What do I need to do to make sure Exchange 2000 runs fine on my Windows Server 2003 forest? If you‘ve installed Exchange 2000 into the forest before running ADPrep, you have to correct some mistakes that were made in the Exchange 2000 schema extensions. Specifically, both ADPrep and Exchange 2000 define labledURI, houseIdentifier and…
Looking for an overview of what’s new in Active Directory in Windows Server 2003? Daniel points out the highlights and noteworthy additions.
How do I upgrade a Windows 2000 Active Directory Group Policy object (GPO) to support the new features in Windows XP? Windows XP Professional supports a superset of the Group Policy features supported by Windows 2000. These features are available by using updated extension components the clients, .adm files, and an updated Group Policy snap-in….
What are the domain and forest function levels in a Windows Server 2003-basedActive Directory? Functional levels are an extension of the mixed/native mode concept introduced in Windows 2000 to activate new Active Directory features after all the domain controllers in the domain or forest are running the Windows Server 2003 operating system. When a computer…
What are Administrative Template in Group Policy Objects? In Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 Group Policy Objects (also known as GPO) you may find hundreds of useful settings and configuration options, all nicely divided in to specific sections. With GPO, you can create policies to centralize the management of user and computer settings. Amongst…
How can I use the new Saved Queries capabilities in Windows Server 2003 AD Users & Computers? Windows Server 2003 AD Users and Computers has a new built-in feature called "Saved Queries". With the Saved Queries feature we can now create our LDAP-based search strings and have them saved for future use, either in the…
In the Windows Server 2003 family, you can restore the Active Directory database if it becomes corrupted or is destroyed because of hardware or software failures. You must restore the Active Directory database when objects in Active Directory are changed or deleted. Note: There is an option to restore Active Directory objects that have been…
What are the considerations for the FSMO placement in Active Directory? Windows 2000/2003 Active Directory domains utilize a Single Operation Master method called FSMO (Flexible Single Master Operation), as described in Understanding FSMO Roles in Active Directory. In most cases an administrator can keep the FSMO role holders (all 5 of them) in the same…
How do I change a computer’s description, name, or join a domain in Windows XP Pro? Update for Windows 7 Users: Please also see “How to Join a Domain in Windows 7” for instructions specific to your operating system. You can perform the preceding tasks by using the Computer Name tab in the System Properties…
Installing Active Directory isn’t always a straightforward process, so Daniel Petri walks you through an AD install for Windows Server 2003.