What is Active Directory ?

Active Directory is a Meta Data. Active Directory is a data base which store a data
base like your user information, computer information and also other network object
info. It has capabilities to manage and administor the complite Network which
connect with AD.
>What is domain ?
Windows NT and Windows 2000, a domain is a set of network resources (applications,
printers, and so forth) for a group of users. The user need only to log in to the
domain to gain access to the resources, which may be located on a number of
different servers in the network. The 'domain' is simply your computer address not
to confused with an URL. A domain address might look something like 211.170.469.

>What is domain controller ?

A Domain controller (DC) is a server that responds to security authentication
requests (logging in, checking permissions, etc.) within the Windows Server domain.
A domain is a concept introduced in Windows NT whereby a user may be granted access
to a number of computer resources with the use of a single username and password
combination.

>What is LDAP ?
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol LDAP is the industry standard directory
access protocol, making Active Directory widely accessible to management and query
applications. Active Directory supports LDAPv3 and LDAPv2.

>What is KCC ?
KCC ( knowledge consistency checker ) is used to generate replication topology for
inter site replication and for intrasite [Link] in a site replication
traffic is done via remote procedure calls over ip, while between site it is done
through either RPC or SMTP.

>Where is the AD database held? What other folders are related to AD?
The AD data base is store in c:\windows\ntds\[Link].

>What is the SYSVOL folder?

The sysVOL folder stores the server's copy of the domain's public files. The
contents such as group policy, users etc of the sysvol folder are replicated to all
domain controllers in the domain.

>What are the Windows Server 2003 keyboard shortcuts ?

Winkey opens or closes the Start menu. Winkey + BREAK displays the System
Properties dialog box. Winkey + TAB moves the focus to the next application in the
taskbar. Winkey + SHIFT + TAB moves the focus to the previous application in the
taskbar. Winkey + B moves the focus to the notification area. Winkey + D shows the
desktop. Winkey + E opens Windows Explorer showing My Computer. Winkey + F opens
the Search panel. Winkey + CTRL + F opens the Search panel with Search for
Computers module selected. Winkey + F1 opens Help. Winkey + M minimizes all. Winkey
+ SHIFT+ M undoes minimization. Winkey + R opens Run dialog. Winkey + U opens the
Utility Manager. Winkey + L locks the computer.

>Where are the Windows NT Primary Domain Controller (PDC) and its Backup Domain
Controller (BDC) in Server 2003 ?
The Active Directory replaces them. Now all domain controllers share a multimaster
peer-to-peer read and write relationship that hosts copies of the Active Directory.

>I am trying to create a new universal user group. Why can’t I ?

Universal groups are allowed only in native-mode Windows Server 2003 environments.
Native mode requires that all domain controllers be promoted to Windows Server 2003
Active Directory.
>What is LSDOU ?
It’s group policy inheritance model, where the policies are applied toLocal
machines, Sites, Domains and Organizational Units.

>Why doesn’t LSDOU work under Windows NT ?

If the [Link] file exist, it has the highest priority among the numerous
policies.

>What’s the number of permitted unsuccessful logons on Administrator account?

Unlimited. Remember, though, that it’s the Administrator account, not any account
that’s part of the Administrators group.

> What’s the difference between guest accounts in Server 2003 and other editions?
More restrictive in Windows Server 2003.

> How many passwords by default are remembered when you check "Enforce Password
History Remembered"?
User’s last 6 passwords.

> Can GC Server and Infrastructure place in single server If not explain why ?
No, As Infrastructure master does the same job as the GC. It does not work
together.

> Which is service in your windows is responsible for replication of Domain

controller to another domain controller.
KCC generates the replication topology.
Use SMTP / RPC to replicate changes.

> What Intrasite and Intersite Replication ?

Intrasite is the replication with in the same site & intersite the replication
between sites.

> What is lost & found folder in ADS ?

It’s the folder where you can find the objects missed due to conflict.
Ex: you created a user in OU which is deleted in other DC & when replication happed
ADS didn’t find the OU then it will put that in Lost & Found Folder.

