Upgrade Domain Functional Level From 2008r2 To 2012 R2

Introducing a 2012 r2 dc to your environment won t automatically update your domain or forest function levels.

Upgrade domain functional level from 2008r2 to 2012 r2. Forest level windows server 2012. Get the current domain and forest functional levels. Take a look at the article below for more info. You cannot upgrade domain controllers that run windows server 2003 or 32 bit versions of windows server 2008.

Since it looks like you still have a 2008 domain controller you must either upgrade it to 2012 r2 decommission it or stay at 2008r2 functional level. After you use the lightweight directory access protocol ldap tools to edit the functional level click ok to continue. The attributes on the partitions container and on the domain head are correctly increased. For example to set the domain functional level to 2008 r2.

To raise the domain functional level on a samba active directory ad domain controller dc use samba tool. Samba tool domain level raise domain level 2008 r2 for a list of supported domain functional levels see supported functional levels. The second restriction for which there is a limited exception on windows server 2008 r2 is that once upgraded the domain or forest functional level cannot later be downgraded. The only purpose that having such ability would serve would be so that downlevel dcs could be added to the domain.

Starting in windows server 2008 r2 however. Upgrading functional levels in a new windows server 2008 r2 forest. If you are going to raise functional levels to 2012 r2 all your domain controller must be running windows 2012 r2. It will extend your ad schema but hat change should not cause issues.

Downgrade domain functional level from 2012 r2 2012 to 2008r2 2008 to downgrade the domain forest functional level there are no gui tools but we can use the powershell command available in windows server 2008r2 2012 2012r2 for our requirement. Value of 4 windows server 2008 r2 domain level. As has already been shown this is generally a bad idea. The adprep which extends the schema does not need to be run from the fsmo role holders like in older versions so you should be able to just proceed with the role install then the dcpromo process.

Domain controllers that run 64 bit versions of windows server 2008 or windows server 2008 r2 can be upgraded to windows server 2012. Value of 3 windows server 2008 domain level. All domains that are subsequently added to the forest will operate at the windows server 2008 r2 domain functional level by default.