Upgrades Compared to New Installations

System Requirements and Hardware Compatibility

Important Files to Review

Upgrades in a Domain Containing Windows 2000 Domain Controllers

Upgrades in a Windows NT 4.0 Domain

This topic can help you plan for an upgrade to Microsoft® Windows Server™ 2003, Standard Edition, in a network with one to five servers and 100 or fewer clients. The information in Getting Started is designed to help with the upgrade or installation of such a network. For help with planning the upgrade or installation of a larger number of servers, see the Windows Server 2003 Deployment Kit. You can view the Windows Deployment and Resource Kits on the Web at: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=29883

For technical information and resources needed to evaluate, deploy, and administer the Windows server operating systems, see the Windows Server TechCenter on the Web at: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=28944

For detailed information about how to run Setup, see "Running Setup for an Upgrade: Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition,"on your Setup CD.

If you want to plan for a new installation, see "Getting Ready for a New Installation: Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition," on your Setup CD.

After completing the upgrade of the first server, you can get detailed instructions about how to use products in the Windows Server 2003 family by opening Help and Support Center. To open Help and Support Center, click Start, and then click Help and Support.

This section describes steps you can take if the devices in your computer do not use Plug and Play technology. For important information about hardware compatibility (including the compatibility of devices), be sure to read "System Requirements" and "Hardware Compatibility" earlier in this topic. For specific information about using a mass storage controller (such as a SCSI, RAID, or Fibre Channel adapter) with a driver that was supplied by the manufacturer, see the next section, "Mass Storage Drivers and the Setup Process."

Products in the Windows Server 2003 family include Plug and Play technology so that devices (for example, video and network adapters) can be automatically recognized by the operating system, configuration conflicts are avoided, and you do not have to specify each device’s settings by hand. However, if you have devices that do not use Plug and Play, or you are aware that your Plug and Play devices are not implemented exactly to the standards, you might want to take steps to avoid device configuration conflicts. This section describes steps you can take, if you choose, to understand your device configuration before running Setup.

To take an inventory of your devices, use the existing operating system to obtain the current settings, such as memory address and interrupt request (IRQ), used with your devices. For example, with Windows NT 4.0, you can use Control Panel to view settings (on the Start menu, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click icons such as Network and Ports). You might also choose to view system BIOS information. To do this, watch the screen while starting the computer, and then press the appropriate key when prompted.

At the beginning of an upgrade, the Setup program automatically takes a device inventory as well. For devices that do not use Plug and Play, or that are not implemented exactly to Plug and Play standards, taking your own inventory helps prevent the following difficulties:

• If two or more adapters share IRQ settings or memory addresses, the Setup program might not be able to resolve the conflict. To prevent this, you can take one of two approaches.
  
  You can remove one of the adapters before running Setup and re-install it afterward. For information about installing and configuring adapters and other hardware devices, see Help and Support Center. To open Help and Support Center, after completing Setup, click Start, and then click Help and Support.
  
  As an alternative, you can modify one adapter’s IRQ settings and memory addresses before running Setup, so that each adapter’s settings are unique.
  
  
• If adapters do not respond in a standard way to the attempts by Setup to detect or enumerate them, Setup might receive indecipherable or inaccurate information. In this case, you might need to remove these devices before running Setup, and re-install and configure them afterward. For information about installing and configuring adapters and other hardware devices, see Help and Support Center. To open Help and Support Center, after completing Setup, click Start, and then click Help and Support.
  
  

The following table lists the kinds of information to gather if you have devices that do not use Plug and Play, and you decide to take a device inventory before starting Setup.

If you have a mass storage controller (such as a SCSI, RAID, or Fibre Channel adapter) for your hard disk, confirm that the controller is designed for products in the Windows Server 2003 family by checking the hardware and software compatibility information in the Windows Catalog at: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=37823

If your controller is compatible, but you are aware that the manufacturer has supplied a separate driver file for use with products in the Windows Server 2003 family, obtain the file (on a floppy disk) before you begin Setup. During the early part of Setup, a line at the bottom of the screen will prompt you to press F6. Further prompts will guide you in supplying the driver file to Setup so that it can gain access to the mass storage controller.

If you are not sure whether you must obtain a separate driver file from the manufacturer of your mass storage controller, you can try running Setup. If the controller is not supported by the driver files on the Setup CD, and therefore requires a driver file that is supplied by the hardware manufacturer, Setup stops and displays a message saying that no disk devices can be found, or it displays an incomplete list of controllers. After you obtain the necessary driver file, restart Setup, and press F6 when you are prompted.

