Windows Server Cookbook

15.5. Raising the Functional Level

Problem

You want to raise the functional level of a Windows Server 2003 domain or forest. You should raise the functional level of a domain as soon as possible after installing a new Windows Server 2003 domain or upgrading from Windows 2000 to take advantage of the new features and enhancements. Once all the domains in a forest are at the Windows Server 2003 functional level, you can raise the forest functional level.

Solution

Do the following to raise the functional level of a domain:

Using a graphical user interface

1. Open the Active Directory Domains and Trusts snap-in.

2. In the left pane, browse to the domain you want to raise, right-click it, and select Raise Domain Functional Level.

3. Select the new functional level you want to set and click OK.

4. After a few seconds you should see a message stating whether the operation was successful.

Using a command-line interface

To retrieve the current functional level of a domain, use the following command:

> dsquery * <DomainDN> -scope base -attr msDS-Behavior-Version

Or use the enumprop command found in the Windows 2000 Resource Kit:

> enumprop /ATTR:msDS-Behavior-Version "LDAP://<DomainDN>"

To change the functional level to Windows Server 2003, create an LDIF file called raise_domain_func_level.ldf with the following contents:

dn: <DomainDN>
changetype: modify
replace: msDS-Behavior-Version
msDS-Behavior-Version: 2
-

Next, run the ldifde command to import the change:

> ldifde -i -f raise_domain_func_level.ldf

Using VBScript ...