Raise the Domain Functional Level for 2008 server
Applies To: Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2
When you install Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) on a
server running Windows Server 2008 R2, a set of basic Active
Directory features is enabled by default. In addition to the basic
Active Directory features on individual domain controllers, there
are new domain-wide and forest-wide Active Directory features
available when all domain controllers in a domain or forest are
running Windows Server 2008 R2.
For the new domain-wide features to be enabled, all domain
controllers in the domain must be running Windows Server 2008 R2,
and the domain functional level must be raised to Windows Server
2008 R2.
Membership required: Domain Admins or Enterprise Admins
To raise the domain functional level
1.Open Active Directory Domains and Trusts. To open Active
Directory Domains and Trusts, click Start, click Administrative
Tools, and then click Active Directory Domains and Trusts.
2.In the console tree, right-click the domain for which you want
to raise functional level, and then click Raise Domain Functional
Level.
3.In Select an available domain functional level, do one of the
following:
* To raise the domain functional level to Windows Server 2008,
click Windows Server 2008, and then click Raise.
* To raise the domain functional level to Windows Server 2008
R2, click Windows Server 2008 R2, and then click Raise.
Caution
Do not raise the domain functional level to a later version
(such as Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2) if you have
or will have any domain controllers running earlier versions of
Windows Server.
Important
After you set the domain functional level to a certain value,
you cannot roll back or lower the domain functional level, with one
exception: when you raise the domain functional level to Windows
Server 2008 R2 and if the forest functional level is Windows Server
2008 or lower, you have the option of rolling the domain functional
level back to Windows Server 2008. You can lower the domain
functional level only from Windows Server 2008 R2 to Windows Server
2008. If the domain functional level is set to Windows Server 2008
R2, it cannot be rolled back, for example, to Windows Server
2003.
