Hi, please can someone assist me in moving AD from my DC. I know basically how to but i need to know the correct steps to follow in order not to mess it up.thanks

Run dcpromo, follow the prompts. If you're not killing the domain, be sure you have another DC online before you dcpromo the machine in question.

please can you send me screenshots, i dont want to mess it up

Hi itfreak Don't run dcpromo!. Let us undestand the scenario first. *Is this the Primary Domain controller? If so, you should first transfer FSMO roles *Is Exchange running on that server? *Are there any additional DCs in network? *Is DNS installed in other DCs? *Are there any other authorized DHCP servers? Regards

Hi *yes it is the Primary Dc, dont understand what is FSMO roles and how to do that *no exchange on this server, we have scalix for our exchange not on this box *we have a backup dc2 *no, DNS is on this primary DC *this is the DHCP server and AD runs on this box. can you assist em with a step by step guide how to do this. dont want to mess this up as i just got this job.

Sure. Let me understand one thing. Do you want to move AD to a new server box? Or you want to remove AD from this server and let the backup dc2 run alone?

I basically want my current primary DC to still be the DC and i want to move AD from the current DC and put it on a Windows 2003 Server.

A server can not be a DC if you move AD from it. Do you want this server to be a member of domain just like other clients? And do you have a new server box to move AD to, or you want dc2 to be the PDC and the only DC?

I guess im just confused at the request from IT Manager. he basically has a DC with AD and other software. We dont really have Exchange on it because we use Scalix that handles our Exchange via a linux box. He told me the Dc is taking straing so we need to either upgrade it or move stuff out

Please confirm the following via your IT Manager 3 Server boxes Box 1=PDC Box 2=DC2 Box 3=Scalix And you want to demote Box 1 and use for your other purposes, correct?

three boxes correct but we dont want to demote PDC, we still want it to be PDC but i thought we could move AD from it to mske it perform better but you just said it cannot be removed.

Active Directory installation is what makes a ordinary server a Domain Controller. Moving/Removing Active Directory means demoting a Domain Controller to an ordinary server Being a Domain Controller doesnt realy use much system resource, so Moving/Removing Active Directory wont make a performance difference at all. Do you think that server is slow?

Yeah, the server is slow. we have two options, either upgrade the current server or move the entire DC and AD to a different better spec server. Not sure? If we move it, how do i do it.

Here is a full guide for moving http://msmvps.com/blogs/systmprog/archive/2006/11/01/Moving-FSMO-roles_2C00_-DNS-and-DHCP-from-one-Domain-Controller-to-another-Domain-Controller-machine_2E00_.aspx For performance, check CPU utilization, available physical RAM and currently used RAM, disk fragmentation Regards

Please accept the post as an answer which resolved/guided to right direction your issue Regards

hi Mr HusyYesterday i posted an Ad asking for help in moving AD out of DC. Ok, i wasnt too clear about it. What i want to do is i have a current DC that has 180Gig storage space with DNS/AD/DHCP setup. It also has telephone software, Pastel and Backup software. the server is running out of space but my manager doesnt want to upgrade that server, he rather wants me to move the entire DC and all software to another box that has 400Gig storage space. Please can someone provide me with a step by step procedure on how to do this. Please dont miss out steps as i am new to this and its also a new job and i dont want to mess it up. I also think its best to backup the current DC incase the move doesnt go well. please help!!!

Ok, Will be a long topic First of all, you should do a workaround about possible side effects of the operation. *Call thelephone software IT, and the backup software(Veritas?) IT and ask them if the operation you are about to start would affect anything(computername and IP change)? Will any clientside changes be required or not. *Are there any roaming profiles set? Is this also a file server(users connect to shares?) *Take a full backup of server. Verify the backup. If an identical test server exists that is not connected the same network, try restoring the backup on it *If possible, try to contact previous system admin and learn possible existing services that are crtical for domain that IT Manager doesnt know. Then we would start migration Regards

Hi i did speak to the 3rd party software companies and they said if there is a problem they would fix it so thats not my main issue. Can i use Ghost to backup the DC and just restore the image on the new box. Will this work with all settings correct or will i ahve issues.

Sure, ghost can handle it. Take a drive image. Just in case, take a full backup including system state etc via Microsoft Backup. As I remember, ghost version 11 is compatible with RAID drives. If you have a RAID configuration, make sure your ghost version is compatible with RAID Post when ready and we will start the migration Regards

great, so as long as i ghost the server, i can use that image to restore to new box and have the new DC running without any problems. Do i still need to configure FSMO's or use DCpromo if i ghost and restore. Also, if i restore this image to a 3rd server, can that server be a backup DC, how do i configure it for backup Dc after the restore

Ghost image can only be restored on identical server hardware with the original server. So if the new server has the same hardware with your old server (Cpu, motherboard, or server model. HDD and RAM doesnt have to be identical). Restoring to different hardware is an ability of Acronis True image, not ghost. You wont have to transfer FSMOS DNS and DHCP etc if restore is successfull.

Ok thanks, so if i use Acronis true image, after restoring do i need to worry about AD not working or any other tasks not working or will everything be identical to the current DC. Also, where can i get a free copy of Acronis

I never performed this task with Acronis actually but everything should be OK, dont have to worry about AD and software. I am afraid Acronis is not free, and evaluation versions do not performthis task.We better go on moving manually.

I have used Acronis to do this in a test lab, but never on production. I would like to say that most backup software can tell when they have been moved to different hardware, and have a fit in regards to licensing. I would also "gently" like to suggest the best course of action would be to have an outside consultant do this for you, sense you seem very unsure of AD in general. Thanks, J.G.

Thanks for the advice but i guess you were not following the discussion. Its a new job for me and i have to prove myself. What good would another consultant achieve when my future is at stake. Thats why i came onto this forum for guidance. besides, how would i ever learn if someone else does it. its like asking another person to go write an exam for me. Anyway, thanks for the advice. I will attempt it rather than failing to try

John How about leaving a step by step ad migration topic in Technet so in future, other IT people who may need this,use? itfreak, If you completed backing up, lets start migration. Good to go?