Question

Connecting a second SBS 2003 Server to an existing SBS 2003 Server

Asked by: gdietz1432

Hi,
I'm new with the SBS network and have been asked to take a new computer with SBS 2003 installed on it and make it the primary server.  With the old SBS 2003 server becoming a secondary server.  I have no idea where to start with this.  

I've already followed everything on the TODOList, and my old server can see my HD's on the new server.  But I can not set up any client pc's to switch from the old server to the new one.  For example the old server is called Server1 and the domain is called SM1.  With the new Server called Server 2 with the domain of SM2.  

I tried installing it with the same domain but it didn't work.  Any help in this would be greatly appreciated.  Please keep in mind that I am brand new at this and I know that I will eventually need a ton of training to continue this kind of work.

Also, if you could either point me to a place that would explain this all in simple terms that would be great or if you could, that would be even better.

Thanks
Gregg

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
2009-06-19 at 11:38:03ID24506667
Topics

Windows 2003 Server

,

Microsoft Server

,

SBS Small Business Server

Participating Experts
4
Points
500
Comments
16

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. Upgrade from SBS 2000 to SBS 2003
    Hello all... I have a client running Windows 2000 SBS. It is running on a dual p3 866 with 1 GB of RAM. Lots of HD (about 100 GB in a RAID 5). The software/server/system is working fine. The client, in the interest of being current, wants to update to SBS 2003. There is...
  2. adding sbs 2003 to existing domain, problem transferri…
    I am following the MS doc 'install sbs 2003 in an existing AD domain'. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/884453/en-us I am at step 8e, I removed the GC roles of the 2 existing DC's, and restarted them. When I want to begin with step 9 (transfer the FSMO roles), I only see the t...
  3. Paper based training materials required for SBS 2000 ( …
    Hi Please can someone recommend a good source of paper based training guides to cover basic setup and day-to-day running of an SBS 2000 premium server (IIS active). I have a largish client that uses this system and wants to train staff member. Don't need to go overboard app...
  4. Training for SBS and Exchange
    I have recently installed SBS 2003 Premium R2 and was wondering if anyone could recommend a good source of training for users (online or DVD) so that we can get the most out of the new capabilities.
  5. Restoring Win2003 SBS after a HD crash (disk 2 of Ra…
    We have an SBS 2003 on a HP Proliant ml150 G3. The hard drives were configured as RAID 1 (mirror) . The disk # 2 in the RAID failed, causing the system to run the check disk command. When we showed up in the morning the chkdsk was running and was replacing Id security on a...
  6. Existing Single HD Drive on SBS Server 2003 - Converti…
    Hello -- We are a small catering company in Atlanta and I have a server running Windows SBS 2003 with a single 250 GIG HD that I would like to convert to a RAID array. (Main reason is that even with off site back ups, a HD crash on our server would still be a catastrophe - s...

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: Jerrod_WPosted on 2009-06-19 at 11:41:20ID: 24668902

You cannot have two SBS2003 machines on the same domain.

 

by: leewPosted on 2009-06-19 at 11:42:29ID: 24668916

First, you CANNOT have two SBS servers on the same network.  SBS has a requirement that it MUST hold the 5 Flexible Single Master Object (FSMO) roles - since you can only have one master for each role and SBS MUST be it, how can you have a second SBS server ALSO be the master?  You can't.

By creating a second domain, you are forcing yourself into a lengthy migration.  If it's not too late for you, you would be better off spending the $250 or so on the www.swingmigration.com kit, which contains a great deal of documentation and scripts to allow you to quickly migrate from one server to another.  You can do it without it, but it will almost certainly take much longer and be more difficult for you.  

If you want the old server to be a second DC (or server in general), you will need to purchase a copy of Windows Server 2003 STANDARD edition (not SBS) and install that. SBS domains CAN have additional servers - but only ONE SBS server.

 

by: gdietz1432Posted on 2009-06-19 at 11:55:44ID: 24669004

Ok, and thanks for the quick responses.  Now the question is, if I transfer all the files and licenses over to the NEW server, can I just unplug the old server and have the new server take over?  Or how does this work please?

 

by: weareitPosted on 2009-06-19 at 12:00:56ID: 24669050

No you most certainly cannot.

The new server will be on a different domain, if you try to make it the same domain, you will be rebuilding it from the floor up, this means that you will have to remove the old server from the network first, then rebuild the domain (users and all) on the new server.  After this, you will then need to readd all of the computers in your domain to the new server.

-saige-

 

by: weareitPosted on 2009-06-19 at 12:01:50ID: 24669057

As for the swing migration, yes it works, it from the standpoint of migrations, it is the one that uses the least administrative effort.

