Advice on server 2000 to server 2003 migration or upgrade

Hi guys. I have a situation where I am running 2000 as a DC server in a
virtual machine on a Dell server that is "not" installed as a DC. We want to
move to server 2003 R2. We have a 25 user network and a brand new Dell with
server 2003 installed as it's OS running in a workgroup.

I was thinking of cloning the 2000 server virtual machine for fail over.
Then, after taking the original virtual machine off line for fail over,
performing an in place upgrade on the cloned virtual machine. If successful
I would then join the host Dell 2003 server to the newly upgraded 2003 VM as
a DC. From there I will allow a full day to simmer and replicate AD data.
After that I can slowly migrate files and folder data from the VM to the
physical hard drive on the Dell 2003 server.

Can anyone offer me suggestions, advice, or any input at all on my game
plan? Am I missing something? Is an upgrade as simple as putting in a 2003
DVD and
upgrading?

Much Thank Yous!

Chrisbo wrote:
> Hi guys. I have a situation where I am running 2000 as a DC server
> in a virtual machine on a Dell server that is "not" installed as a
> DC. We want to move to server 2003 R2. We have a 25 user network
> and a brand new Dell with server 2003 installed as it's OS running in
> a workgroup.
>
> I was thinking of cloning the 2000 server virtual machine for fail
> over. Then, after taking the original virtual machine off line for
> fail over, performing an in place upgrade on the cloned virtual
> machine. If successful I would then join the host Dell 2003 server
> to the newly upgraded 2003 VM as a DC. From there I will allow a
> full day to simmer and replicate AD data. After that I can slowly
> migrate files and folder data from the VM to the physical hard drive
> on the Dell 2003 server.
>
> Can anyone offer me suggestions, advice, or any input at all on my
> game plan? Am I missing something? Is an upgrade as simple as
> putting in a 2003 DVD and
> upgrading?
>
> Much Thank Yous!

Why not just start with a fresh & clean 2003 VM ad build your new DC from
scratch instead of upgrading? Once your DC replicates, you can't just go
back and replace the offline copy anymore. ( USN Rollback)

--
/kj