If you have a custom Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) file supplied by your computer manufacturer, before you begin Setup, locate the floppy disk or other medium containing the file. During the early part of Setup, a line at the bottom of the screen will prompt you to press F6: at this time press F5 (not F6). After you press F5, follow the prompts to include your HAL file in the Setup process.

The basic input/output system (BIOS) is a set of software through which the operating system (or Setup) communicates with the computer’s hardware devices. The Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) is the current standard for the way the BIOS works. Products in the Windows Server 2003 family support not only ACPI-compliant BIOS versions, but also some BIOS versions based on older advanced power management (APM) and Plug and Play designs.

Some ACPI-based BIOS versions are not compliant with the standard. The more recent the version of an ACPI BIOS, the more likely that it is compliant. An ACPI-based BIOS that is not compliant with the ACPI standard might not support workable communication between the operating system (or Setup) and your hardware. If workable communication is not supported, Setup stops and displays instructions for contacting your hardware manufacturer and taking other steps to solve the problem. If this happens, follow the instructions provided.

To learn more about the ACPI compliance of your BIOS:

• For information about your BIOS version, before running Setup, restart the computer and watch the text on the screen. Pay particular attention to blocks of text containing the words "BIOS" or "ACPI BIOS."
  
  
• For information about BIOS versions for your hardware, check your hardware documentation and contact your hardware manufacturer.
  
  

If you have a working Internet connection on the computer on which you run Setup, you can choose Dynamic Update during Setup and obtain the most up-to-date Setup files, including drivers and other files. Whenever an important update is made to any crucial Setup file, that update is made available through Dynamic Update functionality built into the Windows Update Web site. Some of the updated files will be replacements (for example, an updated driver or updated Setup file) and some will be additions (for example, a driver not available at the time that the Setup CD was created). It is recommended that you use Dynamic Update when running Setup.

Dynamic Update has been carefully designed so that it is reliable and easy to use:

• The files on the Dynamic Update section of the Windows Update Web site have been carefully tested and selected. Only files that are important in ensuring that Setup runs well are made available through Dynamic Update. Files with minor updates that will not significantly affect Setup are not part of Dynamic Update.
  
  
• Because Dynamic Update downloads only the files that are required for your computer, the Dynamic Update software briefly examines your computer hardware. No personal information is collected, and no information is saved. The only purpose is to select appropriate drivers for your hardware configuration. This keeps the download as short as possible and ensures that only necessary drivers are downloaded to your hard disk.
  
  
• You can use Dynamic Update when running a preupgrade compatibility check from the product CD, or when running Setup itself. Either way, you obtain the most up-to-date files for running Setup. For information about running the compatibility check, see "Hardware Compatibility" earlier in this topic.
  
  
• You can use Dynamic Update with unattended Setup. Preparing for this requires several steps. For a brief description of unattended Setup, see the "Planning for Unattended Setup" section in "Running Setup for an Upgrade: Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition." For details about how to use Dynamic Update with unattended Setup (also called automated installation), see "Automating and Customizing Installations" in the Windows Server 2003 Deployment Kit.
  
  

The Windows Update Web site offers a variety of updates that you can use after completing Setup. To learn more, go to: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=284

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With the disk management technologies in Windows NT 4.0, you could create volume sets, mirror sets, stripe sets, or stripe sets with parity, each with specific capabilities and limitations. By using the dynamic disk technology introduced with Windows 2000, you can use similar technologies, with the added flexibility of being able to extend disk volumes without repartitioning or reformatting.

This transition from the technologies used in Windows NT 4.0 means that you must make certain choices before running Setup for Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition. Any volume sets, mirror sets, stripe sets, or stripe sets with parity that you created with Windows NT 4.0 are not supported in Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, although they were supported to a limited extent in Windows 2000.

If you used Windows NT 4.0 to create a volume set, mirror set, stripe set, or stripe set with parity, and you want to run Setup for Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, on that computer, you must choose one of the following methods.

The disk sets described in the previous section have different names in the Windows Server 2003 family than they had in Windows NT 4.0:

If you are interested in the features in the following list, you might want to focus on upgrading the member servers in your Windows NT 4.0 domain. For information about reasons to upgrade the domain controllers, see "Features Available with the First Domain Controller Upgrade in a Windows NT Domain" later in this topic.

• Management tools:
  
  
  • Microsoft Management Console
    
    
  • Plug and Play
    
    
  • Device Manager
    
    
  • Add Hardware Wizard (in Control Panel)
    
    
  • Support for universal serial bus
    
    
  • Enhanced Backup utility
    
    
• File system support: The version of NTFS in the Windows Server 2003 family includes support for disk quotas, the ability to defragment directory structures, and compressed network I/O.
  
