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Answered migration from windows 2003 to windows 2008

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  • Sunday, April 06, 2008 8:47 AM
     
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    Migrating a Windows Server 2003 Active Directory environment to Windows Server 2008 can be done in three distinct ways:

     

    In-place upgrading
    Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2003 R2 can both be upgraded in-place to Windows Server 2008, as long as you keep the following in mind: 

    • The Windows Server 2003 patchlevel should be at least Service Pack 1
    • You can't upgrade across architectures (x86, x64 & Itanium)
    • Standard Edition can be upgraded to both Standard and Enterprise Edition
    • Enterprise Edition can be upgraded to Enterprise Edition only
    • Datacenter Edition can be upgraded to Datacenter Edition only

    This might be your preferred option when:

    • Your Active Directory Domain Controllers can still last three to five years (economically and technically)
    • You worked hard to get your Active Directory in the shape it's in.
    • Your servers are in tip-top shape. 

    Transitioning
    Migrating this way means adding Windows Server 2008 Domain Controllers to your existing Active Directory environment. After successfully moving the Flexible Single Master Operations (FSMO) roles you can simply demote the previous Domain Controllers, remove them from the domain and throw them out of the window. Transitioning is possible for Active Directory environments which domain functional level is at least Windows 2000 Native.

     

    I feel transitioning is the middle road between the two other ways to migrate to Windows Server 2008:

    • Restructuring means filling a new Active Directory from scratch
    • In-place upgrading means you're stuck with the same hardware and limited to certain upgrade paths
    • Transitioning means you get to keep your current Active Directory lay-out, contents, group policies and schema. Transitioning also means moving to new machines, which can be dimensioned to last another three to five years without trouble.

    Transitioning is good when:

    • You worked hard to get your Active Directory in the shape it's in.
    • Your servers are faced with aging.
    • In-place upgrading leaves you with an undesired outcome (for instance 32bit DC's)
    • You need a chance to place your Active Directory files on different partitions/volumes.

    When done right your colleagues might not even suspect a thing! The downside is you need to know exactly what you're doing, because things can go wrong pretty fast. that's why I wrote this useful piece of information. 
      

    Restructuring
    A third way to go from Windows Server 2003 Domain Controllers to Windows Server 2008 Domain Controllers is restructuring your Active Directory environment. This involves moving all your resources from one (Windows Server 2003) domain to a new and fresh (Windows Server 2008) domain. Tools like the Active Directory Migration Tool (ADMT) are priceless in these kind of migrations.

     

    Restructuring is good when:

    • Your current Active Directory environment is a mess or is uncontrolable
    • You want to build a new Active Directory environment and import (pieces of) your existing Active Directory environment.
    • You need to merge (information from)(domains from) two Active Directory forests together
    • You need to split (information from)(domains from) two Active Directory forests

    Note:

    ADMT v3.1 with support for Windows Server 2008 has not been released yet.

     

     

All Replies

  • Sunday, April 06, 2008 8:47 AM
     
     Answered
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    Migrating a Windows Server 2003 Active Directory environment to Windows Server 2008 can be done in three distinct ways:

     

    In-place upgrading
    Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2003 R2 can both be upgraded in-place to Windows Server 2008, as long as you keep the following in mind: 

    • The Windows Server 2003 patchlevel should be at least Service Pack 1
    • You can't upgrade across architectures (x86, x64 & Itanium)
    • Standard Edition can be upgraded to both Standard and Enterprise Edition
    • Enterprise Edition can be upgraded to Enterprise Edition only
    • Datacenter Edition can be upgraded to Datacenter Edition only

    This might be your preferred option when:

    • Your Active Directory Domain Controllers can still last three to five years (economically and technically)
    • You worked hard to get your Active Directory in the shape it's in.
    • Your servers are in tip-top shape. 

    Transitioning
    Migrating this way means adding Windows Server 2008 Domain Controllers to your existing Active Directory environment. After successfully moving the Flexible Single Master Operations (FSMO) roles you can simply demote the previous Domain Controllers, remove them from the domain and throw them out of the window. Transitioning is possible for Active Directory environments which domain functional level is at least Windows 2000 Native.

     

    I feel transitioning is the middle road between the two other ways to migrate to Windows Server 2008:

    • Restructuring means filling a new Active Directory from scratch
    • In-place upgrading means you're stuck with the same hardware and limited to certain upgrade paths
    • Transitioning means you get to keep your current Active Directory lay-out, contents, group policies and schema. Transitioning also means moving to new machines, which can be dimensioned to last another three to five years without trouble.

    Transitioning is good when:

    • You worked hard to get your Active Directory in the shape it's in.
    • Your servers are faced with aging.
    • In-place upgrading leaves you with an undesired outcome (for instance 32bit DC's)
    • You need a chance to place your Active Directory files on different partitions/volumes.

    When done right your colleagues might not even suspect a thing! The downside is you need to know exactly what you're doing, because things can go wrong pretty fast. that's why I wrote this useful piece of information. 
      

    Restructuring
    A third way to go from Windows Server 2003 Domain Controllers to Windows Server 2008 Domain Controllers is restructuring your Active Directory environment. This involves moving all your resources from one (Windows Server 2003) domain to a new and fresh (Windows Server 2008) domain. Tools like the Active Directory Migration Tool (ADMT) are priceless in these kind of migrations.