> What is Garbage collection ?

Garbage collection is the process of the online defragmentation of active
directory. It happens every 12 Hours.

> What System State data contains ?

Contains Startup files,
Registry
Com + Registration Database
Memory Page file
System files
AD information
Cluster Service information
SYSVOL Folder

>What is the difference between Windows 2000 Active Directory and Windows 2003
Active Directory? Is there any difference in 2000 Group Polices and 2003 Group
Polices? What is meant by ADS and ADS services in Windows 2003?
Windows 2003 Active Directory introduced a number of new security features, as well
as convenience features such as the ability to rename a domain controller and even
an entire domain
Windows Server 2003 also introduced numerous changes to the default settings that
can be affected by Group Policy - you can see a detailed list of each available
setting and which OS is required to support it by downloading the Group Policy
Settings Reference.

ADS stands for Automated Deployment Services, and is used to quickly roll out
identically-configured servers in large-scale enterprise environments. You can get
more information from the ADS homepage.

>I want to setup a DNS server and Active Directory domain. What do I do first? If I
install the DNS service first and name the zone '[Link]' can I name the AD domain
'[Link]' too?
Not only can you have a DNS zone and an Active Directory domain with the same name,
it's actually the preferred way to go if at all possible. You can install and
configure DNS before installing Active Directory, or you can allow the Active
Directory Installation Wizard (dcpromo) itself install DNS on your server in the
background.

>How do I determine if user accounts have local administrative access?

You can use the net localgroup administrators command on each workstation (probably
in a login script so that it records its information to a central file for later
review). This command will enumerate the members of the Administrators group on
each machine you run it on. Alternately, you can use the Restricted Groups feature
of Group Policy to restrict the membership of Administrators to only those users
you want to belong.

>Why am I having trouble printing with XP domain users?

In most cases, the inability to print or access resources in situations like this
one will boil down to an issue with name resolution, either DNS or WINS/NetBIOS. Be
sure that your Windows XP clients' wireless connections are configured with the
correct DNS and WINS name servers, as well as with the appropriate NetBIOS over
TCP/IP settings. Compare your wireless settings to your wired LAN settings and look
for any discrepancies that may indicate where the functional difference may lie.

>What is the ISTG? Who has that role by default?

Windows 2000 Domain controllers each create Active Directory Replication connection
objects representing inbound replication from intra-site replication partners. For
inter-site replication, one domain controller per site has the responsibility of
evaluating the inter-site replication topology and creating Active Directory
Replication Connection objects for appropriate bridgehead servers within its site.
The domain controller in each site that owns this role is referred to as the Inter-
Site Topology Generator (ISTG).

>What is difference between Server 2003 vs 2008?

1. Virtualization. (Windows Server 2008 introduces Hyper-V (V for Virtualization)
but only on 64bit versions. More and more companies are seeing this as a way of
reducing hardware costs by running several 'virtual' servers on one physical
machine.)
2. Server Core (provides the minimum installation required to carry out a specific
server role, such as for a DHCP, DNS or print server)
3. Better security.
4. Role-based installation.
5. Read Only Domain Controllers (RODC).
6. Enhanced terminal services.
7. Network Access Protection - Microsoft's system for ensuring that clients
connecting to Server 2008 are patched, running a firewall and in compliance with
corporate security policies.
8. PowerShell - Microsoft's command line shell and scripting language has proved
popular with some server administrators.
9. IIS 7 .
10. Bitlocker - System drive encryption can be a sensible security measure for
servers located in remote branch offices. >br> The main difference between 2003 and
2008 is Virtualization, management. 2008 has more in-build components and updated
third party drivers.
11. Windows Aero.
>What are the requirements for installing AD on a new server?
1 The Domain structure.
2 The Domain Name .
3 storage location of the database and log file.
4 Location of the shared system volume folder.
5 DNS config Methode.
6 DNS configuration.
>What is LDP?
LDP : Label Distribution Protocol (LDP) is often used to establish MPLS LSPs when
traffic engineering is not required. It establishes LSPs that follow the existing
IP routing, and is particularly well suited for establishing a full mesh of LSPs
between all of the routers on the network.

