Migrating DHCP databases between Windows servers
Written by: Mark Wilson
One side effect of rebuilding the server that runs pretty much everything on my home network was that I had to migrate the DHCP database (twice – first to a virtual machine operating as a temporary server, and then back to the original hardware after it had been rebuilt).
I knew that it was possible (I did it from NT 4.0 to Windows 2000 for a client few years back) but hadn’t done it recently.
It turned out to be pretty straightforward – all of the details are in Microsoft knowledge base article 325473 but basically on the source (Windows 2000 Server) server, stop the DHCP service and use jetpack.exe to tidy up the database, then use the DHCP database export/import resource kit tool (dhcpexim.exe) to dump the database and finally import it on the target (Windows Server 2003) server using the network shell (netsh.exe). The second migration was even quicker – for a Windows Server 2003 source and target it just involves a couple of netsh commands. Finally, don’t forget to disable redundant DHCP services (or deauthorise the servers in Active Directory) to prevent multiple DHCP servers from servicing clients simultaneously.
Posted: 11:28 on Tuesday 11 October 2005 under TCP/IP, Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003.
Comments: 1
RSS (for comments on this post only)Share This
Comments
Pingback from Mark’s (we)Blog » Migrating WSUS to a new server without downloading all the updates
Time: Friday 16 February 2007, 14:29
[...] then removing the old services. DHCP was similarly straightforward (I’ve blogged before about migrating DHCP databases between servers) and RIS just needed to be installed on the new server, the images copied across, and the remote [...]
Write a comment
Please note the rules for comments and the privacy policy and data protection notice. I'm sorry but, because not everyone sticks to the rules, I've had to implement some spam prevention measures - if you're experiencing difficulties leaving a comment, please let me know.