Enabling Advanced Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Features: Active Directory

Enabling Advanced Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Features

Updated: March 28, 2003

The Microsoft® Windows® Server 2003 Active Directory® directory service enables you to introduce advanced features into your environment by raising the domain or forest functional level. You can raise the functional level when all domain controllers in the domain or forest are running an appropriate version of Windows. Raising the functional level allows you to introduce new features but also limits the versions of Windows that can run on domain controllers in your environment.

In This Chapter

Overview of Enabling Advanced Active Directory Features

Preparing to Enable Functional Levels

Enabling Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Functional Levels

Additional Resources for Enabling Advanced Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Features

Related Information

For more information about domain and forest functional levels, see the Active Directory Collection of the Windows Server 2003 Technical Reference (or see the Active Directory Collection on the Web at http://www.microsoft.com/reskit).
For more information about enabling functional levels in a new Microsoft® Windows® Server 2003 environment, see "Deploying the Windows Server 2003 Forest Root Domain" in this book.
For more information about enabling functional levels after upgrading from Microsoft® Windows NT® 4.0, see "Upgrading Windows NT 4.0 Domains to Windows Server 2003 Active Directory" in this book.
For more information about enabling functional levels after upgrading from Microsoft® Windows® 2000, see "Upgrading from Windows 2000 Domains to Windows Server 2003 Domains" in this book.