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How to install Small Business Server 2011 Standard into Existing 2003 Standard Domain?

I have a Windows 2003 R2 Standard server in production at a client. The server is the only DC and hosts a primary business application.

I would like to install a Small Business 2011 Standard Server into this environment. I want to maintain the existing 2003 server ( ie., I can't demote it or the primary business app will break ).

I am pretty certain this can be done, but am not sure if I need to run any "prep" tools on the exisitng 2003 server first. My understanding is that either during or after the SBS2011 install, it will grab all of the fsmo roles, become the global catalog, etc... I am just not sure if any prep is required on the existing 2003 server first.

thanks in advance!

James

Have a look at the link below.

http://blogs.technet.com/b/sbs/archive/2011/01/21/introducing-the-sbs-2011-answer-file-generator.aspx

ChiefTechGuru

SBS needs to have all FSMO roles. As such, to have your 2003 R2 server and SBS 2011 in the same domain, 2003 can be a DC, just not the primary.

OllarConsulting

ASKER

JBond2010 - I don't think I want to do a migration, do I?

ChiefTechGuru - I already knew all of that. I am just not sure how to get there...

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Cris Hanna

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OllarConsulting

ASKER

Cris,

I have done a migration from SBS 2003 to 2011 and have used SBSMigration before ( great tool, btw )... but I am not sure that I need to do all of that. I am not migrating anything.... I am just installing SBS 2011 into an existing domain. The existing domain isn't going away....

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Cliff Galiher

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Cris Hanna

SBS 2011 must hold the FSMO roles and must handle DNS and should handle DHCP so yes, you can ONLY do a migration...

You can't just install SBS 2011 into an existing domain to get Exchange, Sharepoint, RWW, etc. It must be top dog

OllarConsulting

ASKER

Cris and Cliff - so I do it pretty much as a migration scenario? Run the prep tool on the source server, etc? Do you know if I have to create the answer file and boot the new server with that?

With the 2003 SBS - 2011 SBS migration, I had 21 days until the source server would take itself offline. I am pretty sure that is a restriction due to both servers being SBS, correct? In other words, I shouldn't run into that, correct?

Cliff Galiher

You will be running this as a migratoin, so yes, source prep, boot with answer file, the whole works.

While your old server does not have restrictions that will cause it to shut down, SBS 2011 does, so you should still plan on completing your migration within 21 days to ensure all licensing requirements have been met on the enw server.

Cris Hanna

I've not done a std server to sbs, personally, but std server doesn't have the same kind of licensing restriction that S B S has so you should not see the 21 day time limit

Everything else appears right on target

Cris Hanna

good point Cliff about the destination server

DondersConsulting

did anyone get any finite results from this? It sounds like a lot of speculation in the answers, outside of using SBSmigration.com or similar. I have tried doing a migration in production environment and test environment and I get the same errors both places: The Migration Source Prep Tool will not run to completion on Server 2003 Standard, and the SBS2011 installation hangs because it throws an error that the Prep Tool has not been run. I am trying this on Server 2003 Std w/ Exchange 2003 Std.

holy crap! as I was typing this I went back into my Server2003 test VM, and relaunched the prep tool from the new desktop icon, and it completed successfully that way. It just didn't complete successfully from the auto-launching during the install from the SBS2011 DVD. This has plagued me for weeks on end and I kept waiting for new documentation to come out. Has no one else observed this behavior?

sonofab....

Cliff Galiher

Not speculation. In a healthy environment, the source tool should complete. A failing source tool can be an indication of bigger issues, where you would not want to migrate yet anyways.

-Cliff

DondersConsulting

understood. It's just weird that it errored the first time I ran it, then I don't change anything, but run it again from the desktop shortcut and it completes successfully. Maybe it has to do with changes from the first run propagating before launching it again? Would it get different rights launching automatically from the installer vs manually launching via the desktop shortcut?