>What are the Groups types available in active directory ?

Security groups: Use Security groups for granting permissions to gain access to
resources. Sending an e-mail message to a group sends the message to all members of
the group. Therefore security groups share the capabilities of distribution groups.

Distribution groups: Distribution groups are used for sending e-main messages to
groups of users. You cannot grant permissions to security groups. Even though
security groups have all the capabilities of distribution groups, distribution
groups still requires, because some applications can only read distribution groups.

>Explain about the groups scope in AD ?

Domain Local Group: Use this scope to grant permissions to domain resources that
are located in the same domain in which you created the domain local group. Domain
local groups can exist in all mixed, native and interim functional level of domains
and forests. Domain local group memberships are not limited as you can add members
as user accounts, universal and global groups from any domain. Just to remember,
nesting cannot be done in domain local group. A domain local group will not be a
member of another Domain Local or any other groups in the same domain.

Global Group: Users with similar function can be grouped under global scope and can
be given permission to access a resource (like a printer or shared folder and
files) available in local or another domain in same forest. To say in simple words,
Global groups can be use to grant permissions to gain access to resources which are
located in any domain but in a single forest as their memberships are limited. User
accounts and global groups can be added only from the domain in which global group
is created. Nesting is possible in Global groups within other groups as you can add
a global group into another global group from any domain. Finally to provide
permission to domain specific resources (like printers and published folder), they
can be members of a Domain Local group. Global groups exist in all mixed, native
and interim functional level of domains and forests.

Universal Group Scope: These groups are precisely used for email distribution and
can be granted access to resources in all trusted domain as these groups can only
be used as a security principal (security group type) in a windows 2000 native or
windows server 2003 domain functional level domain. Universal group memberships are
not limited like global groups. All domain user accounts and groups can be a member
of universal group. Universal groups can be nested under a global or Domain Local
group in any domain.
>What is REPLMON ?
The Microsoft definition of the Replmon tool is as follows; This GUI tool enables
administrators to view the low-level status of Active Directory replication, force
synchronization between domain controllers, view the topology in a graphical
format, and monitor the status and performance of domain controller replication.

>What is ADSIEDIT ?
ADSIEDIT :ADSIEdit is a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in that acts as a
low-level editor for Active Directory. It is a Graphical User Interface (GUI) tool.
Network administrators can use it for common administrative tasks such as adding,
deleting, and moving objects with a directory service. The attributes for each
object can be edited or deleted by using this tool. ADSIEdit uses the ADSI
application programming interfaces (APIs) to access Active Directory. The following
are the required files for using this tool: [Link] ADSIEDIT.

>What is NETDOM ?
NETDOM is a command-line tool that allows management of Windows domains and trust
relationships. It is used for batch management of trusts, joining computers to
domains, verifying trusts, and secure channels.
>What is REPADMIN?
This command-line tool assists administrators in diagnosing replication problems
between Windows domain [Link] can use Repadmin to view the
replication topology (sometimes referred to as RepsFrom and RepsTo) as seen from
the perspective of each domain controller. In addition, Repadmin can be used to
manually create the replication topology (although in normal practice this should
not be necessary), to force replication events between domain controllers, and to
view both the replication metadata and up-to-dateness vectors.

>How to take backup of AD ?

For taking backup of active directory you have to do this : first go START ->
PROGRAM ->ACCESORIES -> SYSTEM TOOLS -> BACKUP OR Open run window and ntbackup and
take systemstate backup when the backup screen is flash then take the backup of
SYSTEM STATE it will take the backup of all the necessary information about the
syatem including AD backup , DNS ETC.

>What are the DS* commands ?

The following DS commands: the DS family built in utility .
DSmod - modify Active Directory attributes.
DSrm - to delete Active Directory objects.
DSmove - to relocate objects
DSadd - create new accounts
DSquery - to find objects that match your query attributes.
DSget - list the properties of an object

>What are the requirements for installing AD on a new server?