     

    Restructuring is good when:

    • Your current Active Directory environment is a mess or is uncontrolable
    • You want to build a new Active Directory environment and import (pieces of) your existing Active Directory environment.
    • You need to merge (information from)(domains from) two Active Directory forests together
    • You need to split (information from)(domains from) two Active Directory forests

    Note:

    ADMT v3.1 with support for Windows Server 2008 has not been released yet.

     

     
  • Friday, August 29, 2008 11:49 AM
     
     
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    ADMT 3.1 available - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=ae279d01-7dca-413c-a9d2-b42dfb746059&displaylang=en

    reg
    KJ
     
  • Friday, September 05, 2008 10:11 PM
     
     
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      Hi Sander,

    I was impressed when upgrading a Sever 2003 to a Server 2003 R2 with little effort. Everything went just fine. I became brave.

    I was not as lucky in attempting the same thing from 2003R2 to 2008 (32 bit Enterprise Editions). All indications were that the upgrade process was happy, and it did proceede for quite some time. The server then reported blue screen page faults for a second, then rebooted and repeated the fault and reboot sequence. The blue screen was right after the Windows screen with the green marquis showing progress. I was locked out!
     
    It is a simple server, that I use for development and experiment. There is no active directory or any other difficult things to configure. It should just continue to play in a workgroup with a server 2003, and a Windows Vista Ultimate, and be accessed by Remote Desktop. It is not critical, or serving the Internet. In my opinion, it is 'high quality' in that it is a Supermicro X7DV8-A, fully dressed. When I have a lot of data to cut, it is my axe of choice.

    To get out of the cycle of reboots, I did an install of 2008 Enterprise 64 bits and can run it. I only have a few applications installed, but the machine is again worth its power consumption.

    I need a recommendation:

    • Do I recover my cherished 2003R2 image and restore loads of missing functionality?
    • Do I bring forward this crippled 2008 image that can't even start terminal services for RDP?

    (I have brought up a 'bare metal' 2008 server for a client, and do not see any of these issues.)

    I'm willing to experiment a bit, but will need something reliable.

    Thanks for the ear!

    Regards,
    Jim S.

    Regards,
    Jim



     
  • Tuesday, December 01, 2009 6:39 PM
     
     
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    Hello folks,

    I am in testing phase for migrate from 2003 domain to new 2008 R2 domain (completely new domain). In the past I had used ADMT tool to migrate users, computes, profiles and password from NT to 2003. I have two doamin one is 2003 and other one the new 2008R2, have a two way trust between them. I tried to install ADMT v3.1 tool in windows 2008 R2 domain but it always complains "The Active Directory Migration Tool V3.1 must be installed on windows server 2008" and i am installing in 2008R2 server. Is it a bug or there is a workaround for this. Any tips/help ideas would be great.

    Madal
     
  • Tuesday, December 15, 2009 11:56 PM
     
     
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    The ADMT 3.1 tool will not work with Windows 2008 R2.  Microsoft is currently taking applications for ADMT 3.2 that will work with 2008 R2.  If you want to move to a new 2008 domain it is a multi-step process, but is pretty easy.

    1) Create a new Windows 2008 domain with Windows 2008 64bit DC's and a 2008 domain level
    2) Use ADMT 3.1 to move AD items to this new domain
    3) Once the move is complete upgrate your servers or install new Windows 2008 R2 DC's as part of your domain
    4) Transfer the roles and then demote/remove the old 2008 DC's
    5) Bring your new domain to 2008 R2 function once the 2008 DC's are gone

    Just plan and test it first and you should be good.
     
  • Tuesday, December 22, 2009 2:08 PM
     
     
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    when microsoft is releasing ADMT tool 3.2 or that support windows 2008R2 ? Will have to wait another couple of months ?

    M
     
  • Monday, January 25, 2010 5:19 PM
     
     
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    Quest Migration Manager for AD (8.5) supports migration to 2008R2 - Direct Migration path.
     
  • Wednesday, December 08, 2010 1:29 PM
     
     
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    Dear Sander,

    Thanks for the info, Im looking for an Restructuing model of migration from Windows 2003 to Windows 2008 server, with moving existing computers and a group of users to the new fresh domain on windows 2008. How to attain this and what are the procedures to attain this, could you share an doc on this.

     

    Best Regards,

     

    Vijay A

     
  • Sunday, January 30, 2011 11:56 AM
     
     
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    i suggest you to find an enterprise way to migrate from 2003 to 2008 instead of using any tool.

     
  • Tuesday, January 31, 2012 9:32 AM
     
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    Hi Guys,

    Microsoft has released V3.2 on June 2010. Find it here:

    www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=8377

     

     
  • Tuesday, January 31, 2012 4:05 PM
     
     
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    What exactly is your question? J

    Are you performing a migration or upgrade? 

    Why can’t you use ADMT?

    Santhosh Sivarajan | MCTS, MCSE (W2K3/W2K/NT4), MCSA (W2K3/W2K/MSG), CCNA, Network+| Houston, TX
    Blogs - http://blogs.sivarajan.com/

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