Hey everyone! I'm trying to figure out the correct steps to safely demote and remove my old Server 2012 R2 domain controller. Last time I attempted this, it messed up my DNS zone in Active Directory, and I ended up having to restore a VM from backup just to get everything back to normal. It looks like demoting it not only removed the DNS information but also deleted the zone from AD. So, what's the proper way to do this without running into issues?
3 Answers
If your old server was still active and running DNS, you might want to keep it on just to ensure everything stays functional until you're fully transitioned to the 2022 server. I recommend checking your overall setup before doing any removals.
You should be okay as long as this isn’t the last domain controller for your domain. Demoting shouldn’t delete AD-integrated DNS zones unless it is the only DC. Just make sure you have other domain controllers running before you proceed!
Last time you probably clicked 'yes' to the prompt asking if this was the last DC in the network. Be careful with that! If you answer yes, it can lead to the domain getting deleted. Just follow Microsoft’s guidelines; they’ve got solid documentation for this kind of thing.
Yeah, I agree! It’s always safer to keep the old DC online while you’re making changes just in case something goes wrong on the new one.