Server Upgrade

Normally you would setup the new server as a BDC in the existing domain, copy over files and make other preparations, then promote it to PDC when you are ready to switch over.

Your biggest problem will be with scripts which explicitly name a share source. When you copy them over you can replace "FNSERVER" with "%LOGONSERVER%". Use "set" from a command prompt to see other system variables which may be substituted. Be sure to change user profile paths too.

You seem to want to avoid making changes of this type and would prefer to change the server's name instead. I suggest making the changes anyway. Then, you can replicate the shared files to another BDC, and if the PDC goes down, the scripts will run correctly on the BDC.

Forget about changing the new server's name after the old one is unplugged. Once a server is a domain controller, I'm pretty sure you can't change its name easily. Anyway, when you move your files from the old server to the new one, you will have to recreate your share names and permissions. I recommend using login scripts to map drives to share names (if mapping is desired or required); that way, all you need to do is change the login script to use the new server name instead of the old one. Other than that issue, the way to go is, as the previous answer says - set up your new server as a BDC on the current domain. This will replicate your domain security to the new server and you can easily copy all your files from the old to the newand recreate your shared folders and permissions. Then, create your login scripts; if you want to be sure that old drive mappings (to the old server) don't persist on your NT or Win2K workstations (if you have any), you can use the following command at the beginning of your login script: net use * /delete /y. This will remove any old drive mappings (9x workstations will ignore it). Then, creep in early in the morning (or late at night) when no one's on the system, and promote the BDC to PDC. I'd consider leaving the old server in place as a BDC anyway - this is a way to have some redundancy on a small network like yours. Hope this helps!

Well, I would do this,
You didn't say if this old server is a PDC, if it is then configure the new one as a BDC, install all the software on it, do all the test you want and once it is ready just unplug the old one, and PROMOTE the BDC as PDC, and you will still have the old server just in case so you can go back to the original situation.
In case this server is not a PDC then I hope you have a DNS Server, well, then configure your new server as you want, make all the test you want and then when you're ready with it take the old server down, and change the Entry on the DNS table, add a new registry and point the name of the old server to the new server, so, whenever someone try to find your old server they will see the new beacuse of theDNS.
In the worst escenario you don't have the old server as a PDC and you don't have any DNS server then it will take a little more work because when you new server is ready you'll have to change the entry on every workstation of your network.
Well, I hope it helps you.

@lberto

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