DC upgrade to Win2008

Hi, we are planning on upgrading our Win Server 2003 primary DC to Windows
Server 2008. I have a few questions that I need to clear up and hope anyone
out there can shed some light on them.

-Firstly, will upgrading the PDC to Win2008 mean that secondary DC's need to
be upgraded to Win Server 2008 also?
-If the answer to the above is 'no', are there any disadvantages to not
upgrading?

Any advice would be great.
Many thanks
Mehds

Hello Mehdis,

You can run different OS DCs together without any problem. Only the functional
levels are limited with mixed DCs. You can only use the highest one from
the oldest OS DC.

Also you should consider installing the new OS DC on a separate server and
doing an inplace-upgrade, even if this is fully supported.
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mweber/archi...r-2008-r2.aspx

Best regards

Meinolf Weber
Disclaimer: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers
no rights.
** Please do NOT email, only reply to Newsgroups
** HELP us help YOU!!! http://www.blakjak.demon.co.uk/mul_crss.htm


> Hi, we are planning on upgrading our Win Server 2003 primary DC to
> Windows Server 2008. I have a few questions that I need to clear up
> and hope anyone out there can shed some light on them.
>
> -Firstly, will upgrading the PDC to Win2008 mean that secondary DC's
> need to be upgraded to Win Server 2008 also? -If the answer to the
> above is 'no', are there any disadvantages to not upgrading?
>
> Any advice would be great.
> Many thanks
> Mehd

Great. Got it. Thanks for the details Meinolf.

"Meinolf Weber [MVP-DS]" wrote:

> Hello Mehdis,
>
> You can run different OS DCs together without any problem. Only the functional
> levels are limited with mixed DCs. You can only use the highest one from
> the oldest OS DC.
>
> Also you should consider installing the new OS DC on a separate server and
> doing an inplace-upgrade, even if this is fully supported.
> http://msmvps.com/blogs/mweber/archi...r-2008-r2.aspx
>
> Best regards
>
> Meinolf Weber
> Disclaimer: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers
> no rights.
> ** Please do NOT email, only reply to Newsgroups
> ** HELP us help YOU!!! http://www.blakjak.demon.co.uk/mul_crss.htm
>
>
> > Hi, we are planning on upgrading our Win Server 2003 primary DC to
> > Windows Server 2008. I have a few questions that I need to clear up
> > and hope anyone out there can shed some light on them.
> >
> > -Firstly, will upgrading the PDC to Win2008 mean that secondary DC's
> > need to be upgraded to Win Server 2008 also? -If the answer to the
> > above is 'no', are there any disadvantages to not upgrading?
> >
> > Any advice would be great.
> > Many thanks
> > Mehds
>
>
> .
>

Just a bit of warning. If you are going to 2008 R2 then you have to
understand R2 only support 64 bit and you can't upgrade from 32 bit to 64
bit.

Even if you are only going to 2008 and using 32 bit, I would suggest you not
upgrade but instead flatten the dc and reinstall the o/s and then dcpromo.
Upgrading carries along all the previous patching and when you get to 2008
and beyond the system partition grows very quickly.

--
Paul Bergson
MVP - Directory Services
MCITP - Enterprise Administrator
MCTS, MCT, MCSE, MCSA, MCP, Security +, BS CSci
2008, Vista, 2003, 2000 (Early Achiever), NT4
Microsoft's Thrive IT Pro of the Month - June 2009

http://www.pbbergs.com

Please no e-mails, any questions should be posted in the NewGroups. This
posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties and confers no rights.
"Mehdis" <> wrote in message
news:EF9B1C2B-736E-443F-A027-...
> Hi, we are planning on upgrading our Win Server 2003 primary DC to Windows
> Server 2008. I have a few questions that I need to clear up and hope
> anyone
> out there can shed some light on them.
>
> -Firstly, will upgrading the PDC to Win2008 mean that secondary DC's need
> to
> be upgraded to Win Server 2008 also?
> -If the answer to the above is 'no', are there any disadvantages to not
> upgrading?
>
> Any advice would be great.
> Many thanks
> Mehds

Thanks for the warning + info Paul. We were planning on setting up a new
server for the 2008 DC. By 'flatten the dc' I assume you mean wipe the
server? Or is it AD terminology?

