Recipe 2.8 Renaming a Domain
2.8.1 Problem
You want to rename a domain
due to organizational changes or
legal restrictions because of an acquisition. Renaming a domain is a
very involved process and should be done only when absolutely
necessary. Changing the name of a domain can have an impact on
everything from DNS, replication, and GPOs to DFS and Certificate
Services. A domain rename also requires that all domain controllers
and member computers in the domain are rebooted!
2.8.2 Solution
Under Windows 2000, there is no supported process to rename a domain.
There is one workaround for mixed-mode domains in which you revert
the domain and any of its child domains back to Windows NT domains.
This can be done by demoting all Windows 2000 domain controllers and
leaving the Windows NT domain controllers in place. You could then
reintroduce Windows 2000 domain controllers and use the new domain
name when setting up Active Directory. The process is not very clean
and probably won't be suitable for most situations,
but you can find out more about it in MS KB 292541.
A domain rename procedure is supported if a forest is running all
Windows Server 2003 domain controllers and is at the Windows Server
2003 forest functional level. Microsoft provides a rename tool
(rendom.exe) and detailed white
paper describing the process at the following location:
- http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/downloads/domainrename.mspx
2.8.3 Discussion
The domain rename process can accommodate very complex changes to
your domain model. You can perform the following types of renames:
Rename a domain to a new name without repositioning it in the domain
tree. Reposition a domain within a domain tree. Create a new domain tree with a renamed domain.
One thing you cannot do with the domain rename procedure is
reposition the forest root domain. You can rename the forest root
domain, but you cannot change its status as the forest root domain.
Another important limitation to note is that you cannot rename any
domain in a forest that has had Exchange 2000 installed. A future
service pack release of Exchange Server 2003 will reportedly handle
domain renames. See the web site mentioned in the solution for
more
information on other limitations.
2.8.4 See Also
MS KB 292541 (How to: Rename the DNS name of a Windows 2000 Domain)
|