Raise Forest Functional Level Dialog Box

Applies To: Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012

Item	Details
Forest name	Specifies the name of the selected forest.
Current forest functional level	Specifies the current setting of the forest functional level. Note After you set the forest functional level to a certain value, you cannot roll back or lower the forest functional level, with one exception: when you raise the forest functional level to Windows Server 2008 R2 and if Active Directory Recycle Bin is not enabled, you have the option of rolling the forest functional level back to Windows Server 2008. (For more information about Active Directory Recycle Bin, see What's New in AD DS: Active Directory Recycle Bin (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=141392)). You can lower the forest functional level only from Windows Server 2008 R2 to Windows Server 2008. If the forest functional level is set to Windows Server 2008 R2, it cannot be rolled back, for example, to Windows Server 2003. `<p></p> </div> <p>The functional level of a domain or forest defines only the set of Windows Server operating systems that can run on domain controllers, along with the available features. It does not define the client operating systems that are supported in the domain or forest. </p> </td>`

Additional references