Renaming a domain involves several preliminary steps, in addition to the steps involved in actually renaming the domain.Preliminary steps for domain rename
Table 4-4 describes the preliminary steps involved in renaming a domain.
TABLE 4-4 Preparation steps for renaming a domain
Steps for domain rename
Performing the actual rename of the domain involves several steps. Three command-line tools are also required for the rename:
- Rendom.exe
- Repadmin.exe
- Gpfixup.exe
These tools are part of the Remote Server Administration Tools feature, which you can install as a feature in Windows Server 2012 or download for Windows 8. Table 4-5 describes the steps involved to rename a domain.
NOTE: RUNNING THESE COMMANDS
You need to run the commands in this section from a staging computer, using an account that has Domain Admin privileges.
After the process completes, if you have any external trusts, you’ll need to reestablish them. Specifically, interforest trusts and external trusts with a domain in another forest will need to be redone. Also, you might need to fix Group Policy Objects (GPOs) by using the Gpfixup.exe tool.
After running rendom /upload, the Dclist.xml file contains content similar to the following.Notice particularly the <state> set to Initial in this example:
<?xml version =”1.0”?>
<DcList>
<Hash>n2etuL1E+eIxFRBC1noUlOuEidc=</Hash>
<Signature>8azMQMMe7G/iK0FBLYVeneNv/Pk=</Signature>
<DC>
<Name>WINSRV13.adventure-works.com</Name>
<State>Initial</State>
<Password></Password>
<LastError>0</LastError>
<LastErrorMsg></LastErrorMsg>
<FatalErrorMsg></FatalErrorMsg>
<Retry></Retry>
</DC>
</DcList>
Then after running repadmin and then rendom /prepare, the Dclist.xml file looks like this (again, notice the <state> field, which is now set to Prepared):
<?xml version =”1.0”?>
<DcList>
<Hash>aK+MCmYdleL8fivp7xV63eyByt8=</Hash>
<Signature>HJuoZ/GFECUm3lLfipI8gKZrtw8=</Signature>
<DC>
<Name>WINSRV13.adventure-works.com</Name>
<State>Prepared</State>
<Password>CKzpiTabHUk=</Password>
<LastError>0</LastError>
<LastErrorMsg></LastErrorMsg>
<FatalErrorMsg></FatalErrorMsg>
<Retry></Retry>
</DC>
</DcList>
Finally, after running rendom /execute, the <state> changes to Done:
<?xml version =”1.0”?>
<DcList>
<Hash>aK+MCmYdleL8fivp7xV63eyByt8=</Hash>
<Signature>HJuoZ/GFECUm3lLfipI8gKZrtw8=</Signature>
<DC>
<Name>WINSRV13.adventure-works.com</Name>
<State>Done</State>
<Password>CKzpiTabHUk=</Password>
<LastError>0</LastError>
<LastErrorMsg></LastErrorMsg>
<FatalErrorMsg></FatalErrorMsg>
<Retry></Retry>
</DC>
</DcList>
