Restructuring Active Directory Domains Within a Forest

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Restructuring Active Directory® directory service domains within a forest with the goal of reducing the number of domains allows you to decrease the administrative overhead for your organization by reducing replication traffic, reducing the amount of user and group administration that is required, and simplifying the administration of Group Policy. If users change positions or move between locations, you might also move objects between forests on a regular basis. The process for restructuring Active Directory domains within a forest differs from the process of restructuring Active Directory domains between forests and requires careful planning and testing.

In This Chapter

Overview of Restructuring Active Directory Domains Within a Forest

Preparing to Restructure Active Directory Domains Within a Forest

Migrating Domain Objects Between Active Directory Domains

Completing Post-Migration Tasks

Additional Resources for Restructuring Active Directory Domains Within a Forest

Related Information

• For more information about designing the Active Directory logical structure, see "Designing the Active Directory Logical Structure" in this book.

• For more information about designing the Active Directory site topology, see "Designing the Site Topology" in this book.

• For more information about creating an Active Directory forest, see "Deploying the Windows Server 2003 Forest Root Domain" in this book.