Domain Controllers and Win 2k3 SBS???

[jo8t1]

Hi guys,

I'm at my wits end trying to figure this all out, i've never set up a server before (it took me two days just to get Small Business Server 2003 installed) and i'm having more than a few problems.
The first of which is that i can't figure out where it decided it was gonna use the company name as the domain name and i need to call it something else.
The second problem i'm having is trying to figure out how to add a computer to the domain, i just seem to be going round in circles following those damn wizards and every once in a while it comes up with errors saying i'm not part of a domain or something to that equivalent
oh and wtf is a domain controller?
please can someone help??

[nichomach]

Whooo boy.

OK, a domain is a logical grouping of Windows servers and workstations. Within that, the workstations do exactly that, but servers may fulfil one of two different roles; they're either members or domain controllers, the difference being that domain controllers validate logins and member servers don't. Each domain must have at least one domain controller (and I'd say at least two for comfort). The workstations and member servers each have their own local user accounts database, but can submit logins to the domain controllers for validation; the DCs ONLY have the domain accounts database, no individual user accounts databases.

Are you trying to join this server to an existing network or is it going to be doing its own thing? As I recall, SBS by default installs itself in a new domain as a domain controller. The horrible thing about SBS is that you can't join an SBS server to an existing domain; it insists on being the root of a new forest. Renaming an SBS domain isn't possible, so far as I am aware; it's different to Windows Server 2003.

Adding workstations is basically a question of having a user account in the domain with the "Add workstations to domain" security right assigned to them. Then at the workstation right click on My Computer, choose Computer Name, Change, click the radio button for domain, put in the domain name and click OK. You'll then be prompted for the user account which you can provide in the format <domain>\user, and the password. These should be for the account with the "Add workstation to domain" user right.

[jo8t1]

Thanks nichomach! My boss is convinced that you can change the domain name and i'm sticking to the idea that you can't cos surely if you could someone would have written something about it other than the fact that you can't change it.

i successfully managed to add a computer to the domain so i'm feeling a bit happier and the terms you explained were really helpful, i'm getting completely lost with all the words they use in the manuals and on the software itself, least its only 15 mins to go before the weekend starts

[nichomach]

Your boss is...less than optimally correct ...

You can't change the domain name but if he's worried about mail delivery via the Exchange component he doesn't need to be; even if the internal name is mycompany.local or somesuch, you can accept mail for another "real" domain name by setting the recipient policies for Exchange. Ours is an Exchange2K server, but the principle's still the same. If that's what's giving him fits, tell him not to worry.

And amen on the weekend part...

[Stolly]

Personally if this boss of yours is giving this fairly important task to a guy who has never done this before then he's putting the both of you in a fairly intollerable situation.

I hope that you are not planning to put actual production data on this server because if the worst happens you are in a bad situation through no fault of your own. If i were you I wouldn't touch this with a barge pole until you have been on a training course or at the very least had some kind of training guide bought for you.

Whats next, is he going to ask you to service the brakes on his car, or perform open heart surgery on his missus ?

[jo8t1]

Stolly: hopefully i'll be out of this job as soon as another one comes thru cos i really don't think i'm qualified to look at a server let alone set the damn thing up but he seems to think i'm god when it comes to computers just cos i got a degree in compsci, i think if he knew my track record with the uni he'd be crying in a corner right about now!

oh and if by production data you mean stuff like email accounts then yeah we are, like i said, i'm hoping to leave soon and if it gets to the point where i think it's getting dangerously way over my head i might just leave and tell him i'm taking a permenant holiday

least i'm not still drunk this morning otherwise it could get really messy

[Jiff Lemon]

Easiest way to add machines to the domain is from the admin panel.
Click computers, set up client computers and add the machine names in.

Then from the client, click start, run, http://<servername>/connectcomputer

The machine will then run through a setup, joining the machine to the domain and assigning an applications you got assigned.

[jo8t1]

well thanks to all of you who offered me advice, i've managed to even connect up servers and computers in a nice little domain (and then got told to take them off cos they weren't ready to be moved yet )

any tips on moving user accounts in Exchange from win NT server to sbs 2003?

[Jiff Lemon]

Yup - Run like hell!

If you're struggling with setting up a basic 2k3 domain, then this could be a step too far for you.

However, there's an good article here (at the bottom) about doing it.

[jo8t1]

the little voices in my head are telling me to run away and join the great unemployment queue but still i soldier on...

[nichomach]

That's often the only way to learn, I'm afraid. Exchange mailbox migration is a much more complex little animal I'm afraid - if you don't have a lot of users to shift over, then I'd basically not try to migrate the mailboxes at all, but use Outlook on the victims...sorry, valued end users' machines to export the contents of the mailbox to PST files, create new mailboxes on the SBS box and import the PSTs once the users are set up to access those.

[Moby-Dick]

Exmerge all the way

its a bit messy , but it works

[nichomach]

Yes...but if the person is unfamiliar with the Exchange message store to begin with, it can be more than messy; also exmerging from Exchange 5.5 to 2003? Would you? With live data?

[Stolly]

Best way to migrate is to install the new 2003 server into the same org as the 5.5 server, install the ADC and then move the mailboxes accross using the mailbox move wizard in Users & Computers. This is the official MS way. I've done a number of large migrations with this strategy. It has minimal impact on the end users etc etc.

It is NOT the most straight forward way though. Exmerge would also work BUT you loose the single instance store (i saw a Exchange store go from 30gb to 70gb from this method) and the mailboxes you Exmerge back up wil loose the ability to reply to mails received prior to the migration since you've in effect deleted the mailboxes.

Seriously mate this is complicated stuff, every strategy has pros and cons and i've been doing Exchange migrations and upgrades since version 4.0.

Don't do it, you need help. If you can't afford to get professional help on this then you can't afford to do it full stop.

Your boss needs a reality check before he gets his arse burnt

[Stolly]

In addition to that you need to migrate the SMTP gateway to the new box, poke a hole through the firewall etc etc

Make sure its not an open relay, for gawds sake get some good AV software in there (i recommend Sybari Antigen) make sure you are on the latest security patches (ideally you need to run SUS internally)

How are you backing this up ?

How do you know that the backups can actually be restored ?

If you engage a professional consulting firm all this will be covered for you. I'm not going to shill for the one i work for but if the business you work for turns over say £1 million 3 days of downtime on the systems could cost £9 grand which would have paid the consultants fees with change to spare.

I feel for you, terrible situation to be in.

[jo8t1]

damn you're starting to scare me , i work for a little company, i think i can convince them that i am completely incompetent or just sit around reading the forums for long enuf procrastinating and whatnot until i either get the sack or another job!
you guys are so right tho this is way outta my league :|