  
• Application services: Win32 Driver Model, DirectX 7.0, and Windows Script Host.
  
  
• Printer protocol support: Device and protocol support allowing choices from more than 2,500 different printers. Other printing enhancements are included; for example, Internet Printing Protocol support, which allows users to print directly to a URL over an intranet or the Internet.
  
  
• Scalability and availability: Improved symmetric multiprocessor support as compared to Windows NT.
  
  
• Security: Encrypting File System.
  
  

If you are interested in the features in the following list, all of which are features of Active Directory, focus on upgrading the primary domain controller, as opposed to member servers. (The first domain controller that you upgrade must be the primary domain controller. It is recommended that you also upgrade backup domain controllers.) For information about the DNS planning necessary before beginning the upgrade of domain controllers running Windows NT, see "Planning DNS for the Upgrade of Domain Controllers Running Windows NT 4.0" later in this topic.

For information about reasons to upgrade member servers, see "Features Available with the Upgrade of Any Server in a Windows NT Domain" earlier in this topic.

When you upgrade a domain controller to run the Windows Server 2003 operating system instead of Windows NT, many Active Directory features become available in the domain:

• Simplified management of network-resource information and user information.
  
  
• Group Policy, which you can use to set policies that apply across a given site, domain, or organizational unit in Active Directory.
  
  
• Security and authentication features, including support for Kerberos V5, Secure Sockets Layer 3.0, and Transport Layer Security using X.509v3 certificates. (For more information, see "What’s New in the Windows Server 2003 Family.")
  
  
• Directory consolidation, through which you can organize and simplify the management of users, computers, applications, and devices, and make it easier for users to find the information they want. You can take advantage of synchronization support through interfaces based on the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), and work with directory consolidation requirements specific to your applications.
  
  
• Directory-enabled applications and infrastructure, which make it easier to configure and manage applications and other directory-enabled network components.
  
  
• Scalability without complexity, a result of Active Directory scaling to millions of objects per domain and using indexing technology and advanced replication techniques to speed performance.
  
  
• Use of Internet standards, including access through Lightweight Directory Access Protocol and a namespace based on the Domain Name System (DNS).
  
  
• Active Directory Service Interfaces (ADSI), a powerful development environment.
  
  
• Additional Active Directory features, as described in the section on Active Directory in "What’s New in the Windows Server 2003 Family."
  
  

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical naming system used for locating computers on the Internet and private TCP/IP networks. This section describes the planning for DNS that is recommended before you upgrade to Active Directory, that is, before you upgrade the primary domain controller in a Windows NT domain to become a domain controller running Windows Server 2003.

DNS is the name resolution service used by Active Directory. Products in the Windows Server 2003 family can support both the Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) common in Windows NT networks, and DNS. You must deploy DNS to support Active Directory. You can choose to migrate from WINS to DNS or configure your new DNS infrastructure to support your current WINS infrastructure.

For the upgrading of a network with one to five servers and 100 or fewer clients (which is the size of network discussed in this manual), only a simple DNS plan is needed, because there will be no parent or child domains. (For information about upgrading networks with more than five servers, see the Windows Server 2003 Deployment Kit.) DNS names consist of name labels separated by periods. A simple DNS domain name for a Windows Server 2003 family domain could take the form domainname.ext where ext is an established "top-level domain" type such as com or org. With a domain name of that form, the form of a computer name in the domain would be:

computername.domainname.ext

When you upgrade the primary domain controller in a Windows NT 4.0 domain (the primary domain controller must be upgraded first, before backup domain controllers), you will be offered several different options for the handling of DNS. If there is no DNS server available to work with Active Directory, you will be offered, by default, the option of installing DNS on the domain controller you are upgrading (formerly the primary domain controller). In a network with one to five servers, the simplest approach is to accept this default. Then, after completing the upgrade of the server on which DNS was installed, take note of its static IP address, and configure other computers to send any DNS requests to that IP address. For additional basic information about DNS and how to configure it during Setup, see "Name Resolution for TCP/IP" in "Getting Ready for a New Installation: Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition," on your Setup CD. For more detailed information about DNS, see the Windows Resource and Deployment Kits on the Web at: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=29883

Another way to view information about DNS is to go to a computer running any product in the Windows Server 2003 family, click Start, and then click Help and Support.

Before beginning an upgrade of servers in a domain where all the domain controllers run Windows NT 4.0, apply an appropriate Service Pack, perform backups, and consider whether to remove a backup domain controller temporarily from the network:

• Be sure that you have applied Service Pack 5 or later to the servers. You must apply Service Pack 5 or later before you can begin an upgrade from Windows NT 4.0.
  
