“A domain is uniquely identified by both a NetBIOS name and by a Security
Identifier (SID). Most Access Control Lists (ACLs) and other security
features of Windows NT identify the domain by a SID; therefore, it is
possible to change the name of the domain with little disruption to
network services.”
The kb reference is Q178009.
The point is “most” and “possible”. Read this kb article very closely. Don’t try
it unless you really really have to make the name change.
As the kb article notes, Microsoft Exchange Server service accounts will need
to be reassociated with the new domain name and security settings on all
Exchange Server public folders will be lost. Before renaming the domain, use the
command line utility Pfadmin.exe to export the public folder security settings
to a text file to make reconstruction of the permissions easier.