Completing Postupgrade Tasks

After upgrading all domain controllers in the forest to Windows Server 2003, complete the upgrade by raising the domain and forest functional levels to Windows .NET, and use newly created application directory partitions to store DNS information. The following sections give more information about these tasks.

Raise Forest and Domain Functional Levels

After you upgrade the first domain controller in the forest to Windows Server 2003, the forest automatically operates at the Windows 2000 functional level. If all Windows 2000 domains are in Windows 2000 native mode, the domain functional level is automatically raised to Windows 2000 native after you upgrade the first domain controller in the domain to Windows Server 2003. If all domains in a forest are in Windows 2000 native mode, raising the forest functional level to Windows .NET automatically raises the domain functional level of each domain in the forest to Windows .NET.

However, if your organization has a Windows 2000 domain that is operating in mixed mode, the domain operates at the Windows 2000 mixed functional level after you upgrade the first domain controller in that domain. If a forest includes domains that are operating at the Windows 2000 mixed functional level, you must manually raise the domain functional level to Windows 2000 native before you can raise the forest functional level to Windows .NET. To raise forest functionality, you must be a member of the Enterprise Admins group. To raise domain functionality, you must be a member of the Domain Admins group .

For example, assume that an organization with three domains ”a forest root domain and two regional domains ”upgrades its Windows 2000 environment to Windows Server 2003. The forest functional level of the corporation is Windows 2000. The domain functional level for each domain is as follows :

Forest root domain: Windows 2000 native
Regional domain 1: Windows 2000 native
Regional domain 2: Windows 2000 mixed

Before the corporation can raise the forest functional level, it must raise the domain functional level of regional domain 2 to Windows 2000 native. The domain administrator for regional domain 2 raises the domain functional level to Windows 2000 native, so all domains in the forest are operating at a Windows 2000 native domain functional level. The enterprise administrator then raises the forest functional level to Windows .NET. Because each domain in the forest is already operating at a Windows 2000 native domain functional level, this automatically raises the domain functional level of each domain to Windows .NET. The corporation can now take advantage of all of the features available to a functional Windows .NET forest.

Use DNS Application Directory Partitions

Using application directory partitions for DNS-integrated zones significantly reduces replication traffic and the amount of data stored in the global catalog. After upgrading all Windows 2000 domain controllers to Windows Server 2003, move the Active Directory “integrated DNS zones on all DNS servers from the domain partition to the newly created DNS application directory partitions. Move DNS zones that you want to replicate to all DNS servers in the forest to the forestwide DNS application directory partition, ForestDnsZones. Move all DNS zones that you want to replicate only to all DNS servers in the domain to the domainwide DNS application partition, DomainDnsZones.

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