The netsh command can be used to manage network interfaces, control routing and one of the lesser-used features that I’ve seen are to import and export service settings with Windows Servers. This can be especially helpful if you need to normalize data for import into another Windows server or to be normalized for use with another server platform. To export your DHCP information, from a command prompt in Windows you would run the netsh command along with the service you are exporting settings for (WINS, DHCP, etc). After the service identifier you would indicate the action being performed (ie – import or export in this context), followed by a file to dump the data to and finally the subset of the data (we’ll use all for convenience sake and throw the data into an easily locatable place on the root of the C Drive, which you obviously need access to for the copy):
netsh dhcp server export C:dhcpsettings.txt all
Now that you have exported the data, you can copy it to your other Windows Server box and import using the exact same command (assuming the file lives in the same place) but swapping out your export for an import:
netsh dhcp server import C:dhcpsettings.txt all
DNS is a different beast given that there is a special dnscmd command for managing that service. To export your DNS information:
dnscmd ServerName /enumrecords zonename @ /type A /detail > c:mydnssettings.txt
Or in CSV:
dnscmd /enumrecords zonename @ /Type A /additional > c:mydnssettings.csv
One of the most used services for Windows servers though, is as a filer. File shares are stored in a registry key at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesLanmanServerShares. You can browse here using regedt32 and then export the key. You would then use the Import option in the File menu (Windows 2003 uses Import whereas previous versions use Restore).
Note: Restoring this data will nuke and pave your existing shares on the box you’re running it on and in most cases you will need to restart appropriate services and/or the box to see the new settings.