Chapter 3: Upgrading and Migrating WINS and DHCP Servers to Windows Server 2003

Running the Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) and the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) service on the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 operating system provides access to several new features and substantially increases the performance and stability of these services over the Microsoft Windows NT version 4.0 operating system. When planning to upgrade or migrate your existing WINS and DHCP infrastructure, you need to consider the hardware, software, and infrastructure requirements and configuration issues discussed in this chapter. If you are deploying an entirely new WINS and DHCP infrastructure on your network, or if you are completely restructuring your current environment, you can consult the references provided here.

Related Information

• Upgrading to Windows Server 2003 Active Directory in this book.

Overview of WINS and DHCP Migration

The WINS and DHCP services in Windows Server 2003 are significantly enhanced and include many new features not available in Windows NT 4.0. Moving your Windows NT 4.0 “based WINS and DHCP servers to Windows Server 2003 allows you to take advantage of the improvements and new features added to these services since Windows NT 4.0. For example, WINS now includes the ability to replicate records owned by an explicitly specified list of servers, and both WINS and DHCP have improved management through Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-ins and the Netsh command-line tool. For more information about some of the new features available in Windows Server 2003, see Feature Comparison: Windows NT, Windows 2000, and the Windows Server 2003 family in Help and Support Center for Windows Server 2003.

In addition, if DHCP or WINS is running on a domain controller, you can raise the functional level of the Active Directory directory service and enable new features of Active Directory by upgrading all of the domain controllers on your network to Windows Server 2003. For more information about moving to Active Directory, see Upgrading to Windows Server 2003 Active Directory in this book.

If you already have a working WINS and DHCP infrastructure on your network, you can migrate the databases and server configuration from your existing servers to new Windows Server 2003 “based servers. Migrating can save you time because you do not need to reconfigure the scope, lease, and option information on the new DHCP servers, and allows retention of your existing WINS database. If your existing infrastructure is efficient for your current and planned IT and business needs, migration can greatly simplify your move to Windows Server 2003. If your infrastructure is currently inefficient, or you anticipate significant growth and change in your organization over the next few years , consider planning a new WINS and DCHP design.

The information in this chapter is for organizations that are moving from Windows NT 4.0 to Windows Server 2003, and are keeping the same WINS and DHCP configuration. If you are redesigning your WINS strategy, or you are adding, removing, or rearranging subnets, see Deploying WINS and Deploying DHCP in Deploying Network Services of the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Deployment Kit (or see Deploying WINS and Deploying DCHP on the Web at http://www.microsoft.com/reskit) .

Tip  

The procedures in this chapter will work whether the WINS and DHCP services are each on their own servers, running together on the same server, running on a server with other services, or running on a domain controller.

Examining Your Current Hardware

The first step in upgrading your servers from Windows NT 4.0 to Windows Server 2003 is to determine whether your current hardware supports Windows Server 2003.

If your current systems support Windows Server 2003 but are close to the end of their expected lifecycle, consider upgrading your hardware and migrating to Windows Server 2003 at the same time.

For information about hardware life expectancy, contact your hardware vendor or refer to any internal metrics that your organization uses.

For a current list of hardware compatible with Windows Server 2003, see the Windows Server Catalog link on the Web Resources page at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources.

Examining Your Current Infrastructure

Upgrading from Windows NT 4.0 to Windows Server 2003 provides an opportunity to not only determine if you need to upgrade your hardware, but to also determine if you want to continue using your existing WINS and DHCP design. Before upgrading or migrating existing WINS and DHCP servers to Windows Server 2003, make sure your existing infrastructure is appropriate for your current needs.

For example, if you have recently upgraded most client computers in your organization to the Microsoft Windows 2000 or Windows XP operating systems, or if you have recently stopped using an application that relies heavily on WINS, your current WINS structure might be more robust than you need, and might not be structured as efficiently as possible.

Likewise, before you migrate existing DHCP databases, consider if your current DHCP infrastructure best meets your organization s current or planned needs. For example, you might have added new wireless clients and want to organize them into their own subnet, or your subnets might otherwise be inefficiently arranged. In such a case, consider starting your deployment with a design phase, rather than migrating the existing database.

For more information about designing and deploying a WINS infrastructure, see Deploying WINS in Deploying Network Services of the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Deployment Kit (or see Deploying WINS on the Web at http://www.microsoft.com/reskit). For more information about designing and deploying a DHCP infrastructure, see Deploying DHCP in Deploying Network Services of the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Deployment Kit (or see Deploying DCHP on the Web at http://www.microsoft.com/reskit).