An NTFS partition with enough free space.
An Administrator's username and password.
The correct operating system version.
A NIC Properly configured TCP/IP (IP address, subnet mask and - optional - default
gateway).
A network connection (to a hub or to another computer via a crossover cable) .
An operational DNS server (which can be installed on the DC itself) .
A Domain name that you want to use .
The Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 CD media (or at least the i386 folder) .
>Explain about Trust in AD ?
To allow users in one domain to access resources in another, Active Directory uses
trusts. Trusts inside a forest are automatically created when domains are created.

The forest sets the default boundaries of trust, not the domain, and implicit,
transitive trust is automatic for all domains within a forest. As well as two-way
transitive trust, AD trusts can be a shortcut (joins two domains in different
trees, transitive, one- or two-way), forest (transitive, one- or two-way), realm
(transitive or nontransitive, one- or two-way), or external (nontransitive, one- or
two-way) in order to connect to other forests or non-AD domains.

Trusts in Windows 2000 (native mode)

One-way trust – One domain allows access to users on another domain, but the other
domain does not allow access to users on the first domain.
Two-way trust – Two domains allow access to users on both domains.
Trusting domain – The domain that allows access to users from a trusted domain.
Trusted domain – The domain that is trusted; whose users have access to the
trusting domain.
Transitive trust – A trust that can extend beyond two domains to other trusted
domains in the forest.
Intransitive trust – A one way trust that does not extend beyond two domains.
Explicit trust – A trust that an admin creates. It is not transitive and is one way
only.
Cross-link trust – An explicit trust between domains in different trees or in the
same tree when a descendant/ancestor (child/parent) relationship does not exist
between the two domains.
Windows 2000 Server – supports the following types of trusts:
Two-way transitive trusts.
One-way intransitive trusts.
Additional trusts can be created by administrators. These trusts can be:
Shortcut
Windows Server 2003 offers a new trust type – the forest root trust. This type of
trust can be used to connect Windows Server 2003 forests if they are operating at
the 2003 forest functional level. Authentication across this type of trust is
Kerberos based (as opposed to NTLM). Forest trusts are also transitive for all the
domains in the forests that are trusted. Forest trusts, however, are not
transitive.

>Difference between LDIFDE and CSVDE?

CSVDE is a command that can be used to import and export objects to and from the AD
into a CSV-formatted file. A CSV (Comma Separated Value) file is a file easily
readable in Excel. I will not go to length into this powerful command, but I will
show you some basic samples of how to import a large number of users into your AD.
Of course, as with the DSADD command, CSVDE can do more than just import users.
Consult your help file for more info.

LDIFDE is a command that can be used to import and export objects to and from the
AD into a LDIF-formatted file. A LDIF (LDAP Data Interchange Format) file is a file
easily readable in any text editor, however it is not readable in programs like
Excel. The major difference between CSVDE and LDIFDE (besides the file format) is
the fact that LDIFDE can be used to edit and delete existing AD objects (not just
users), while CSVDE can only import and export objects.

>What is tombstone lifetime attribute ?

The number of days before a deleted object is removed from the directory services.
This assists in removing objects from replicated servers and preventing restores
from reintroducing a deleted object. This value is in the Directory Service object
in the configuration NIC.

>What are application partitions? When do I use them ?

AN application diretcory partition is a directory partition that is replicated only
to specific domain [Link] domain controller running windows Server 2003
can host a replica of application directory partition.
Using an application directory partition provides redundany,availability or fault
tolerance by replicating data to specific domain controller pr any set of domain
controllers anywhere in the forest.

>How do you create a new application partition ?

Use the DnsCmd command to create an application directory partition.
To do this, use the following syntax:
DnsCmd ServerName /CreateDirectoryPartition FQDN of partition

>How do you view all the GCs in the forest?

C:\>repadmin /showreps domain_controller where domain_controller is the DC you want
to query to determine whether it?s a GC.
The output will include the text DSA Options: IS_GC if the DC is a GC.

