We are in an NT4 domain structure, preparing to migrate to active directory. We are combining 20 domains into one. I am on the small end of this, Administrator of one of the 20 domains, and will not be involved in, or responsible for the Domain controllers. All I have to do is prepare our servers and workstations for the migration.
We have two Windows 2003 servers and one Windows 2000 server. The Windows 2000 server is used as a print server, and as static storage (the data does not change… just installed from DVD quarterly.) Hardware compatibility and performance are not issues (HP DL360 Dual 3.2 ghz Xeon, 1 gig ram).
My boss wants me to upgrade the print server to 2003 prior to the migration. I agree. But I want to do an “upgrade” and he thinks we should do a fresh install.
My reasoning is the print server. If I do a fresh install, it’s going to have a different SID, so even if I name the server to it’s old name and restore the print shares, the clients are going to have to reinstall their network printers (actually, WE are going to have to…)
I could understand it if we were talking an NT4 server, but is there really that much difference between 2000 and 2003 that an in-place upgrade wouldn’t work?
And is the before migration a good idea, or would waiting be better?