Thanks again.

"Paul Bergson [MVP-DS]" wrote:

> Just a bit of warning. If you are going to 2008 R2 then you have to
> understand R2 only support 64 bit and you can't upgrade from 32 bit to 64
> bit.
>
> Even if you are only going to 2008 and using 32 bit, I would suggest you not
> upgrade but instead flatten the dc and reinstall the o/s and then dcpromo.
> Upgrading carries along all the previous patching and when you get to 2008
> and beyond the system partition grows very quickly.
>
> --
> Paul Bergson
> MVP - Directory Services
> MCITP - Enterprise Administrator
> MCTS, MCT, MCSE, MCSA, MCP, Security +, BS CSci
> 2008, Vista, 2003, 2000 (Early Achiever), NT4
> Microsoft's Thrive IT Pro of the Month - June 2009
>
> http://www.pbbergs.com
>
> Please no e-mails, any questions should be posted in the NewGroups. This
> posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties and confers no rights.
> "Mehdis" <> wrote in message
> news:EF9B1C2B-736E-443F-A027-...
> > Hi, we are planning on upgrading our Win Server 2003 primary DC to Windows
> > Server 2008. I have a few questions that I need to clear up and hope
> > anyone
> > out there can shed some light on them.
> >
> > -Firstly, will upgrading the PDC to Win2008 mean that secondary DC's need
> > to
> > be upgraded to Win Server 2008 also?
> > -If the answer to the above is 'no', are there any disadvantages to not
> > upgrading?
> >
> > Any advice would be great.
> > Many thanks
> > Mehds
>
>
> .
>

Sorry, yeah reformat the drive.

--
Paul Bergson
MVP - Directory Services
MCITP - Enterprise Administrator
MCTS, MCT, MCSE, MCSA, MCP, Security +, BS CSci
2008, Vista, 2003, 2000 (Early Achiever), NT4
Microsoft's Thrive IT Pro of the Month - June 2009

http://www.pbbergs.com

Please no e-mails, any questions should be posted in the NewGroups. This
posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties and confers no rights.
"Mehdis" <> wrote in message
news:00514096-2CFD-47C1-9868-...
> Thanks for the warning + info Paul. We were planning on setting up a new
> server for the 2008 DC. By 'flatten the dc' I assume you mean wipe the
> server? Or is it AD terminology?
>
> Thanks again.
>
> "Paul Bergson [MVP-DS]" wrote:
>
>> Just a bit of warning. If you are going to 2008 R2 then you have to
>> understand R2 only support 64 bit and you can't upgrade from 32 bit to 64
>> bit.
>>
>> Even if you are only going to 2008 and using 32 bit, I would suggest you
>> not
>> upgrade but instead flatten the dc and reinstall the o/s and then
>> dcpromo.
>> Upgrading carries along all the previous patching and when you get to
>> 2008
>> and beyond the system partition grows very quickly.
>>
>> --
>> Paul Bergson
>> MVP - Directory Services
>> MCITP - Enterprise Administrator
>> MCTS, MCT, MCSE, MCSA, MCP, Security +, BS CSci
>> 2008, Vista, 2003, 2000 (Early Achiever), NT4
>> Microsoft's Thrive IT Pro of the Month - June 2009
>>
>> http://www.pbbergs.com
>>
>> Please no e-mails, any questions should be posted in the NewGroups. This
>> posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties and confers no rights.
>> "Mehdis" <> wrote in message
>> news:EF9B1C2B-736E-443F-A027-...
>> > Hi, we are planning on upgrading our Win Server 2003 primary DC to
>> > Windows
>> > Server 2008. I have a few questions that I need to clear up and hope
>> > anyone
>> > out there can shed some light on them.
>> >
>> > -Firstly, will upgrading the PDC to Win2008 mean that secondary DC's
>> > need
>> > to
>> > be upgraded to Win Server 2008 also?
>> > -If the answer to the above is 'no', are there any disadvantages to not
>> > upgrading?
>> >
>> > Any advice would be great.
>> > Many thanks
>> > Mehds
>>
>>
>> .
>>