You receive an error message when Rendom.exe changes the DNS or NetBIOS name of a domain in Windows Server 2003 (891370)

SYMPTOMS

If you run Rendom.exe to change the DNS or NetBIOS name of a domain, you receive the following error message:

Found Exchange Server in the forest. Domain rename is supported only if Exchange Server version is Exchange 2003 SP1 and above.

This symptom occurs even if Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) has been applied to all of your servers that are running Exchange Server 2003.

CAUSE

This issue occurs when Rendom.exe checks for server objects under the Exchange container in Active Directory. Because Exchange policy objects also have the MsExchExchangeServer class, Exchange policy objects are also returned in that query. This symptom occurs because version number attributes of these objects are not updated when you installed the service pack.

WORKAROUND

To work around this issue, change the Exchange Server 2003 versionNumber attribute to 7226 on the policy object in Active Directory. To do this, follow these steps:

Click Start, click Run, type adsiedit.msc, and then click OK.
Click Configuration, expand CN=Configuration, expand CN=Services, and then expand CN=Microsoft Exchange.
Expand CN= organization name, expand CN= Administrative Groups, expand CN= First Administrative Groups, and then expand CN=policies
Right-click CN=policy name, and then click Properties.
Double-click the versionNumber attribute.
In Integer Attribute Editor, change the value to 7226, and then click OK.

MORE INFORMATION

Domain rename is supported in an Active Directory forest in which Exchange Server 2003 with SP1 is deployed. However, domain rename is not supported in an Active Directory forest in which Exchange 2000 Server is deployed. When the domain rename tool detects this condition, it does not continure with the domain-rename process.

Windows Server 2003 includes a new utility that is named Rendom.exe that addresses many of these limitations. For example, Rendom.exe makes it possible for you to change both the DNS and NetBIOS name and move domains in the forest.

Rendom.exe is included with the Windows Server 2003 operating system CD. However, an updated version of Rendom.exe is available for download in the following Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Domain Rename Tools Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/downloads/domainrename.mspx

This version of Rendom.exe makes domain rename possible in forests that have Exchange Server 2003 with SP1 deployed.

For additional information about how to rename domains, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

819145 Support WebCast: Microsoft Windows Server 2003: Implementing an Active Directory Domain Rename Operation

838623 TechNet Support WebCast: Renaming domains when Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 is in the Active Directory