Today I had to move (make an exact copy of) an ADAM (Active Directory In Application Mode) installation to a new server. It was not that trivial and therefore I thought I would share on how to do it.

  1. Add the BUILTIN\Administrators group to the Administrators Role in the Adam instance_This group has a well known SID and therefore can be moved to any server. Se picture below._
  2. Make a backup of the Adam data files folder, using Microsoft Backup_The files can not just be copied because they are locked_
  3. Create the exactly same installation on the new server_Use the same ports, service name, application directory partition etc_
  4. Stop the newly created service_So the files won’t be locked_
  5. Restore from the backup you created in 2)Make sure that you specify to overwrite all files, which is not by default
  6. Start the service and test it

Adding the BUILTIN\Administrators group to the Administrators Role in Adam

This worked for me and if you have problems or other tips, please contact me.

Update 9/3-06: Note that you have to reset the passwords on all users!