Maestroscott
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Windows Server 2003-2008 Migration/Upgrade/Fresh Install
Here is the basic situation. I have two domain controllers on our network. One is a physical machine (Dell Poweredge 1950 - Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard) and one Virtual (running in Parallels Server on an iMac Windows Server 2008 Standard).
I would like to make the 2003 Server a 2008 Server... I have a few questions...
1. Can I promote the VM to be the Primary DC; take the 2003 DC offline; Do a clean install on the physical machine and then re-promote it to Primary DC (with the same name that it had)?
2. Should I use the 32bit or 64bit version? It is only a DC and a Printer Server/ I have other 32 bit servers on the network... will this make a difference in their performance as well?
3. Aside from temporarily losing print services... What other problems would be causes if I did it during normal business hours?
4. Would I have to rejoin all the computers to the domain after it is completed? Will I have to re-deploy printers to everyone? I have one shared directory on the machine... will I have to set it up on the workstations again?
5. Will Windows 2008 as all DCs effect a SQL 2005 instance on a 2003 Server machine???
Okay... that's my start... I want to avoid doing an inplace upgrade, because I want to put bigger hard drives in the server... Thank you for whatever help you could provide...
I would like to make the 2003 Server a 2008 Server... I have a few questions...
1. Can I promote the VM to be the Primary DC; take the 2003 DC offline; Do a clean install on the physical machine and then re-promote it to Primary DC (with the same name that it had)?
2. Should I use the 32bit or 64bit version? It is only a DC and a Printer Server/ I have other 32 bit servers on the network... will this make a difference in their performance as well?
3. Aside from temporarily losing print services... What other problems would be causes if I did it during normal business hours?
4. Would I have to rejoin all the computers to the domain after it is completed? Will I have to re-deploy printers to everyone? I have one shared directory on the machine... will I have to set it up on the workstations again?
5. Will Windows 2008 as all DCs effect a SQL 2005 instance on a 2003 Server machine???
Okay... that's my start... I want to avoid doing an inplace upgrade, because I want to put bigger hard drives in the server... Thank you for whatever help you could provide...
ASKER
That just seems so simple...
DNS is running on the VM but not DHCP...
If I make it the same name... do I have to delete it from AD in order to allow it to join? (I notice I have to do that with workstations) When it is fully up and running again... can I just move those roles back to the physical server and then the VM will go back to it's old ways??? Or should I take a snapshot of the VM and just use the snapshot when I am done???
DNS is running on the VM but not DHCP...
If I make it the same name... do I have to delete it from AD in order to allow it to join? (I notice I have to do that with workstations) When it is fully up and running again... can I just move those roles back to the physical server and then the VM will go back to it's old ways??? Or should I take a snapshot of the VM and just use the snapshot when I am done???
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Personnaly and don't see any advantage to have a DC with 2008.
A lot more GPOs, it's true, some few security features for Active Directory also. But nothing to justify the work and trouble from a migration. And I have some "stress" between my 2003 and 2008 DCs.
personnaly I only recommend 2008 for new networks (new forests) or migration from 2000. So think a lot about the benefices of having (or not) a Windows 2008 before doing it! If you chose to migrate you DCs, use 64 bits.
A lot more GPOs, it's true, some few security features for Active Directory also. But nothing to justify the work and trouble from a migration. And I have some "stress" between my 2003 and 2008 DCs.
personnaly I only recommend 2008 for new networks (new forests) or migration from 2000. So think a lot about the benefices of having (or not) a Windows 2008 before doing it! If you chose to migrate you DCs, use 64 bits.
""Personnaly and don't see any advantage to have a DC with 2008.""
Interesting Take on it :) I am a huge fan of 2008, and integration with 2003 has been flawless so far and i run maybe ~30 2008 Servers in the mix.....I love it, AD works better, the fact that its raised above the OS into its own "module" is massively beneficial....there are many many advantages with AD but not unless you run a complete 2008 AD, its just most people (inc myself) dont use them, getting indepth with 2008 AD is VERY interesting with some of that changes...however, at a base level, to the eye, its the same.....
GMorineau - what sort of stress do you have with them - email me if you have things that are persistent and annoying - might be able to help
Interesting Take on it :) I am a huge fan of 2008, and integration with 2003 has been flawless so far and i run maybe ~30 2008 Servers in the mix.....I love it, AD works better, the fact that its raised above the OS into its own "module" is massively beneficial....there are many many advantages with AD but not unless you run a complete 2008 AD, its just most people (inc myself) dont use them, getting indepth with 2008 AD is VERY interesting with some of that changes...however, at a base level, to the eye, its the same.....
GMorineau - what sort of stress do you have with them - email me if you have things that are persistent and annoying - might be able to help
Jay,
I like Windows 2008 as Windows Vista, and not, I´m not trying to be sarcastic! kkk... I realy like both. And with SP2, the product it just great. BUT if I compare W2k3 and W2k8 I´m not able to seen huge diferences and benefics to justify the volume of work to make a full migration.
Ok, AD is better but you must have a third part software for granular backups. I´m not only looking for tecnical benefits but also for managements and cost/benefits.
The stress is with folders redirections and some incompatibility with GPOs appliances and replications. Nothing very serious but a bit strange.
I like Windows 2008 as Windows Vista, and not, I´m not trying to be sarcastic! kkk... I realy like both. And with SP2, the product it just great. BUT if I compare W2k3 and W2k8 I´m not able to seen huge diferences and benefics to justify the volume of work to make a full migration.
Ok, AD is better but you must have a third part software for granular backups. I´m not only looking for tecnical benefits but also for managements and cost/benefits.
The stress is with folders redirections and some incompatibility with GPOs appliances and replications. Nothing very serious but a bit strange.
hmm well if you want a second set of eyes....drop me a line :)
I would second Jay_Jay's opinion on Server 2008 Active Directory environments being very stable. It is easy to mix 2003 and 2008 DCs while you upgrade, or even as a permanent deployment topology.
-Matt
Hope this info helps
1. Active Directory no longer uses the idea of a primary DC. But the first server you setup manages a few extra roles that you will need to make sure are running on the VM machine before you re-install the server. Check this link out to see how to do this.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/324801
2. There is only a slight performance advantage in using 64bit rather than 32bit. If your hardware can handle the 64bit version go for it. The main advantage of 64bit is its ability to use more than 4GB of Ram.
3. Other services you may need to think about are DNS and DHCP. Cant think of any others at the moment.
4. Once you have re-installed the server you will need to add that server back to the domain as a DC using Dcpromo. You will need to re-install the printers on the server but if the server is the same name as the old one you should get away without having to re-install all the clients printers(Unfortunately I have not tested this so may be wrong). Again you will need to re-setup the share on the new server. If you are using a logon script to map the drive then no changes needed. If you have mapped the drive from each workstation manually you will need to redo this. Can be done quite fast with a batch file that you email to each user. You will not need to rejoin all the computers to the domain as the domain will be kept running by the VM DC.