2000
Server first?
Click to expand...

You already have Active Directory, once you have a 2000/2003 domain
controller. You can start applying Group Policy and organizing your
users and computers into OUs as well as delegating authority to manage
the OUs (if you like). There are a couple of features not available
until to switch to native mode (after getting rid of the NT4 BDCs), such
as Universal Groups. But for the most part, you're there.

Make sure you have DNS setup correctly - in my experience many people
think that just because they can access a web site they have DNS setup
properly - this is VERY wrong. If you're not thoroughly familiar with
the importance of DNS in an Active Directory Domain, you should probably
have a look over some of the links on my DNS page -
http://www.lwcomputing.com/tips/static/dns.asp

I don't know about running Exchange 5.5 on a 2000/2003 box either - as
suggested, you would be better off asking that question in an Exchange
group. But it IS best practice to NOT put exchange on a DC.

And remember, in a Native Mode AD Domain, there is no PDC or BDC -
everything is a DC. There are 5 FSMO master roles, but they can and in
some cases should be broken up and placed on different servers.
 
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