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Lesson 5 Move server objects between sites
Objective Move server objects.

Move Server Objects between Sites in Active Directory

A server object is an Active Directory object that represents a domain controller.
This is a server object.
This is a server object

Depending on the order in which you choose to implement the site structure, you may need to move server objects into their corresponding sites. You will create sites and subnets either before or after you add additional domain controllers, and this will effect whether you move server objects in one of two ways.

Creating Sites and subnets before

If you create all of your required sites and subnets prior to adding additional domain controllers, the server objects for the additional domain controllers are placed into the appropriate sites based on the subnet information. Creating the sites and subnets first makes the administrator's job easier, because you do not have to do the subnetting calculations to determine to which site a server object should belong and move it there manually.

For example, say you have a simple network consisting of two sites, with each site containing a single subnet as follows:
  1. Site 1-subnet 192.168.1.0/24
  2. Site 2-subnet 192.168.2.0/24

You install Active Directory on a computer with an IP address of 192.168.2.200 and a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. During the installation process, a server object is created for this new domain controller in site 2 because site 2 contains the subnet to which the new server belongs.

Creating Sites and subnets after

By comparison, if you create additional domain controllers before you define any new sites, the server objects for the domain controllers are placed in the Default-First-Site-Name site. When you create new sites, you must manually move the server objects to the site that contains the corresponding subnet. To move a server object to a new site:
  1. Open Active Directory Sites and Services from the Administrative Tools menu.
  2. In the console tree, expand Sites.
  3. Expand the site that contains the server object that you want to move.
  4. Right-click the server object, and then click Move. Here, we've expanded the Default-First-Name site, then right-clicked Constellation.

This is one step in moving a server object.
This is one step in moving a server object.

  1. Select the destination site, and then click OK.
This shows what you have chosen to move.
This shows what you have chosen to move.

In the next lesson, you willl create and configure site links.

Move Server Objects between Sites - Exercise

Click the Exercise link below to complete this problem-solver. Move Server Objects between Sites - Exercise