What will shock me most?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mark N.
  • Start date Start date
M

Mark N.

When I upgrade to AD, what will initially shock me the most? Mind you, I've
been managing NT4 domains for a very long time and am very comfy with poking
around and configuring them. When I upgrade to AD, what will look/act
differently right off the bat? I mean, for instance, when I browse my
network will something stand out? Will my users suddenly call me Monday
morning with questions like, "Hey, this looks different?"

Just wondering...

Thanks,
Mark

I am hoping that my event logs will stop displaying those W32Time errors -
those should go away?
 
I found (and your mileage may vary) that my users didn't notice the change
at all.

-You-, however, will need to learn an entirely new set of administrative
tools, as well as a new way of thinking about/organizing your network
resources. NT4 is a flat database structure where everything exists within
single domains with trust relationships built between them. Active
Directory creates a hierarchical domain structure that allows you to
organize resources and delegate administration in ways that NT4 would never
allow.

Go to www.minasi.com and get thee a copy of Minasi's 2000/2003 bible. It's
a big heavy scary-looking book, but it's a good read and quite informative.
 
Hi Mark,

There are certainly others in this great forum with more experience on the
difference between NT4 & an AD network, so I'll leave that to them...but
here are some links worth checking out about AD:

Step-by-step Guide to Active Directory Sites and Services:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/planning/activedirectory/adsit
es.asp

How to verify an Active Directory Installation (win2003):
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;816106

How to verify an Active Directory Installation
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;298143


And here's some on w32time errors (that I do have plenty of experience
with:~>): keep in mind that these deal with w2k...not sure if there's been
any changes for time service in '03.

Basic Operation of the Windows Time Service:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;224799

How to configure an Authoritative Time Server in Windows 2000:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;216734

Window Time Service White Paper:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/docs/wintimeserv.doc
 
There are certainly others in this great forum with more experience on the
difference between NT4 & an AD network, so I'll leave that to them...but
here are some links worth checking out about AD:
Click to expand...


Whew! Thanks for the info!!

Mark
 
When I upgrade to AD, what will initially shock me the most? Mind you, I've
been managing NT4 domains for a very long time and am very comfy with poking
around and configuring them. When I upgrade to AD, what will look/act
differently right off the bat? I mean, for instance, when I browse my
network will something stand out? Will my users suddenly call me Monday
morning with questions like, "Hey, this looks different?"
Click to expand...
If you are not strong on DNS, get some experience now. DNS is now a
major part of Active Directory, and you *must* run a DNS server. You
can't point all your clients at your ISP's DNS servers.

That and the toolset are the major differences. And think of your DCs
as database servers. When backing them up System State is important
for that reason.

Cheers,

Cliff
 
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