Rename or Change a Domain Controller name

     Renaming domain controller is not an easy process like renaming standalone computer. While renaming domain controller, the SPN value of the corresponding computer account must be replicated to all other domain controllers in the domain, and the DNS resource records for the new computer name must be distributed to all the authoritative DNS servers for the domain name. If the updates and registrations have not occurred before the removal of the old computer name, some clients might not be able to locate this computer using the new name or the old name.

Required Privilege to Rename Domain Controller
 
  Membership in Domain Admins, or equivalent privilege is the minimum requirement to complete this procedure.

Netdom command-line tool

   Here we are using the command line tool Netdom to rename domain controller. It is available by default in Windows Server 2008 and later version but it is not available by default in Windows Server 2003, Netdom.exe is part of the Windows Server 2003 Support Tools.
 
    You can download them by the following link:
     http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=15326
 
    Note: You need to restart the server after you install the Support Tools.

Steps to rename a domain controller using Netdom.exe

      1. To use Netdom, you must run the netdom command from an elevated command prompt. To open an elevated command prompt, click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator.

      2. At the command prompt, type the following command to add the new domain controller name, and then press ENTER key:

          netdom computername <CurrentDCName> /add:<NewDCName>
     
          <CurrentDCName> : The current fully qualified DNS name of the computer that you are renaming.
          <NewDCName> :  The new fully qualified DNS name for the computer that you are renaming.
         
            Note:  Here, I have renamed the name WIN-1WOF9Q3GSI2.Work2008.local to devDC.Work2008.local

     3. Type the following command to designate the new name as the primary computer name, and then press ENTER key:

        netdom computername <CurrentDCName> /makeprimary:<NewDCName>

    4. Restart the computer.

    5. After the computer restarts, open a Command Prompt. At the command prompt, type the following command to remove the old domain controller name, and then press ENTER:

        netdom computername <NewDCName> /remove:<OldDCName>


       <NewDCName> : The new FQDN that you added for the computer in step 2.
       <OldDCName> :  The old FQDN of the renamed computer.

Thanks,
Morgan
Software Developer