How to import and to export IAS configuration information from one Windows 2000 Server-based computer to another Windows 2000 Server-based computer or to another Windows 2003 Server-based computer

This article describes how to import and to export the Internet Authentication Service (IAS) configuration information from one Microsoft Windows 2000 Server-based computer to another Windows 2000 Server-based computeror to another Windows 2003 Server-based computer.

You can use the Netsh command-line utility to import and to export IAS configuration information. The Netsh utility lets you display or modify the network configuration of a computer either locally or remotely. This utility also provides a scripting feature that lets you run a group of commands in batch mode against a specified computer. You can also use the Netsh utility to save the IAS configuration information in a text file as a Netsh command script for archival purposes or to configure IAS on other servers.

To export the IAS configuration information of a Windows 2000 Server-based computer to a text file, follow these steps:

1. At a command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
   netsh aaaa show config > file.txt
   Note In this command, "aaaa" indicates the authentication, authorization, accounting, and auditing (AAAA) database. The AAAA database is also known as the IAS database. The "show config" string is used to display the configuration of the IAS database file as a Netsh command script. The file.txt placeholder indicates the file that contains the IAS configuration information.
2. Close the command prompt.

To import the IAS configuration information from one Windows 2000 Server-based computer to another Windows 2000 Server-based computer or to another Windows 2003 Server-based computer, follow these steps:

1. Copy the text file that contains the source computer's IAS configuration information to the destination computer.
2. At a command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
   netsh exec file.txt
   Note In this command, "netsh exec" is the string that is used to import the IAS configuration information. The file.txt placeholder indicates the file that contains the IAS configuration information.
3. Close the command prompt.

For additional information about IAS, see the "Internet Authentication Service for Windows 2000" white paper. To do this, visit the following Microsoft Web site: