Previous articles in this series contained an introduction to the SYSVOL migration procedure and explained how the Dfsrmig.exe tool can be used for SYSVOL migration. Keeping this background information in mind, we’re now ready to start the actual SYSVOL migration process. This article explains how to migrate replication of the SYSVOL share to the ‘PREPARED’ state. If the term ‘PREPARED state’ draws a blank, head on over to this post for a quick review of the SYSVOL migration process.
Before we begin …
The domain functional level needs to be raised to ‘Windows Server 2008’ domain functional level before SYSVOL migration can commence. Therefore, the first step in the SYSVOL migration process is to upgrade all domain controllers to Windows Server 2008. This can be done in a phased manner. Once all domain controllers have been migrated to Windows Server 2008, the domain administrator is ready to raise the domain functional level to ‘Windows Server 2008’ domain functional level.
In order to raise the domain functional level to ‘Windows Server 2008’:
a) Open the ‘Microsoft Management Console‘ (MMC).
b) Navigate to the ‘File‘ menu and select ‘Add/Remove Snap-in…’.
c) Add the ‘Active Directory Domains and Trusts‘ snap-in.
d) Select the domain whose functional level is to be raised from the left hand side pane and select ‘Raise domain functional level‘ from the right click menu.
e) Select ‘Windows Server 2008‘ from the drop down list and click the ‘Raise‘ button to raise your domain functional level to Windows Server 2008.
Figure 1: Raise the domain functional level to ‘Windows Server 2008’. Continue reading