-saige-

 

by: leewPosted on 2009-06-19 at 12:02:55ID: 24669062

No.  Windows links everything by Security IDs (SIDs) - these are UNIQUELY generated at installation time (install of the server, workstation, etc).  The old server will have a different SID from the new server and you will have to rejoin all computers to the new domain and recreate all the user accounts.  Then you'll have to reset ALL permissions, everyone will have new profiles (because the old ones will belong to users with different SIDs.  There are ways around everything, but if you want to do this right, you should get the SwingMigration kit OR hire a consultant.  (It's great you want to learn this - and I encourage you to do so - but your company is making a mistake if they rely on their computers for anything and have asked you to do it with no experience in the area).

 

by: danf0xPosted on 2009-06-19 at 12:26:09ID: 24669234

Leew is correct that you will have redo everything.
There was already a good source of info on this that you can veiw here
http://www.experts-exchange.com/OS/Microsoft_Operating_Systems/Server/SBS_Small_Business_Server/Q_22008948.html

 

by: gdietz1432Posted on 2009-06-19 at 14:31:25ID: 24670240

OK, I have already created it on a different domain and a different server name.  And I am installing all the information, Users, computers, etc by hand.  I do understand that I have to reinstall permissions and that each client  computer has to be set up on the new server.

What I am asking is whether I need to take the Old server offline prior to setting up each individual client computer.  The reason I'm asking this is because they've already stated that they don't want to spend the 650 to 1000 to buy Server 2003, so my option is to eliminate the old server completely.  

I would suggest that we use swing migrator but one of the reasons we are having the issues with the old server is that an old tech which had knowledge in this area, decided to leave on bad terms and really screwed up the old one on the way out.  It's still working, but the decision was made that since the hardware was over 7 years old, it was time to replace it.

I do agree that at times like this it is always great to hire a consultant, but the server is part of a church with very limited funds.  I have run a small computer repair business for about 11 years now but have never had to deal with SBS until now.

In short, any help you could give would be very appreciated.

Gregg

 

by: leewPosted on 2009-06-19 at 14:39:27ID: 24670306

If this is a church with a 501(c)(3) status, then they should be purchasing their software from TechSoup - That server licenses should cost them, at most $50.  Further, TechSoup has listings of consultants who sell services at a discount to non-profits.

If you are doing this pro-bono, then YOU may want to buy the swing kit - because the time you spend on this could be spent making more money with your own business.  And if you're not, then that kit should save them money because you'll be able to do it faster.

You do not need to take the old server off line, but you do need to keep the server names different.  (otherwise, you would have to take it off line).

 

by: gdietz1432Posted on 2009-06-19 at 16:56:04ID: 24671072

To answer your first question, I do not know their status.  However, I will be asking them on Monday due to your response.  As to your second statement, yes I am doing this pro-bono since they are really great people and I'm just trying to help them out.  I will discuss getting the swing kit with them on monday as well.  

The current problem that I was left with when I left tonight was the fact that I couldn't get the individual PC's to log into the new server, even though the new server is set up with a different server name and domain name.  Any ideas?

And as always, thanks for the help.

 

by: leewPosted on 2009-06-19 at 20:27:42ID: 24672074

Did you join the workstations to the domain?  Is the DNS setup properly on the new server and the workstations?  Which SBS server is handing out DHCP addresses?  (SBS shuts down DHCP if it detects another, so if either SBS server detected the other SBS server, then one may not be handing out the right IPs.  How did you setup the SBS servers?  (SBS is, in my experience, ROCK SOLID - *IF* - it's setup correctly and managed through the wizards.  If you think you know better and manage it like another server, you WILL cause problems (and I don't use absolute words like WILL often).  I know this from experience - I spend 5 years managing Windows servers and I ROYALLY messed up my first SBS install because I thought I knew better.

 

by: gdietz1432Posted on 2009-06-20 at 09:48:36ID: 24674375

ok I have been trying to join the workstations to the domain.  That is the problem.  Every time I try, it rejects it.  I'm guessing that the DHCP on the new server is shut down due to the auto shutdown that SBS does.  

I have used nothing but wizards to set up the second server.  I didn't set up the original.

Is there a way to shut down the DHCP on the old SBS server and then activate it on the new server?

 

by: leewPosted on 2009-06-20 at 11:56:30ID: 24674778

Yes, go to the services administrative tool on the old server and shut down the DHCP Server (not the DHCP Client - that's a different service).  Then reboot the new server - that should do it.

Also, TO BE SURE, post the results of IPCONFIG /ALL from the new server AND from a workstation that is having problems joining the domain.

 

by: gdietz1432Posted on 2009-06-20 at 22:36:01ID: 24676283

Will do, on tuesday when I return to it.

Gregg

 

by: gdietz1432Posted on 2009-06-24 at 14:30:41ID: 24706080

If I was to shut of the Old server completely, and then turn on the new server, would that work just as well as turning off the DHCP settings on the old server?  If not, could you please tell me precisely what I'm supposed to do to shut down the DHCP setting on the old server?

GRegg

 

by: leewPosted on 2009-06-24 at 15:00:26ID: 24706315

Yes, that should work just as well.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...