While the migration path from Windows 2000 to Windows 2008 SBS is completely unsupported by Microsoft, we were able to achieve it via the following steps:
1) Disrupt the normal SBS installation by using an ‘answer file’ stored on a USB drive; this allows you to tell it the existing domain / server information.
2) Once the new server is installed, you need to run adprep and forestprep on the Windows 2000 DC using the 2008 SBS media.
3) Once the Domain and Forest are prepared, you need to rename the ntds.dit file to sbsntds.dit (the ntds.dit file is Active Directory) on the Windows 2000 DC.
4) Now you can run ‘dcpromo’Â on the new server and transfer over all of the FSMO roles.
5) Lastly, you need to Install / Configure Exchange 2007 manually, as it will not install by default when using this method.
Once step 5 is complete, you still are left with all of the normal configurations required with a new Windows 2008 SBS server; however, you won’t need to dis-join/re-join all of the machines and migrate all of the data/profiles across domains.
Good Luck!
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Rename the ntds file thats on the SBS2000 server? Or copy the file over and rename it sbsntds? Elaborate?
The ntds.dit file on the Windows 2000 SBS server needs to be renamed to sbsntds.dit in order for the 2008 server to recognize it so that it can be promoted to an additional domain controller. I guess that 2008 uses ’sbsntds.dit’ instead of the old ‘ntds.dit’ to differentiate itself from a normal non-SBS domain. Without renaming it on the old server, the new server doesn’t recognize it.
Renaming the ntds.dit file on the W2k server doesn’t cause any issues on that box? I’d be more tempted to copy the ntds.dit file to sbsntds.dit instead of renaming…if that was done right before running dcpromo on the sbs server would it be a problem?
The 2008 SBS server needs to see the current ‘ntds.dit’ file as a ‘sbsntds.dit’ file on the 2000 server in order to be promoted. Whether you rename the original file or make a copy of it and name it accordingly shouldn’t make too much of a difference, just don’t allow any changes on the 2000 server while both copies exist.