2008 AD DS with a backup 2003 dc?

I only have one 2008 (non R2) server license (we were using it for Hyper-V, but we are migrating to XenServer and I want to do something with it). I doubt I’m going to get my company to spring for more. Is it worth the effort to expand the schema and make the 2008 server the AD DS with a 2003 dc as a “backup” or should I wait till they’ll spring for a few R2 licenses (which might be never).

I know I’m going to have to use 2003 native forest and domain functional levels.

Find more posts tagged with

Free for TechExams community: Cybersecurity salary guide

Compare cert salaries and plan your next career move

Button

Comments

Hyper-Me

You gain some advantages by using AD DS on 2008 rather than 2003, but nothing that is going to help more than that server itself, really.

Moving up functional levels is where the benefits mostly lay.

If you just need another DC, sure go for it. R2 would be nice if you could move all of your DC's to that some day.

pwjohnston

Hyper-Me wrote: »

You gain some advantages by using AD DS on 2008 rather than 2003, but nothing that is going to help more than that server itself, really.

Well, personally I think I'd get the benefit of doing a 2008 migration and working off a 2008 dc, haha. I think if my company had it's way, we would still be running a W2k domain. . .

It's pretty sad when I'm running W2k8 R2 at home and not at work.

Hyper-Me

pwjohnston wrote: »

Well, personally I think I'd get the benefit of doing a 2008 migration and working off a 2008 dc, haha. I think if my company had it's way, we would still be running a W2k domain. . .

It's pretty sad when I'm running W2k8 R2 at home and not at work.

Im the same way.

I went from an all 208 domain at my last job to supporting mainly 2003 SBS at my new one.

2008 is a much more reliable OS, among other things...so it couldnt hurt if you have nothing else to do with the key.

crrussell3

Not sure how they purchased the 2008 license, but might want to double check to see if you have Software Assurance on it.

HeroPsycho

pwjohnston wrote: »

I only have one 2008 (non R2) server license (we were using it for Hyper-V, but we are migrating to XenServer and I want to do something with it). I doubt I’m going to get my company to spring for more. Is it worth the effort to expand the schema and make the 2008 server the AD DS with a 2003 dc as a “backup” or should I wait till they’ll spring for a few R2 licenses (which might be never).

I know I’m going to have to use 2003 native forest and domain functional levels.

I would be cautious in making the Hyper-V host instance a domain controller. Make sure you leave adequate physical resources for the host OS instance after partitioning RAM resources to VMs.

Hyper-Me

HeroPsycho wrote: »

I would be cautious in making the Hyper-V host instance a domain controller. Make sure you leave adequate physical resources for the host OS instance after partitioning RAM resources to VMs.

I think he meant that they were using it for hyper-v, but arent anymore. They are instead using XenServer so the 2008 box is sitting unused.

astorrs

HeroPsycho wrote: »

I would be cautious in making the Hyper-V host instance a domain controller. Make sure you leave adequate physical resources for the host OS instance after partitioning RAM resources to VMs.

Now who's being lazy, read the post again.

HeroPsycho

astorrs wrote: »

Now who's being lazy, read the post again.

Oh, in MY face!

pwjohnston

No software assurance on that license.

The situation is this. Long before I got here they bought a W2k8 machine and used Hyper-V on it. Since then ESXi and XenServer have come out with free versions and after review we think XenServer is going to be better in the long term. So we are moving the vm’s we have off the Hyper-V, reformatting and reinstalling that with XenServer. It’s a good machine for VM, VT enabled QuadCore processor, 8 GB ram, dual Gigabit Enet, etc.

So that leaves me with one W2k8 license and no machine. I’d like to do something with that. We have an extra machine that can handle it, I’d really like to put W2k8 on that and make it the Primary AD DS. That would be it’s only function, well that and DNS, DHCP. Nothing too strenuous.

One of our old DC’s is running on hardware that is almost 10 years old. (Tell me about it. . .) After we get the XenServer up and the new instance of W2k8 as the AD DS, I had planned on putting up a new W2k3 VM instance on XenServer, dcpromoing it, and making it the backup to the W2k8 physical box, and deleting the old dc.