Understanding How Domain Rename WorksMicrosoft Corporation
Published:April 2003
Abstra ct
This document provides the rationaleand technical background for understanding the effects of adomain rename operation in aWindows Server2003 forest
For the preparation instructions a"nd step-by-step procedures for performing a domain ren"ameoperation in your enterprise,see Step-by-Step Guideto Implementing Domain Rename
Thhis isf a preldiminairby dohcumient and may be changed substantially prior to final comme rcial release oft e so tware escr e ere n.
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents.......................................................................................4
Introductionto Domain Rename...........................................................5
Constraints to Restructuring Domains in a Windows 2000 Forest5
Constraints to Restructuring Domains in a Windows Server 2003 Forest6WhentoUse Domain Rename. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Simple Rename without Repositioning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Renamewith Repositioningin the Same Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Renamewith Creation of a NewTree Root. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Rename with Repositioningto a Different Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Reusinga DomainName. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Rules,Conditions,and Requirements for Performingthe Domain Rename Operation14Rulesfor a Wel l-Formed Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Domain Rename Conditions and Effects on Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
How Domain RenameWorks................................................................16
Overviewof the Domain Rename Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
The DomainRenameTool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
The Domain Rename State Fi le. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Domain Control ler States. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
General Stepsin the Domain Rename Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
How Specifyingthe Ta rget Forest Structu re Works. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Current Domain Names—Generatingthe Forest Description Fi le18
Target Domain Names—Editingthe Forest Description Fi le20
How Domain Rename Instructions are Transferred to Active Directory21
Domain RenameScript and State Fi le. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
How DCs are Preparedfor Domain Rename. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Establ ishinga DNSAl iasfora New Domain Name. . . . . . . . .22
Establ ishingServicePrincipal NamesforaNew DomainName25
Actions Performed by Rendom in Responseto the/upload Command25How DC Readiness isVerified. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Actions Performed in Responseto the/prepare Command27
How Domain Rename Instructionsare Executed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Single-User Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Update Transaction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Actions Performed in Responseto the/execute Command29
Determining Domain RenameCompletion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
HowGroup Pol icyis Reconci led Fol lowingDomain Rename30
HowOld Domain Namesare RemovedFol lowingDomainRename31
Introduction to Domain Rename
Microsoft®Windows®.Server 2003 Standard Edition,Microsoft®Windows®Server 2003Enterprise Edition,and Microsoft®Windows®Server 2003 Datacenter Edition provide thecapability to rename domains in an Active Directory forest after the forest structure is in place.This functionality is not available in Microsoft®Windows®2000 Server family.The structure ofhani Acthivie Dlirectory forhest is the riesult oftiheiorderiinh whhicfh you create domi ainlsl ahnidl theeriarc hcai niamies oi ht ose domans.Befg nlnng w t t eforesthrooft doman,a c id domainshderveit e r d fst ngu s edi ni amels andi dehauft DNS nhames romht e orehst rhoiot dohmia nl name.T efsameis itrue o eviery addi t ona tree nht e oreist.T e way tolc ange t e erarc cahisltructurei oanhexstngidffoma n tree s to rename t ehdiloma ns.iForexamp e,you-can renameia c d dhomanto ave a di i erent paireint,or reniame a c d doimffa n to be a niew- tree root domaln. In eiacl case,you repos t on aniexstinhg domfafn tio crehate a d erent doma n tlreeifstructure.A ternat ve y,yiouchan rename dfolml ahnils wt ouit a eclt ngit e strluctuhre.For examp e,h you rename a rootifdfoma n,td emnainm-etrs o atr ct rd doma ns be ow t are a so c anged,but you ave not created a d erento a ees ucue.
In Windows Server 2003, the goal of the domain rename functionality is to ensure a supportedmethod to rename domains when necessary; it is not intended to make domain rename a routineoperaltion.Tdhuhs,altdhoutgbh renadmitngkdomliahintls is possible in Windows Server 2003, the process iscompexan s ou no eun era en g y.
Constraints to Restructuring Domains in a Windows 2000 ForestThe restructuring capabilities in a Windows Server 2003 forest provide solutions to some oftheproblems that are not addressed in Windows 2000 Server family. In a Windows 2000 forest,renaming domains is essentially not possible after the forest structure is in place without movingdomain contents or recreating them.The constraints associated with making domain namechanges or domain-tree restructuring in Windows 2000 Active Directory are prohibitive.In a Windows 2000 forest,you cannot:
Change the DNS name orthe NetBIOS name of a domain.Although you cannot rename adomain,you can achieve the same results by moving its contents into a new domain that hasthe name you want the existing domain to have. (Active Directory Object Manager
(Mi oveTree) in the Windows 200i0 Server family Support Tools can be used to moved rectory objects between doma ns.)