>Can you connect Active Directory to other 3rd-party Directory Services? Name a few
options.
Yes, you can use dirXML or LDAP to connect to other directories.
In Novell you can use E-directory.

>What is IPSec Policy

IPSec provides secure gateway-to-gateway connections across outsourced private wide
area network (WAN) or Internet-based connections using L2TP/IPSec tunnels or pure
IPSec tunnel mode. IPSec Policy can be deployed via Group policy to the Windows
Domain controllers 7 Servers.

>What are the different types of Terminal Services ?

User Mode & Application Mode.

>What is RsOP
RsOP is the resultant set of policy applied on the object (Group Policy).

>What is the System Startup process ?

Windows 2K boot process on a Intel architecture.

1. Power-On Self Tests (POST) are run.

2. The boot device is found, the Master Boot Record (MBR) is loaded into memory,
and its program is run.

3. The active partition is located, and the boot sector is loaded.

4. The Windows 2000 loader (NTLDR) is then loaded.

The boot sequence executes the following steps:

1. The Windows 2000 loader switches the processor to the 32-bit flat memory model.

2. The Windows 2000 loader starts a mini-file system.

3. The Windows 2000 loader reads the [Link] file and displays the operating
system selections (boot loader menu).

4. The Windows 2000 loader loads the operating system selected by the user. If
Windows 2000 is selected, NTLDR runs [Link]. For other operating systems,
NTLDR loads [Link] and gives it control.

5. [Link] scans the hardware installed in the computer, and reports the list
to NTLDR for inclusion in the Registry under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE_HARDWARE hive.

6. NTLDR then loads the [Link], and gives it the hardware information
collected by [Link]. Windows NT enters the Windows load phases.

>How do you change the DS Restore admin password ?

In Windows 2000 Server, you used to have to boot the computer whose password you
wanted to change in Directory Restore mode, then use either the Microsoft
Management Console (MMC) Local User and Groups snap-in or the command net user
administrator * to change the Administrator password.
Win2K Server Service Pack 2 (SP2) introduced the Setpwd utility, which lets you
reset the Directory Service Restore Mode password without having to reboot the
computer. (Microsoft refreshed Setpwd in SP4 to improve the utility?s scripting
options.)

In Windows Server 2003, you use the Ntdsutil utility to modify the Directory
Service Restore Mode Administrator password.

To do so, follow these steps:

1. Start Ntdsutil (click Start, Run; enter [Link]; then enter [Link]).
2. Start the Directory Service Restore Mode Administrator password-reset utility by
entering the argument ?set dsrm password? at the ntdsutil prompt: ntdsutil: set
dsrm password.
3. Run the Reset Password command, passing the name of the server on which to
change the password, or use the null argument to specify the local machine.
For example, to reset the password on server testing, enter the following argument
at the Reset DSRM Administrator Password prompt: Reset DSRM Administrator Password:
reset password on server testing

To reset the password on the local machine, specify null as the server name:
Reset DSRM Administrator Password: reset password on server null

4. You?ll be prompted twice to enter the new password. You?ll see the following
messages:
5. Please type password for DS Restore Mode Administrator Account:
6. Please confirm new password:
Password has been set successfully.
7. Exit the password-reset utility by typing ?quit? at the following prompts:
8. Reset DSRM Administrator Password: quit
ntdsutil: quit

upgrading from NT to 2003. The only things that are NT are the PDC and BDCs;
everything else is 2000 or 2003 member servers. My question is, when I upgrade my
NT domain controllers to 2003, will I need to do anything else to my Windows
2000/2003 member servers that were in the NT domain?
Your existing member servers, regardless of operating system, will simply become
member servers in your upgraded AD domain. If you will be using Organizational
Units and Group Policy (and I hope you are), you'll probably want to move them to a
specific OU for administration and policy application, since they'll be in the
default "Computers" container immediately following the upgrade.

>How do I use Registry keys to remove a user from a group?

