Server identity "transfer"?

We've got about 50 servers in remote sites (single server each site).

Some sites are small, some are large (300 users)

When migrating/upgrading from NW 6.5 to OES 2 linux, has anyone tried
this?

When you install the OES 2 server into the existing tree, give it the
same name as the "old" server you are replacing in order to preserve all
those lovely UNC paths and things that are in eDir.

I know that normally with NetWare, it would detect that server object
and ask you if you wanted to replace it.

I know that "officially" I should have to cart a brand new $8,000 server
out to each and every region and spend the entire weekend migrating the
500+ GB of data from one server to another. However, with staff and
monetary resources, this would take almost 1 year to upgrade/migrate.

We would rather try to install OES 2 on the same server in the region
(we have the free drive space to do that) and mount the pre-existing NSS
volumes as that would save a LOT of time (not to mention we could do
this remotely via ILO).

Since eDir is fully replicated, and it could install into the existing
tree, the only issue I would forsee is giving the server the same name
at that point and "updating" the existing NCP server object that WAS
NetWare in the tree. (Same IP would be kept, etc.)

Anyone tried this yet? (Plan on doing this in a test lab prior to
anything, but I'm just curious).

Thanks!