Changing the Forest Plan After Deployment

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When a domain is created, it can be joined to an existing forest. You can create a domain by promoting a Windows 2000–based server to the Active Directory domain controller role, or by upgrading a Microsoft® Windows NT® version 3.51 or Microsoft® Windows NT® version 4.0 primary domain controller to Windows 2000.

 

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Critical Decision Point   Two forests cannot be merged in a one-step operation, nor can you move a domain between forests as a one-step operation. It is important that you design your forest plan so that it requires a minimum amount of restructuring as your organization evolves.

Individual objects can be moved between forests. The type of object being moved determines the particular tool that you use to move it. Most bulk importing and exporting can be achieved with the LDAP Data Interchange Format (LDIFDE.EXE) command-line tool; security principals can be cloned using the ClonePrincipal tool. For more information about these tools, see Tools Help on the Windows   2000 Resource Kit companion CD.