Recovering DHCP
Sean Daily's "Recovering DHCP" (September 2001, InstantDoc ID 21841) lists several steps to prepare for DHCP disaster. I'd like to replicate the DHCP database to another location. The article mentions using Windows 2000 or Windows NT's replication feature to perform this task. How do you do that, and which file do you replicate (e.g., dhcp.mdb in \%systemroot%\system32\dhcp\backup\jet\newfolder)? I was thinking of using a batch job to pull all the DHCP databases in our enterprise to one location for our administrators to access. Would you recommend that we pull the backup copy of dhcp.mdb that Win2K creates?
—Rick De Bucce
rickdebucce@email.com
I'd handle this task exactly as you suggest: Create a job on each server to stop the service, back up the current database to a centralized location (perhaps with a subfolder of the server's name or some similar method of keeping different DHCP server databases labeled and separated), and restart the DHCP service. The location you mentioned would be the backup of the database*you'll probably want to back up the current version of dhcp.mdb in the \%systemroot%\system32\dhcp folder.
—Sean Daily
DNS and AD Naming Considerations
I'm embarking on a Windows 2000 Active Directory (AD) and Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server upgrade. In preparation for domain-naming considerations, I read Mark Minasi's "DNS and Active Directory" (July 2001, InstantDoc ID 21128) about split-brain DNS configuration, which would let me use my public domain name, tharaldson.com, in domain naming. I subsequently read Douglas Toombs's "Single-Domain Migration" (July 2001, InstantDoc ID 21129), which advocates assigning a naming scheme such as tharaldson.internal. The Microsoft article "Considerations for Designing Namespaces in Windows 2000—Based Domains" (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q285983) also mentions using different internal and external naming conventions. In my current configuration, my ISP hosts both my primary and secondary DNS, and the only boxes that use DNS are my proxy, Web, and mail servers. The split-brain approach seems to be the most logical approach to me, but do any public and private name-confusion concerns exist with using my public domain name in AD?
—Kelly Kittelson
kkittelson@tharaldson.com
Either naming scheme will work. I like split-brain for one reason: I get to call my machines something.minasi.com, rather than something.minasi.local. What you choose is simply a matter of taste.
—Mark Minasi
Win2K on the Go
I certainly can use the information in Sean Daily's Windows Client: "Win2K on the Go" (November 2001, InstantDoc ID 22554). I discovered recently that users who have migrated to Windows 2000 on notebook systems (in particular, Dell Latitudes) can swap the internal drive to a new system, and the Win2K system finds everything and comes right up. This trick comes in handy when a system dies with a motherboard or LCD problem and the user needs a replacement. You simply take the drive out, transfer all PC Cards, and install the disk in the replacement system, ensuring that you've disconnected all power and removed the battery. When you reboot, the system goes through the Plug and Play (PnP) routine, and the hard disk, memory, and user applications are intact. The user is up and running in less than 10 minutes. When the original notebook gets fixed, you simply reinstall the hard drive, and the notebook is running again.
—Greg Niemiec
gre.niemiec@per-se.com
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