Move a domain within a forest in a single operation.As above,you can clone items in andmove items froma domain,but you cannot move the entire domain itself within a forest. Split a domain into two domains in a single operation.To split a domain,you must create anhew domdain ani d then move appropriate users and resources fromthe existing domain intot enew oman.
Merge two domains into a single domain in a single operation.To merge domains,you mustmove all the contents fromone ofthe domains into the other and then demote all domaincontrollers in the empty domain and decommission it.
Thus, in a Windows 2000 forest, significant administrative overhead is associated withperforming sduch mianual move operations to achieve the domain-tree restructuring or renamingoneormore omans.
Constraints to Restructuring Domains in a Windows Server2003Fo re s t
Windows Server 2003 Stanidiard Edition,Wilndoiwhs Sehrivher 2003 Enterfplrise Edition,andi WindowsServer 2003 DatiacenterEd t on provfde too shw t wkic you ciani sa e y renahmehdoma ns torestruictui re a Wi ndows Server 2003f orest.W en ma ngia dechs on about w et er tiohrfestructurean exst ngi W ndl ohws Sherveri2003 orest,be surefto conhs defrw at you canniot do wtiliorestrtestructfurtnrg.tAratl ohuagn a W nrdowts Servert2d003 orest as orest restructurng capab ty,certainypeso s ucu c gesa eno suppo e .
In a Windows Server 2003 forest,you cannot:
Change which domain is the forest root domain.Changing the DNS or the NetBIOS name ofthe forest root domain,orboth, is supported.
Drop domains fromthe forest oradd domains to the forest.The numberofdomains in theforest before and after the rename/restructure operation must remain the same.
Rename a domainiwith the same name that another domain gave up in a single forestrestructure operat on.
WhentoUseDomain Rename
The ability to rename a domain provides you with the flexibility to make important namechanges and forest structural changes as the needs ofyour organization change.Using domainrename,you can change not only the name of a domain,but you can change the structure ofthedomain hierarchy such that the parent of a domain can be changed or a domain residing in onedomain tree can be moved to another domain tree.The domain rename functionality canaccommodate situations involving company acquisitions,mergers,orname changes;but it is notdesigned to accommodate forest mergers or moving domains between forests.
BWyiudsing thSe doma2i0n0r3enfametopi erlatdioin,you can make several kinds of changes to an existingn ows erver ores , ncu ng:
Simple rename without repositioning any domains in the forest structure.
Create a new domain-tree structure by repositioning domains within a tree.
Create new trees.
Simple Renamewithout Repositioning
You can rename domains without restructuring the forest in terms ofthe parent-childrelationships between existing domains.For example, the existing cohovineyard.comforest hasfour domains—cohovineyard.com(root),eu.cohovineyard.com,hr.cohovineyard.com,andsales.cohovineyard.com.Now suppose that the company decides to expand into wine bottlingand distribution and needs to change the name from Coho Vineyard to Coho Winery,requiringActive Directory domain names to reflect the new company name.As shown in Figure 1, thetarget forest still has four domains,with the following names:cohowinery.com(root),eu.cohowinery.com,hr.cohowinery.com,and sales.cohowinery.com.By renaming the forest rootdhomaiin,iyolufcreate the conditionhwherie yoiu must rename all child domains in the tree to preservet e or g na orest structure,as s own n F gure 1.
Figure 1 Domain rename of four domains without repositioningdomains
Renamewith RepositioningintheSame Tree
You can change the structure ofthe domain tree by renaming a child domain to appear in adifferent location in the tree.For example, in the cohowinery.com forest, theproducts.sales.cohowinery.comdomain is currently a child of the sales.cohowinery.comdomain,
placing it two levels below the forest root domain. If internal reorganization results in theproducts division no longerbeing a subdivision ofthe sales organization, the company mightwant to change the domain structure to put the products organization at the same level as thesales organization.Figure 2 shows how changing the parent ofproducts.sales.cohowinery.comresults in a restructured domain tree.
Figure2 Domain rename tochangethe parentof a chi ld domain
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