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Changing NETBIOS name of produciton active directory environment

Chalaka Chathuranga 1 Reputation point
2020-09-21T13:07:29.89+00:00

Hi All,

Hope you all are in safe in this pandemic situation.

I am looking for some help from you all with your industry experience. :)

I have requirement to change our netbois name of our AD to different name because currently we have it as local. I need to change it to company name.(ex: contoso) . We have around 2000 users in few countries. All are domain joined. would you please share your suggestions and experience on this? Will i get a downtime? do we need to rejoin the users PCs to domain? what kind of error we may face after change it?

Also is there anyone who migrated on-prem AD environment to complete azure AD ? will it possible and what are the pros and cons?

Looking forward to hear your experience on this :)

Thank you.

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Windows Server
A family of Microsoft server operating systems that support enterprise-level management, data storage, applications, and communications.
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Active Directory
A set of directory-based technologies included in Windows Server.
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A Microsoft Entra identity service that provides identity management and access control capabilities. Replaces Azure Active Directory.
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  1. Alfredo Revilla - Upwork Top Talent | IAM SWE SWA 27,461 Reputation points
    2020-09-21T16:03:31.21+00:00

    Domain renaming is not a trivial operation, please review Domain Rename Constraints and Capabilities to better assess the operation.

    My recommendation is to extend your on premise directory with Azure AD but not to completely replace it. Please take a look to What is hybrid identity with Azure Active Directory? and Choose the right authentication method for your Azure Active Directory hybrid identity solution for more information.

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    Please let us know if this answer was helpful to you. If so, please remember to mark it as the answer so that others in the community with similar questions can more easily find a solution.

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  2. Vicky Wang 2,731 Reputation points
    2020-09-22T08:08:34.44+00:00

    Hi,@CyberTechky-9826
    The general steps in the domain rename procedure are as follows:

    Before beginning the domain rename process, prepare a list of domains in the forest: Specify the new forest structure that will be represented by the set of changed domain names in the forest.

    Be sure to avoid any possible name conflicts with the new names that you choose. Name conflicts can cause unpredictable and severe results. For example, a conflict with the NetBIOS name can render a domain controller unusable because you might not be able to properly remove AD DS from it.

    To begin the domain rename procedure, generate a script that contains the instructions for renaming domains in the forest: Generate domain rename instructions that are encoded as a special script based on the specified new forest structure and transfer it to every domain controller in the forest.

    Verify that all domain controllers are adequately prepared to make the necessary updates to rename the domains: Verify the validity of the domain rename instructions (in the script) at every domain controller, and verify that every domain controller is ready to execute those instructions.

    Execute the actual domain rename instructions: Execute the domain rename instructions at every domain controller in the forest. At this step, a brief interruption in the forest service may occur.

    Fix up Group Policy: Update metadata in the directory so that policy settings can continue to be applied after the domain rename.

    Clean up all domain rename–related metadata that is written to the directory so that the directory is ready for another round of the domain rename operation, if necessary: After the domain rename procedure is complete, remove all metadata that the domain rename operation writes to the directory.

    Requirements for Domain Rename
    Before a domain rename operation begins, the following requirements must be met:

    The forest functional level must be Windows Server 2003 or higher.

    If the position of domains will change, trust relationships must be created to provide trust between any domain that will be renamed (and therefore repositioned) and the domain that is to be its parent in the new structure.

    DNS zones must exist for the new domains.

    Domain-based Distributed File System (DFS) folder redirection paths must be redirected to a server-based path.

    Domain-based roaming user profiles must be relocated to a server-based share or stand-alone DFS path.

    Computers in the to-be-renamed domains must be configured to change their host names to reflect the new domain names.

    Certification authority (CA) requirements must be met.

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  3. Vicky Wang 2,731 Reputation points
    2020-09-25T09:04:34.983+00:00

    Hi,
     
    Just want to confirm the current situations.
     
    Please feel free to let us know if you need further assistance.
     
    Best Regards,
    Vicky 

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