Chapter 17. Upgrading from Windows 2000 Server

   

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Upgrading from Microsoft Windows 2000 to an edition of Microsoft Windows Server 2003 enables you to take advantage of the new Windows Server 2003 features without restructuring your current network configuration. The process is more straightforward than you read about in Chapter 16 , "Upgrading from Windows NT 4.0 Server." When you upgrade to Windows Server 2003, the existing structure of your directory service remains in place.

Windows Server 2003 provides many solutions for your environment in the way of new features and functionality, though. Some of the new features available to you after you upgrade to Windows Server 2003 include the following, which you learned about in Chapter 3 , "Active Directory":

• Improved group membership replication

• Application directory partitions

• Forest trust relationships

• Universal group caching

• Improved intersite replication topology generator

This chapter is an overview of issues you must consider before upgrading from Windows 2000 Server to Windows Server 2003. The chapter is also based on the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Deployment Kit (Microsoft Press, 2003). You can learn more about this resource kit at http://www.microsoft.com/reskit/. This kit and the tools on its companion CD are invaluable for planning and deploying Windows Server 2003.

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