Perform Clean-up Tasks

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

After upgrading to Windows Server 2003, perform the following clean-up operations:

• After the security descriptor propagator has finished building the single instance store, perform an offline defragmentation of the database on each upgraded domain controller. This reduces the size of Active Directory on the file system by up to 40 percent, reduces the memory footprint, and updates pages in the database to Windows Server 2003 format. For more information about performing an offline defragmentation of the Active Directory database, see the Active Directory link on the Web Resources page at https://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources. Search under "Administration and Configuration Guides," and then download the Active Directory Operations Guide. The procedure for performing an offline defragmentation of the database applies to both Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003.

• Create a new System State backup for at least two domain controllers in your environment. For more information about backing up Active Directory, see the Active Directory Operations Guide. The procedure for backing up System State data applies to both Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003. Be sure to label all backup tapes with the operating system version that the domain controller is running, including service packs and hotfixes.