Determining Domain Migration Strategies

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To plan the migration of your domain structure from Windows NT to Windows 2000, you must first determine your migration goals. These goals might proactively address your concerns about deployment, such as potential disruptions to production systems, system performance, and ways to increase mean time between failures. Your migration goals also influence your test plans and acceptance criteria.

Read the chapter "Determining Domain Migration Strategies" and then use these worksheets to begin planning your migration strategies. Use a table similar to Table A.12 to document the migration goals that are specific to your organization. The table provides sample goals to get you started.

Table   A.12 Document Your Migration Goals

Goal

Guides for Achieving Goal

Minimize disruption to the production environment.

  • Maintain user access to data, resources, and applications during and after the migration.

Maintain system performance.

  • Maintain a familiar environment for users during and after the migration.

  • Maintain user access to data, resources, and applications during and after the migration.

Increase mean time between failures.

  • Maintain a familiar environment for users during and after the migration.

  • Maintain user access to data, resources, and applications during and after the migration.

Minimize administrative overhead.

  • Maintain a familiar environment for users during and after the migration.

  • Provide a seamless migration of user accounts. If possible, users need to be able to retain their passwords.

  • Minimize the number of administrator visits to the client computer.

  • Minimize the number of new permissions for resources.

Maximize "quick wins."

  • Deploy key features first.

Maintain system security.

  • Deploy so that you always maintain a secure system.

  • Establish a deployment security policy.

Use Table A.13 to record the date you complete each task.

Table   A.13 Record When You Complete Domain Migration Tasks

Task

Date Completed

Determine your migration roadmap.

 
 

Determine supported upgrade paths.

 

Examine your existing domain structure.

 

Develop your recovery plan.

 

Determine your strategy for upgrading domain controllers.

 

Determine the order for upgrading domains.

 

Determine when to move to native mode.

 

Determine the reasons for restructuring domains.

 

Determine when to restructure domains.

 

Move users and groups.

 

Move computers.

 

Move member servers.

 

Establish trusts.

 

Clone security principals.

 

Switch to native mode.