HELP! Active Directory Planning questions..

[fus2004]

I am trying to restructure Active Directory and our many Domain controllers to prepare for Exchange 2007 and to streamline replication from the previous Admin. I am getting mixed ideas on how our environment should be setup...Please review and provide any insight to this topology

Current Environment:
1 Domain
9 Domain Controllers
9 Locations/sites
Each location is connected to the Data Center by a T1
Each location has a Domain Controller
All 9 Domain Controllers are Global Catalog Servers

Some Microsoft tech reps tell me to remove all sites and make just one big site with all the subnets tied to it in AD. Demote all domain controllers except the PDC and one backup. Turn all servers at each site to just file servers to host files for each campus.

I want to make sure that if a T1 goes down the users at the campus that have a downed T1 can still log in with cached credentials or maybe another way and work on items that are hosted on the campus file server. Obviously services that are hosted from the data center like email, and internet will be down, but that is OK.

Please help!

Jason

 

[riser]

You have the right idea then. Create sites for each location just as you had thought.

I believe Exchange still requires WINS though. You also have the option of moving around your FSMO/Operation Masters to other servers do you don't have them all on one machine.

With your current setup, you no longer have PDCs/BDCs, etc.

If you're running AD, pull the FSMO roles off and put onto another computer. Remove that server from your domain. That is your backup if something goes wrong.

Make necessary changes to your domain. When you're done and have it working how you want it, I'd still make a backup of your "removed server" then demote and add back into your new domain.