martinlalancette
asked on
In-place upgrade from SBS 2008 to WS2012 with DC and Exchange 2007
Hello,
I am planning an in-place upgrade of a server for a client. They currently have:
SBS 2008 (Server 2008 Standard FE)
- Domain Controller
- AD DS / AD CS
- Exchange 2007
- Few other Server Roles (DHCP, DNS, etc.)
- SQL Database
- Less than 10 users
They have to upgrade to Server 2012 or WS 2012 R2 because a few applications won't be supported anymore in the Server 2008 environment.
The information I gathered about upgrading the server seems fairly straightforward for the Domain Controller and Active Directory, however the problem is mostly Exchange.
What do I need to have to be able to do the same things as the old 2008 server?
Which version of Windows Server 2012? Essentials doesn't take in Exchange, however virtualization is possible? Would I need to buy another licence (WS2012 Standard) just for the virtualized server?
Should I just get a WS2012 Standard, even if I have less than 10 uers?
As for the Exchange, what should I do? If I upgrade OS to 2012, Exchange 2007 isn't compatible with WS2012. Do I upgrade the Exchange on the old server and then upgrade to WS2012? I'm at a loss here.
Thanks.
I am planning an in-place upgrade of a server for a client. They currently have:
SBS 2008 (Server 2008 Standard FE)
- Domain Controller
- AD DS / AD CS
- Exchange 2007
- Few other Server Roles (DHCP, DNS, etc.)
- SQL Database
- Less than 10 users
They have to upgrade to Server 2012 or WS 2012 R2 because a few applications won't be supported anymore in the Server 2008 environment.
The information I gathered about upgrading the server seems fairly straightforward for the Domain Controller and Active Directory, however the problem is mostly Exchange.
What do I need to have to be able to do the same things as the old 2008 server?
Which version of Windows Server 2012? Essentials doesn't take in Exchange, however virtualization is possible? Would I need to buy another licence (WS2012 Standard) just for the virtualized server?
Should I just get a WS2012 Standard, even if I have less than 10 uers?
As for the Exchange, what should I do? If I upgrade OS to 2012, Exchange 2007 isn't compatible with WS2012. Do I upgrade the Exchange on the old server and then upgrade to WS2012? I'm at a loss here.
Thanks.
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First, let's get a big hurdle out of the way. You won't be doing an in-place upgrade of any kind. Full stop. Regardless of which technology you buy, you must start thinking "migration" and abandon any thoughts of shortcutting with an in-place upgrade.
Second, if you need exchange, why buy old? SBS never allowed you to break apart its parts, so you don't have any exchange license now. Buying exchange 2007 this late in its life is a total waste.
So. If jt were me, I'd buy *at least* one copy of server 2012 R2, one copy of exchange 2013 and CALs. and virtualize. One VM running the essentials role. One VM running exchange, and VMs for LOB apps. Without more detailed planning, and a full needs and budget assessment, that's as good a starting place as any.
Second, if you need exchange, why buy old? SBS never allowed you to break apart its parts, so you don't have any exchange license now. Buying exchange 2007 this late in its life is a total waste.
So. If jt were me, I'd buy *at least* one copy of server 2012 R2, one copy of exchange 2013 and CALs. and virtualize. One VM running the essentials role. One VM running exchange, and VMs for LOB apps. Without more detailed planning, and a full needs and budget assessment, that's as good a starting place as any.
ASKER
Thank you all for your answers. I'm talking with the client about how to proceed and costs involved for the upgrade/migration. It should be done soon.
ASKER
Alright then. The client chose to send all the Exchange to the cloud. All that's left to do is to is:
Backup everything.
Migrate Exchange to cloud
Uninstall Exchange
Upgrade to Windows Server 2012 Standard Edition
Does this look like a good order for this?
Backup everything.
Migrate Exchange to cloud
Uninstall Exchange
Upgrade to Windows Server 2012 Standard Edition
Does this look like a good order for this?
You still won't be doing an upgrade. As I said above, you need to plan on migrating, not upgrading. Uninstalling Exchange would be just one step in a proper migration plan.
If you upgrade the OS then you need to upgrade Exchange, going to 2013 would be the best approach in this situation
Server Standard would be sufficient for this scenario, You could also us Hyper-V which will allow you to have 2 guest under the Host Operating system.
Anything more would be overkill for 10 users.
With Exchange 2007 there is an upgrade path to Exchange 2013. However you will need to bring up new servers to install the new Exchange 2013 on. You can use the Exchange Deployment Assistant link below for proper steps to migrated.
Exchange Deployment Assistant
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/office/dn756393.aspx
Will.