SBS 2003 network additional DC

[blin]

Hi,

I have a client who is running SBS 2003 at thier main site. They also have a remote office that is connected by hardware VPN to the main site. They would like to install a server at the remote site and set it up as a DC and DNS server. I am wondering if you can confirm that this is a supported senario with SBS 2003.
Thanks
Chris

[blin]

Yes, it is supported and it is also recommended solution for branch site as it can optimize AD traffic. Please note that if you join Windows 2003 R2 or Windows 2008 above DC, you need to upgrade your forest and domain schema. You need to insert Windows 2003 R2 CD or Windows 2008 DVD to SBS 2003 machine and run the commands below to prepare forest and domain.



adprep /forestprep

adprep /domainprep /gpprep



For Windows server 2008, please refer to the article below:



Running Adprep.exe

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/libr ... 4018(WS.10).aspx



For Windows server 2003, you just need to prepare forest. To do so:



1. Insert Windows Server 2003 R2 CD2 in the SBS 2003 server.

2. Open a command prompt and run ADPREP /ForestPrep from

<CDDRIVE>:\CMPNENTS\R2\ADPREP



See more detailed information in the article below:



Error message when you run the Active Directory Installation Wizard: "The version of the Active Directory schema of the source forest is not compatible with the version of Active Directory on this computer"

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/917385



Hope this helps, please feel free to let me know if you have anything unclear.


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Best regards,

Inn Jin
Partner Online Technical Community