A test forest is considered a best practice. You can use a test forest to implement changes to an Active Directory schema safely by isolating those changes from the production forest or to implement software upgrades in an isolated environment. Using a test forest for software upgrades enables dependent software, such as Lync or SharePoint, to be tested with the new software before rolling it out to the production environment.
Deploying a test forest means adding the Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) role and then running the AD DS Configuration Wizard to create a new forest. With the new forest created, you can synchronize things like Group Policy by using Group Policy Management.You use the Migration Table Editor, shown in Figure 4-10, to migrate objects between domains in different forests (and between domains in the same forest).
FIGURE 4-10 The Migration Table Editor migrates objects between forests.
Follow these steps to migrate settings between a test and production forest:
1. Install the new forest domain controller using the Active Directory Domain Services Configuration Wizard.
2. Establish a trust between the two forests by using Active Directory Domains and Trusts.
3. In Group Policy Management, add the test forest by selecting Add Forest from the Group Policy Management Actions list.
4. Copy objects as necessary for synchronization.