In Windows Server 2003, you can use the dsmod command-line utility with the -delmbr
switch to remove a group member from the command line. You should also look into
the freeware utilities available from [Link] . ADFind and ADMod are
indispensable tools in my arsenal when it comes to searching and modifying Active
Directory.

>Why are my NT4 clients failing to connect to the Windows 2000 domain?
Since NT4 relies on NetBIOS for name resolution, verify that your WINS server (you
do have a WINS server running, yes?) contains the records that you expect for the
2000 domain controller, and that your clients have the correct address configured
for the WINS server.

>How do you view replication properties for AD partitions and DCs?

By using replication monitor
go to start > run > type repadmin
go to start > run > type replmon

>Why can't you restore a DC that was backed up 4 months ago?

Because of the tombstone life which is set to only 60 days.

>Different modes of AD restore ?

A nonauthoritative restore is the default method for restoring Active Directory. To
perform a nonauthoritative restore, you must be able to start the domain controller
in Directory Services Restore Mode. After you restore the domain controller from
backup, replication partners use the standard replication protocols to update
Active Directory and associated information on the restored domain controller.

An authoritative restore brings a domain or a container back to the state it was in

at the time of backup and overwrites all changes made since the backup. If you do
not want to replicate the changes that have been made subsequent to the last backup
operation, you must perform an authoritative restore. In this one needs to stop the
inbound replication first before performing the An authoritative restore.

>How do you configure a stand-by operation master for any of the roles?
# Open Active Directory Sites and Services.
# Expand the site name in which the standby operations master is located to display
the Servers folder.
# Expand the Servers folder to see a list of the servers in that site.
# Expand the name of the server that you want to be the standby operations master
to display its NTDS Settings.
# Right-click NTDS Settings, click New, and then click Connection.
# In the Find Domain Controllers dialog box, select the name of the current role
holder, and then click OK.
# In the New Object-Connection dialog box, enter an appropriate name for the
Connection object or accept the default name, and click OK.

>What's the difference between transferring a FSMO role and seizing ?

Seizing an FSMO can be a destructive process and should only be attempted if the
existing server with the FSMO is no longer available.

If you perform a seizure of the FSMO roles from a DC, you need to ensure two
things:
the current holder is actually dead and offline, and that the old DC will NEVER
return to the network. If you do an FSMO role Seize and then bring the previous
holder back online, you'll have a problem.

An FSMO role TRANSFER is the graceful movement of the roles from a live, working DC
to another live DC During the process, the current DC holding the role(s) is
updated, so it becomes aware it is no longer the role holder

>I want to look at the RID allocation table for a DC. What do I do?
dcdiag /test:ridmanager /s:servername /v (servername is the name of our DC)

>What is BridgeHead Server in AD ?

A bridgehead server is a domain controller in each site, which is used as a contact
point to receive and replicate data between sites. For intersite replication, KCC
designates one of the domain controllers as a bridgehead server. In case the server
is down, KCC designates another one from the domain controller. When a bridgehead
server receives replication updates from another site, it replicates the data to
the other domain controllers within its site.

>What is the default size of [Link] ?

10 MB in Server 2000 and 12 MB in Server 2003 .

>Where is the AD database held and What are other folders related to AD ?
AD Database is saved in %systemroot%/ntds. You can see other files also in this
folder. These are the main files controlling the AD structure.

[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]

When a change is made to the Win2K database, triggering a write operation, Win2K
records the transaction in the log file ([Link]). Once written to the log file,
the change is then written to the AD database. System performance determines how
fast the system writes the data to the AD database from the log file. Any time the
system is shut down, all transactions are saved to the database.

During the installation of AD, Windows creates two files: [Link] and [Link].
The initial size of each is 10MB. These files are used to ensure that changes can
be written to disk should the system run out of free disk space. The checkpoint
file ([Link]) records transactions committed to the AD database ([Link]). During
shutdown, a "shutdown" statement is written to the [Link] file.

Then, during a reboot, AD determines that all transactions in the [Link] file have
been committed to the AD database. If, for some reason, the [Link] file doesn't
exist on reboot or the shutdown statement isn't present, AD will use the [Link]
file to update the AD database. The last file in our list of files to know is the
AD database itself, [Link]. By default, the file is located in\NTDS, along with
the other files we've discussed

>What FSMO placement considerations do you know of ?

