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Does changing server platforms entail recreating domain from scratch?

What is the best way of migrating from our existing server hardware to a new hardware platform? Are we better off just recreating our entire domain from scratch with a fresh install of the operating system, Active Directory, etc., on the new servers? Or is there a smarter way of doing it? We are working with Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003.

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If all you are doing is replacing server hardware, you shouldn't need to create a brand new domain from scratch unless there are other requirements you haven't mentioned.

Particularly in a Windows 2000/2003 environment, you can simply introduce the new server hardware as an additional domain controller within your existing environment, and then transfer any FSMO or other service roles and decommission old hardware over time.

This was first published in December 2006

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