  
• As with any major change to the contents of hard disks on your servers, it is recommended that you back up each server before upgrading it. Also be sure to review "Preparing Your System for an Upgrade" in "Running Setup for an Upgrade: Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition."
  
  
• If you are preparing to upgrade the primary domain controller, to protect your existing network integrity, consider removing a backup domain controller temporarily from the network. To do this, in your existing Windows NT network, choose a backup domain controller, ensure that it has a current copy of the user accounts database, and back it up. Then disconnect its network cable. After the upgrade of your primary domain controller to become a domain controller running Windows Server 2003 (you must upgrade the primary domain controller first), this disconnected system is available for promotion to a Windows NT primary domain controller if necessary. However, in the course of an uneventful upgrade, you would not and could not promote the Windows NT backup domain controller to primary domain controller. Instead, you would continue the upgrade process, eventually reconnecting the disconnected server and upgrading it.
  
  

To upgrade the primary domain controller to become a domain controller running Windows Server 2003, you must first run Setup to upgrade the operating system. After the operating system is installed, you can run the Active Directory Installation Wizard (which appears on the screen the first time you log on). This section provides guidelines for making choices in the Active Directory Installation Wizard when upgrading the primary domain controller.

For information about preparations necessary before beginning the upgrade, see "Stages in the Process of Upgrading Servers in a Windows NT 4.0 Domain" earlier in this topic. For information about starting Setup, see "Running Setup for an Upgrade: Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition."

The following table shows the choices that are recommended when running the Active Directory Installation Wizard on the server that was formerly the primary domain controller. These recommendations are for a network of two to five servers (a network within the size of those discussed in this manual):

During the upgrade, you can choose the location of three important items: the database containing user accounts and other Active Directory data, the log file, and the system volume (Sysvol) folder. The database and the log file can be on any kind of partition (FAT, FAT32, or NTFS); the database can expand by as much as a factor of ten from the size it had with Windows NT, so allow plenty of room for it. (Initially, the log file will take up very little space.) The system volume folder must be on an NTFS partition. (For information about NTFS and other file systems, see "Choosing a File System for the Installation Partition" and "Reformatting or Converting a Partition to Use NTFS" in "Getting Ready for a New Installation: Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition.")

As soon as the first server is upgraded, you can open Help and Support and read information about how to use Active Directory. To open Help and Support Center, click Start, and then click Help and Support. The following list provides suggestions about information to review:

• Additional information about upgrading from a Windows NT 4.0 domain.
  
  
• "New ways to do familiar tasks," that is, a table that compares the way you completed domain tasks with Windows NT with the way you complete those tasks with products in the Windows Server 2003 family.
  
  
• Domains and forests.
  
  
• Functional levels (domain functional level and forest functional level). After upgrading the last domain controller in a Windows NT domain to become a domain controller running Windows Server 2003, you have the option of changing functional levels, as described in the Active Directory topics.
  
  
• The global catalog and also operations master roles, which you do not have to take action on as part of the upgrade, but might want to learn about.
  
  

For information about deployments and upgrades in multiple domains or in domains larger than five servers, see the Windows Server 2003 Deployment Kit. You can view the Windows Deployment and Resource Kits on the Web at: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=29883

After you upgrade your primary domain controller and ensure that it is functioning to your satisfaction, you can begin the upgrade of any backup domain controllers. (You can upgrade member servers at any time.)

Upgrade the backup domain controllers one at a time (ensure that each is backed up before upgrading). Before beginning the upgrade of each backup domain controller, make sure that at least one domain controller running Windows Server 2003 is available on the network, because the user accounts and other Active Directory data will be copied from the domain controllers that have already been upgraded. Start and test each server on the network to ensure that it is functioning to your satisfaction before upgrading another backup domain controller.

An upgraded domain controller will appear as a Windows NT 4.0 primary domain controller to Windows NT 4.0 servers and client computers. However, it is recommended that you complete the upgrade of all servers in the domain relatively quickly (rather than allowing a long delay). This reduces the number of version differences between computers, simplifying management and troubleshooting, and also strengthens security.

The Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration is enabled by default when you upgrade. The security settings in this configuration can help make your computer more secure by limiting its exposure to malicious Web sites. Therefore, with this enhanced level of security, you might find that some Web sites do not display correctly in Internet Explorer when you are browsing Internet and intranet Web sites. Also, you might be prompted to enter your credentials when accessing network resources, such as files in Universal Naming Convention (UNC) shared folders. You can easily change the enhanced security settings.

If you have a remote access server that is a member server, it is recommended that you upgrade it before the last domain controller is upgraded. For more information, see "Planning Server Roles and the Order of Server Upgrades from Windows NT" earlier in this topic.

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