Windows 2000/2003 Active Directory domains utilize a Single Operation Master method
called FSMO (Flexible Single Master Operation), as described in Understanding FSMO
Roles in Active Directory.

In most cases an administrator can keep the FSMO role holders (all 5 of them) in
the same spot (or actually, on the same DC) as has been configured by the Active
Directory installation process.

However, there are scenarios where an administrator would want to move one or more
of the FSMO roles from the default holder DC to a different DC.
Windows Server 2003 Active Directory is a bit different than the Windows 2000
version when dealing with FSMO placement.

In this article I will only deal with Windows Server 2003 Active Directory, but you
should bear in mind that most considerations are also true when planning Windows
2000 AD FSMO roles

>What do you do to install a new Windows 2003 R2 DC in a Windows 2003 AD?

If you're installing Windows 2003 R2 on an existing Windows 2003 server with SP1
installed, you require only the second R2 CD-ROM.

Insert the second CD and the [Link] will display the Windows 2003 R2 Continue
Setup screen. If you're installing R2 on a domain controller (DC), you must first
upgrade the schema to the R2 version (this is a minor change and mostly related to
the new Dfs replication engine).

To update the schema, run the Adprep utility, which you'll find in the Components\
r2\adprep folder on the second CD-ROM.
Before running this command, ensure all DCs are running Windows 2003 or Windows
2000 with SP2 (or later).

Here's a sample execution of the Adprep /forestprep

command:
D:\CMPNENTS\R2\ADPREP>adprep /forestprep
ADPREP WARNING:
Before running adprep, all Windows 2000 domain controllers in the forest should be
upgraded to Windows 2000 Service Pack 1 (SP1) with QFE 265089, or to Windows 2000
SP2 (or later).

QFE 265089 (included in Windows 2000 SP2 and later) is required to prevent
potential domain controller corruption.
[User Action] If ALL your existing Windows 2000 domain controllers meet this
requirement, type C and then press ENTER to continue. Otherwise, type any other key
and press ENT ER to quit.
C Opened Connection to SAV

DALDC01 SSPI Bind succeeded Current Schema Version is 30 Upgrading schema to

version 31 Connecting to "SAVDALDC01" Logging in as current user using SSPI
Importing directory from file "C:\WINDOWS\system32\[Link]" Loading entries...
139 entries modified successfully.

The command has completed successfully Adprep successfully updated the forest-wide
information.
After running Adprep, install R2 by performing these steps:

1. Click the "Continue Windows Server 2003 R2 Setup" link, as the figureshows.
2. At the "Welcome to the Windows Server 2003 R2 Setup Wizard" screen, click Next.
3. You'll be prompted to enter an R2 CD key (this is different from your existing
Windows 2003 keys) if the underlying OS wasn't installed from R2 media (e.g., a
regular Windows 2003 SP1 installation).
Enter the R2 key and click Next. Note: The license key entered for R2 must match
the underlying OS type, which means if you installed Windows 2003 using a volume-
license version key, then you can't use a retail or Microsoft Developer Network
(MSDN) R2 key.
4. You'll see the setup summary screen which confirms the actions to be performed
(e.g., Copy files). Click Next.
5. After the installation is complete, you'll see a confirmation dialog box. Click
Finish

>What is OU ?
Organization Unit is a container object in which you can keep objects such as user
accounts, groups, computer, printer . applications and other (OU).
In organization unit you can assign specific permission to the user's. organization
unit can also be used to create departmental limitation.

>Name some OU design considerations ?

OU design requires balancing requirements for delegating administrative rights -
independent of Group Policy needs - and the need to scope the application of Group
Policy.

The following OU design recommendations address delegation and scope issues:

Applying Group Policy An OU is the lowest-level Active Directory container to which
you can assign Group Policy settings.
Delegating administrative authority
usually don't go more than 3 OU levels