I have a NT4 Domain Controller and no other servers at all on my network.
That's right... I have no BDC.
I am now adding my first BDC to the network and I want it to be a W2K server.
I installed W2K Server last night on a new dell server i jsut got.
But durring installation it NEVER asked me to choose a server role.
It did ask me to join the domain and all, so I named the computer TITAN and it appears to be running as a regular computer on the domnain.
Now that the W2K Dell Box it's up and running how do I configure it to be a BDC to my NT4 PDC without having Active Directory.
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Saying that a W2K server can ONLY exist as a PDC when in a mixed mode network goes against every piece of Microsoft propaganda I’ve read, including my Microsoft Curriculum Book for my course: Implementing Microsoft W2K Course# 2152B
And as far as the Instructions of using the Active Directory Wizard... that won’t run either. The first thing it asks me to do is to point the server to the Domain controller, but it errors saying that my PDC is not an AD server!
Sorry guy's neither of those answers are what I need. Please try again.
I need very specific instructions on what to click and where it's at, not just a theoretical explanation of the possibilities.
I agree with Netman66
Here is what MS says about adding windows 2K DC.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/
Win2k server can NOT be an additional DC in an existing NT4 domain. However, NT4 server can be an additional DC in a Win2k domain. Think it logically. MS wants people to migrate from NT4 to Win2k. Why would they make it so that you can continue using the older product indefinitely?
By the way, in Win2k, there is no PDC and BDC. All DCs are just DCs and they are peers. However, Win2k DC has a role called PDC Emulator. It mainly functions as a backward compatibility in order for down-level clients (NT4, 98, etc.) to logon to the Win2k domain.
"Now that the W2K Dell Box it's up and running how do I configure it to be a BDC to my NT4 PDC without having Active Directory."
- Win2k uses Active Directory to store user accounts (and other objects). Without installing AD, your Win2k server is just a member server. AD makes it a domain controller.
You link to a 50 page MS document with no specific reference to where in the document it discuses the details in question here.
Please don’t take offence, but this is an issue I need emergency attention to... and I am only a minor expert in this specific subject.
But I thought it was for sure possible that a W2K server could run as a BDC in a mixed mode domain....
Are you all really telling me this is not possible?
Please show me where MS or any other notable reference states this truth.
Thanks,
Stevo
The technical reason you can not have a W2K "BDC" in a WinNT 4.0 Domain is that the domain structure is entirely different. WinNT 4.0 domain uses the SAM database for the domain, while W2K uses a LDAP database for Active Directory. They are not compatable.
The reason you can have WinNT 4.0 BDCs in W2K AD domain is that the first W2K DC has what is called a PDC Emulator which translates information so that WinNT BDC can understand it.
WinNT 4.0 PDC can not "translate" the domain information so the W2K DC can understand.
Here you go. I was reading through it.
Primary Domain Controller Update
When a Windows NT 4.0 domain is migrated to the Active Directory, the first domain controller to be updated is always the primary domain controller. This approach offers two advantages: the domain can immediately join the tree (even if it is still a mixed domain) and the administrators can immediately start to use the new administration tools and create Active Directory objects.
After its upgrade to Windows 2000, the PDC is able to represent itself as a Windows 2000 domain controller (DC) to other Windows 2000 servers and as a Windows NT 4.0 PDC to Windows NT 4.0 servers. In this respect, Windows 2000 is fully backward-compatible and can play any role in a domain. The PDC can still be used to create new security principals and to replicate these changes to the Windows NT 4.0 BDCs, the Windows NT 4.0 BDCs still recognize the Windows 2000 PDC as the domain master, and workstations can use the PDC as a logon server.
While the Windows 2000 PDC now uses the directory store to save objects, this does not affect replication and logon operations, because the directory store exposes the data as a flat Windows NT 4.0-style store to downlevel clients. If the Windows 2000 PDC is offline or otherwise unavailable and no other Windows 2000 BDCs exist in the domain, then a Windows NT 4.0 BDC can be promoted to PDC. If, however, a Windows 2000 PDC is operational, no Windows NT 4.0 BDC can be promoted to PDC.
Once the Windows 2000 DC is running, there are two ways to proceed. The first is to upgrade all other Windows NT Server products to Windows 2000. The second way is to install the Active Directory on the PDC and leave the other servers as Windows NT 4.0 servers. Either approach is acceptable, but perhaps the best strategy is a compromise. Multiple Windows 2000 DCs can provide fault tolerance for Active Directory information. If one machine fails, another Windows 2000 DC with the Active Directory installed has a copy of the information. And maintaining a Windows NT 4.0 BDC guarantees a fallback if problems with replication between Windows 2000 and Windows NT 4.0 machines occur.
If you want a W2k DC, here is what you have/should do:
1. Install WinNT 4.0 on the new Dell server as BDC to the existing domain.
2. Apply all service packs so it is exact same as current PDC
3. Force replication 3 times.
4. Wait one hour.
5. Promote the new BDC to the PDC role.
6. Force replication 3 times.
7. Wait one hour.
8. Take the BDC (the old PDC) off line and hide for safety.
9. Upgrade the new Dell (now the PDC) to W2K.
Business Accounts
Answer for Membership
by: Netman66Posted on 2003-06-25 at 08:30:01ID: 8798411
Can't do it.
Windows 2000 Domain Controllers in a mixed mode setting MUST be the PDC. It will not act as a BDC in an NT4 domain.
Sorry!