More reading...
AD at winetmag.com
AD at labmice.com
and MS AD for 2003 Server...which is my home page at the moment. Sad but true.

I've been meaning to add these to the blog for a while: Technet 2003 Server Webcasts and Virtual Conferences (downloadable) ...outstanding and free. Just wait for those MS links to break though...

Things to do:
- Rename a DC, Rename a Domain
- Use the CLUs - REPLMON, DCDIAG, NETDIAG
- FSMO Roles, start by seizing rid role
- Links, bridgehead servers and cost
- Inter/Intra Forest Trusts (from matrix.com to cube.com)

AD Lab
Started my AD lab. Added SERVER11.matrix.com as another DC in Site1. Also added a couple of new DCs: One in a new forest cube.com (yup, I like sci-fi). Added SERVER2 which will be a DC in a child domain in Site 1 (neo.matrix.com)

Leaving SERVER1 and SERVER2 aside for a while, I've been working with SERVER11...

[1] Unattended DC install
DCPROMOed Added SERVER11. with unattended install DCPROMO answer:A:/dc.txt.
Here's what I used for the answer file
[DCINSTALL]
UserName=administrator
Password=P@ssword1
ReplicaOrNewDomain=Replica
ReplicaDomainDNSName=matrix.com
DomainNetbiosName=MATRIX
AutoConfigDNS=no
AllowAnonymousAccess=no
DatabasePath=%systemroot%\ntds
LogPath=%systemroot%\ntds
SYSVOLPath=%systemroot%\sysvol
SafeModeAdminPassword=P@ssword2
CriticalReplicationOnly=No
RebootOnSuccess=yes

[2] Authoritive Restore
There are loads of articles on this. Started by deleting an OU and an associated Group on SERVER11. Made sure that replication to other DCs in the domain was complete. NTBACKUP of System State. Reboot and F8, Directory Services Restore.
Found a bit of difficulty withthe exact syntax to restore an OU so went with:
NTDSUTIL: AUTHORITATIVE RESTORE
AUTHORITATIVE RESTORE: RESTORE DATABASE

Made sure the OU and Group was back on SERVER11. Replicated back to the other DCs. Done and done. Hope I never have to do it for real!

[3] Promoted the forest to 2003 Server level (AD Sites & Services). EZ-PZ. The domain was already at that level.

AD links
Research time again. This one's for 70-294 (AKA Planning, Implementing, and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Infrastructure) The MS objectives have been printed out!

Exam reviews:
Seven things to know about exam 70-294 - from techrepublic.com
70-294: Active Directory Planner - from mcpmag.com

Other links
Planning and designing your Active Directory from searchwin2000.com excellent
adssupport.net Looks a promising source
AD tips from about.com
Verifying Active Directory Installation basic but worth memorising
Top 10 study topics for Windows 2003 certification from techrepublic.com
Active Directory Cleanser (!)

Phew!
Passed! WOO-HOO! Tough enough but using the old Sherlock Holmes trick ("when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth") worked wonders.

They do seem to like securtity on this one. Lots of Ipsec and security template questions.

Two left for MCSE 2003. Next is: Active Directory

Where's my Valium!
Less than 24 hours to 70-293...cram, cram, cram...
Backing up and restoring server clusters

Cram, cram, cram

Two days till 70-293. According to MS Press Readiness Review, my weak area is remote access:

Virtual Private Networking with Windows Server 2003: An Example Deployment

Step-by-Step Guide for Setting Up VPN-based Remote Access in a Test Lab Whoa! Dood! May not have time to do this before the exam but looks well cool...

Daniel Petri has an excellent article on installing a Replica Domain Controller from a previous backed-up media of Windows Server 2003 server

Multicast Address Dynamic Client Allocation Protocol (MADCAP) - "an extension to the DHCP protocol standard used to support dynamic assignment and configuration of IP multicast addresses on TCP/IP-based networks" More...