How to replace a Server 2003 domain controller with a new, better,faster piece of hardware?

I am in a process of upgrading my existing server to a better hardware. I am planing to replace the current one with much better hardware which can offer higher storage space and more performance. There are currently 2 domain controllers. I can start with backup from old server and then restore that on the new. This is the easiest option that I am having. What I want to do is to get proper advice that will this work fine. Will I get all the old settings as it is on the new one. Is there any other method which is available that can allow me better migration.

You can start with robocopy. This tool can allow you to migrate files from one server to another. It is better if you start with a basic migration process. It is one of the best option. Migration allow you to transfer your all server content from one server to other. There are nice migration guide on the web which can help you to transfer each and every content from one to other. There will be some settings that you have to configure it manually.

If you go with robocopy or some kind of manual process then it will be more complex. You will not be able to get the right settings or configuration that you need. I had performed the same in different. I was having two system. One of them was old server and the other was New. I had connected both of then and used Server Migration software. The software copied all the data, settings, and configuration properly to the new one. Later on I removed the old server and connect the new one. With some minor changes it started working well. For migration you must know each and every settings that your old server has. Anything you neglect will not work on the new one. So better take help from some expert.

It is easy to copy the data but what matters is proper configuration that your old server has. You cannot simply rely on manual settings. It can be complicated if you do the migration on existing system and then there is no way to restore it back. It is a nice option by which you can keep two separate system and then start with migration stuff.

You can not use the same server name due to the SID's as they would be different. There may be registry hacks for this that you could try to get from microsoft