mspencer100
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looking to migrate SBS2003 to server 2012 R2 on the same hardware, is there a best practice for this?
I have already moved exchange off the sbs 2003 server, so now i need to upgrade/migrate from sbs2003 to server 2012 r2. on the same hardware. is there a migration plan i can follow?
Thanks
Thanks
Joseph Hornsey
Are you looking to move to R2 Essentials or just plain R2?
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The link Rob posted is good stuff. However, migrating to a "non-Essentials" version of Windows is going to be different, I think.
Yeah - Myself personally, wouldn't attempt the non-essential's upgrade for an in place upgrade. Would run into way too many problems - not even sure if it would let you!
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That would typically be the process, one problem you may face from SBS2003 to R2 (standard) is the FSMO roles may not migrate properly causing major domain issues, mainly the PDC Emulator migration. I haven't attempted this upgrade myself but I've seen it come through EE a few times and never heard the end result. I would definitely go down the route of new hardware if its running SBS2003, dependant on the specs obviously.
SBS is 32 bit only. And there was no direct upgrade path from ANY 2003 to 2012 R2. So UPGRADE is not possible. Further, 2012 R2 is 64 bit only. If you're running 2003 on the hardware it's quite possible the existing hardware isn't 64 bit compatible in which case 2012 won't run. PERIOD. You would need new hardware.
*IF* it is 64 bit compatible, then I would recommend the following (this is high level - if you don't understand more than two of these steps, you really need to spend a few weeks in a lab environment learning - or hire an experienced pro to do it for you:
1. Make sure the SBS domain is running in 2003 native mode (both forest and domain functional levels of AD).
2. Run DCDIAG on the SBS server and correct any unexplained errors.
3. Setup a temporary server with 2012 R2 and the Hyper-V role ONLY (or use a Windows 8 Pro or 10 Pro system with Client Hyper-v)
4. Create a VM to run 2012 R2 in the VM.
5. Join the VM to the domain as a member server
6. Promote the VM to a 3. Add 2012 R2 as a member server
7. Promote 2012 R2 as a domain controller in the domain.
8. Remove the SBS specific Group Policies from the domain
9. Run DCDIAG on both the SBS and 2012 R2 DCs and resolve any unexplained errors.
10. Transfer all data remaining on the SBS server to the new VM. Setup DHCP if necessary.
11. Transfer the FSMO roles from the SBS Server to the 2012 R2 server. Once transferred you have 7-21 days before the SBS server will start shutting itself down since it'll be in a license violation state.
12. Shut down the SBS server for a day or two and make sure everything is functioning as expected.
13. Power up the SBS server and demote it properly using DCPROMO
14. Wipe and reload the SBS server with 2012 R2. Add ONLY the Hyper-V role.
15. Power DOWN (virtually) the 2012 R2 VM running as a DC
15, Export the VM from the temporary server and import it to Hyper-V on the new 2012 R2 Install.
16. Power up the VM on the new 2012 R2 server.
Congratulations. You have now migrated SBS 2003 to Server 2012 on the same hardware using a temporary machine. Further, you have ONE MORE LICENSE(!) for 2012 you can install as a VM on the host server (it could be an RDS server, a database server, etc) and you are setup to implement Hyper-V replica as a disaster recovery option at potentially no additional license costs (provided you never power up on the replica server - otherwise, you'll need another 2012 License).
*IF* it is 64 bit compatible, then I would recommend the following (this is high level - if you don't understand more than two of these steps, you really need to spend a few weeks in a lab environment learning - or hire an experienced pro to do it for you:
1. Make sure the SBS domain is running in 2003 native mode (both forest and domain functional levels of AD).
2. Run DCDIAG on the SBS server and correct any unexplained errors.
3. Setup a temporary server with 2012 R2 and the Hyper-V role ONLY (or use a Windows 8 Pro or 10 Pro system with Client Hyper-v)
4. Create a VM to run 2012 R2 in the VM.
5. Join the VM to the domain as a member server
6. Promote the VM to a 3. Add 2012 R2 as a member server
7. Promote 2012 R2 as a domain controller in the domain.
8. Remove the SBS specific Group Policies from the domain
9. Run DCDIAG on both the SBS and 2012 R2 DCs and resolve any unexplained errors.
10. Transfer all data remaining on the SBS server to the new VM. Setup DHCP if necessary.
11. Transfer the FSMO roles from the SBS Server to the 2012 R2 server. Once transferred you have 7-21 days before the SBS server will start shutting itself down since it'll be in a license violation state.
12. Shut down the SBS server for a day or two and make sure everything is functioning as expected.
13. Power up the SBS server and demote it properly using DCPROMO
14. Wipe and reload the SBS server with 2012 R2. Add ONLY the Hyper-V role.
15. Power DOWN (virtually) the 2012 R2 VM running as a DC
15, Export the VM from the temporary server and import it to Hyper-V on the new 2012 R2 Install.
16. Power up the VM on the new 2012 R2 server.
Congratulations. You have now migrated SBS 2003 to Server 2012 on the same hardware using a temporary machine. Further, you have ONE MORE LICENSE(!) for 2012 you can install as a VM on the host server (it could be an RDS server, a database server, etc) and you are setup to implement Hyper-V replica as a disaster recovery option at potentially no additional license costs (provided you never power up on the replica server - otherwise, you'll need another 2012 License).