Windows 2003 Domain Rename Guide

Domain rename operations are a serious business and involve extensive planning and lab work before implementing this process in production.

Following items must be considered before applying the procedure in production environment:

• It is extremely important and highly recommended that you test the domain rename procedure 2 to 3 times prior to performing it in a production environment. First, perform the domain rename procedure described in this document in a test environment that has a minimum of two domains and few client machines.

• You must ensure that you have a functioning and current backup of your Active Directory infrastructure and you have tested the recovery plan in mind if domain domain rename fail.

• Microsoft cannot guarantee that any third-party software that is installed will function after changing the domain name. You should test and work with third-party application to ensure you understand how product will react to domain name change.

• A domain rename will work just fine IF you know what you are doing. We have renamed test domain (2 DC's, Trust, child domain and 2 member servers). Please note this is a group project that may require a month with testing, testing and testing.

Downloads:
      1)    Farhan's Guide for Domain Rename
      2)    Step-by-Step Guide to Implementing Domain Rename
      3)    Implementing an Active Directory Domain Rename Operation

Note: If you encounter any problem in downloading the attachments kindly leave comment.

Hope this helps!