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Upgrade existing SBS 2003 Server to SBS 2011

Answered Upgrade existing SBS 2003 Server to SBS 2011

  • Tuesday, February 19, 2013 4:44 PM
     
     
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    I have searched the thread and I can't seem to find anything on how to upgrade my existing SBS 2003 server to SBS 2011. I do know that my Server is 64bit compatible, and I'm now kicking myself for not getting SBS2008.  It was an option. 4 gigs of RAM is killing me. My assumption is that I will need some type of migrating tool to retrieve the information before I install SBS2011. Its not as easy as just sticking in the 2011 disk and letting it do the work, correct?

    Thanks,

     

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  • Tuesday, February 19, 2013 7:16 PM
     
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    Server 64 bit compatible doesn't means you can upgrade. It means you can install a 64bit compatible OS. Currently you have 32 bit OS installed (SBS2003) and there is no upgrade path possible from 32bit OS to 64bit OS .

    Its not as easy as just sticking in the 2011 disk and letting it do the work, correct? --- If that is the case I would suggest please read the docs and articles available , IMHO you should hire a guy or contact a prof team to do the job for you.

     
  • Tuesday, February 19, 2013 9:18 PM
     
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    I would suggest going to sbsmigration.com and defining the project as 'migration from SBS03 to SBS11 on same hardware'.

    The basic process is that you 'swing' the AD to a temporary server (could be a virtual machine, or even just some 'jumped up workstation') and then back to the box as SBS11.

    IMPORTANT: How many users? Also, what is the maximum RAM that the box will take? Though SBS11 declares a minimum RAM of 8GB that's _barely sufficient_ for a 'test box', most suggest 10GB RAM as a starting point and many would suggest 12GB, for very few users. It's not long before you get to 16GB as a _reasonable_ minimum.

     
  • Tuesday, February 19, 2013 10:09 PM
     
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    If SBS2008 was an option when you bought the server that implies its now 5 years old, so I'd question whether its economically viable to put sbs2011 on this hardware at all.

    Depends on the number of users, but I have personally never done a "migration" from one version to another, either on new or old hardware. Always start a fresh. Its simple, a little more labour intensive, but ultimately very straight forward. Biggest hassle is import/export of mailboxes depending on their state and size. Only issue I've ever had when doing it this way is that internal message before the change cannot be replied to afterwards, an issue that very quickly disappears as old messages become obselete. None of my customers use sharepoint though which would probably complicate things some more. 

    Why is 4gb ram killing you? I have many customer still using SBS2003 quite happily including fairly heavy SQL users. How well kept and optimised is the system? how many users? whats apps have you got?



     
  • Wednesday, February 20, 2013 7:54 AM
     
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    Hi,

    Except from SBS 2000 to SBS 2003 there have never been an inplace upgrade possible, you always need to do a migration, same goes for Exchange Server. You cannot upgrade because you cannot change a 32 bit os to a 64 bit os. Also with exchange the database all are called edb but the structure has completely changed between version so also no in place upgrade option.

    If you are not comfortable with migrations, you should or first do some test migrations in a lab / test environment or get your self some help from a local IT company.

    Doing a clean installation could also be an option but you have to do a lot of manual stuff like migrating data, creating user accounts, setting file permissions, moving workstations to the new domain, recreate user profiles and personal settings, etc, etc.

    Regards Ronny
    -------------
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  • Wednesday, February 20, 2013 11:10 AM
     
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    If SBS2008 was an option when you bought the server that implies its now 5 years old, so I'd question whether its economically viable to put sbs2011 on this hardware at all.

    Depends on the number of users, but I have personally never done a "migration" from one version to another, either on new or old hardware. Always start a fresh. Its simple, a little more labour intensive, but ultimately very straight forward. Biggest hassle is import/export of mailboxes depending on their state and size. Only issue I've ever had when doing it this way is that internal message before the change cannot be replied to afterwards, an issue that very quickly disappears as old messages become obselete. None of my customers use sharepoint though which would probably complicate things some more. 

    Why is 4gb ram killing you? I have many customer still using SBS2003 quite happily including fairly heavy SQL users. How well kept and optimised is the system? how many users? whats apps have you got?



    I totally agree. A fresh install is much simpler and does take longer to do but overall it's the simplest way of doing it.

    MVP wannabe. I don't work for Microsoft - I just use their products.

     
  • Monday, March 11, 2013 8:38 PM
     
     
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    Thanks to all for your help and responses. Sorry it took so long to respond. 

    Here is a bunch of random responses to your questions in no particular order:

    It's killing me because I need more ram, and I cant add more since it 32bit.

    "Server 64 bit compatible doesn't means you can upgrade. It means you can install a 64bit compatible OS. Currently you have 32 bit OS installed (SBS2003) and there is no upgrade path possible from 32bit OS to 64bit OS ." Yes i understand that I was just hoping with the size of USB drives, SAN/Clouds, and other storage devices there might be an easier way for same server installation. I will be going with SuperGumby's suggestion. 

    The system has about 15 users, and is up-gradable to 24 gigs of ram. I'm going with 16 gigs. Its already purchased. Yes, its buffed and the right voltage, timing...

    SuperGumby: Thanks, that is my plan. I'm throwing together an I5 quadcore  fun box I will stick the server on temporally then send everything back. I will keep the funbox to test code, and what ever. I will do some test this weekend and will post results. I found a very good migration guide that I will link below.

    http://www.experts-exchange.com/OS/Microsoft_Operating_Systems/Server/SBS_Small_Business_Server/A_4234-Migrate-Small-Business-Server-2003-to-Small-Business-Server-2011.html



    • Edited by Relikk356 Tuesday, March 12, 2013 6:31 PM
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  • Tuesday, April 09, 2013 7:24 PM
     
     
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    I have finished the installation of the server. I made a temporary box that we ran off for a week. I then Migrated that to my original server after some upgrades. I will have to say that our speeds are better, but more importantly consistent. No lag at all now. This was worth the effort. Going from 32bit 4 gigs of ram, to 64 bit 20 gigs of ram is always a good thing. lol. Backups are like 40 minutes now versus several hours, ERP systems is more responsive, i can go on and on.

    Some of you said just to start fresh, and now I know why. The migration tool is almost useless for networks with a small amount of clients.  In the future I will just start over and move data or just robocopy.

    The only small issue i have is with exchange. I've posted a question in that forum.

    Thanks again!


    • Edited by Relikk356 Tuesday, April 09, 2013 7:24 PM
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