Before
you begin the actual installation of Windows Server 2008 R2, you must
make several decisions concerning prerequisite tasks. How well you plan
these steps will determine how successful your installation is—as many
of these decisions cannot be changed after the installation is complete.
Verifying Minimum Hardware Requirements
Whether
you are installing Windows Server 2008 R2 in a lab or production
environment, you need to ensure that the hardware chosen meets the
minimum system requirements. In most situations, the minimum hardware
requirements presented will not suffice; therefore, Table 1
provides not only the minimum requirements, but also the recommended
and maximum system requirements for the hardware components.
Table 1. Windows Server 2008 R2 System Requirements
| Component | Minimum Requirement | Recommended | Maximum |
|---|
| Processor | 1.4GHZ 64-bit | 2GHZ or faster | Not applicable |
| Memory | 512MB RAM | 2GB RAM or greater | 32GB RAM Standard Edition
2TB RAM Enterprise and Datacenter Editions |
| Disk Space | 32GB | 40GB Full installation
or
10GB Server Core installation | Not applicable |
| Take note:
When designing and selecting the system specifications for a new server
solution, even the optimal system requirements recommendations from
Microsoft might not suffice. It is a best practice to assess the server
specifications of the planned server role while taking the load during
the time of deployment and future growth into consideration. For
example, a Windows Server 2008 R2 system running the Exchange Server
2010 Mailbox Server role will require much more than 2GB of RAM to run
adequately. In addition, SQL Server 2008 R2 running on a Windows Server
2008 R2 server that is providing business intelligence solutions for
10,000 users might require 32GB of RAM. Therefore, size the system
accordingly and test the load before going live into production. |
Caution
Windows Server 2008 R2 ONLY supports 64-bit processor architectures. A server running 32-bit processors is NOT supported.
Choosing the Appropriate Windows Edition
There are four main
editions in the Windows Server 2008 R2 family of operating systems. The
editions include Windows Server 2008 R2, Standard Edition; Windows
Server 2008 R2, Enterprise Edition; Windows Server 2008 R2, Datacenter
Edition; and Windows Server 2008, Web Edition. An organization or
administrator must understand their workload needs and requirements when
selecting the operating system to utilize. For example, the Enterprise
Edition might be selected if there is a need to sustain a 16-node
failover cluster or autoenrollment with Microsoft Certificate Services.
Or the Standard Edition could be utilized if there is a need to
implement virtualization with Hyper-V.
Choosing a New Installation or an Upgrade
If you have an
existing Windows environment, you might need to perform a new
installation or upgrade an existing server. There are benefits to each
of these options. The next two sections outline the benefits for each.
Should You Perform a New Installation?
The primary benefit of a
new installation is that, by installing the operating system from
scratch, you are starting with a known good server. You can avoid
migrating problems that might have existed on your previous
server—whether due to corrupt software, incorrect configuration
settings, or improperly installed applications. Keep in mind, however,
that you will also lose all configuration settings from your previous
installation. In addition, required applications on the legacy server
will need to be reinstalled after the installation of the new operating
system is complete. Make sure you document your server configuration
information, have all the appropriate software you plan on reinstalling,
and back up any data that you want to keep.
When performing a new
installation, you can install on a new hard drive (or partition) or in a
different directory on the same disk as a previous installation.
Typically, most new installations are installed on a new or freshly
formatted hard drive. Doing so removes any old software and gives you
the cleanest installation.
Should You Upgrade an Existing Server?
Upgrading, on the other
hand, replaces your current Windows files but keeps existing users,
settings, groups, rights, and permissions intact. In this scenario, you
don’t have to reinstall applications or restore data. Before choosing
this option, keep in mind that you should test your applications for
compatibility before migration. Just because they worked on previous
versions of Windows does not mean they will work on Windows Server 2008
R2.
As always, before performing
any type of server maintenance such as a Windows Server 2008 R2
installation, you should perform a complete backup of any applications
and data that you want to preserve. Do not forget to include the System
State when backing up the legacy Windows operating system. It is
required when performing a restore if you want to maintain the existing
Windows settings.
To upgrade to Windows Server
2008 R2, you must be running a server-level operating system. You
cannot upgrade Workstation or Home Editions of operating systems such as
Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Microsoft’s latest desktop operating
system, Windows 7 to Windows Server 2008 R2. To upgrade your existing
server, you must be running Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2003.
An upgrade from Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 Server are not
supported. Table 2 lists the available upgrade paths to Windows Server 2008 R2.
Table 2. Windows Server 2008 R2 Upgrade Paths
| Previous Operating System | Upgrade to Windows Server 2008 R2 |
|---|
| Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Standard, Enterprise, or Datacenter Edition | Yes, fully supported |
| Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Standard, Enterprise, or Datacenter Server Core Edition | Yes, fully supported to Server Core |
| Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2, Standard, Enterprise, or Datacenter Edition | Yes, fully supported |
| Microsoft Windows Server 2003 operating systems with Service Pack 1 (SP1), Standard, Enterprise, or Datacenter Edition | Yes, fully supported |
| Microsoft Windows Server 2003 operating systems with Service Pack 2 (SP2), Standard, Enterprise, or Datacenter Edition | Yes, fully supported |
| Windows NT 4.0 | Not supported |
| Windows 2000 Server | Not supported |
| Windows XP | Not supported |
| Windows Vista | Not supported |
| Any 32-Bit Windows Edition | Not supported |
Note
A direct upgrade from any
version of Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008 R2 Server Core is
not supported. If a Windows Server 2008 R2 Server Core is warranted, a
fresh Windows Server 2008 R2 Server Core install or an upgrade from
Windows Server 2008 Server Core is necessary.
Note
If there is a need to preserve
settings and upgrade a legacy operating system such as Windows NT 4.0 or
Windows 2000 Server, the system should first be upgraded to Windows
Server 2003 and then again to Windows Server 2008 R2. Typically, this is
not the recommended approach as the hardware is typically outdated;
however, the multiple upgrade approach is doable.
Determining the Type of Server to Install
You have the choice of making
your server an Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), a member
server, a standalone server, or a Server Core installation. After you
determine the tasks the server will perform, you can determine the role
or roles that you will assign to it.
Domain controllers
and member servers play a role in a new or existing domain. Stand-alone
servers are not joined to a particular domain. Finally, Server Core
installations were introduced
with the release of the Windows Server 2008 family of operating systems
and only consist of a minimal installation footprint. On a Server Core
installation, the traditional graphical user interface (GUI) tools are
not available and some of the roles that are supported include Active
Directory Domain Services, Active Directory Lightweight Directory
Services (AD LDS), DHCP Server, DNS Server, File Services, Print Server,
Streaming Media Services, and Web Server (IIS) roles. Type oclist
at a Server Core command prompt to determine the available server
roles. However, with the release of Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft
has introduced a new command called SCONFIG that allows for an easier
configuration of a Server Core installation.
As in earlier versions of
Windows, you are able to promote or demote server functions as you
desire. Standalone servers can be joined to the domain to become member
servers. Using the dcpromo utility, you can promote member servers to
domain controllers. And, by uninstalling the Active Directory Domain
Services role from a domain controller, you can return it to member
server status. In addition, with Windows Server 2008 R2, server roles
such as Web Server (IIS), DHCP, and DNS can be added or removed via the
Server Manager tool.
Gathering the Information Necessary to Proceed
During the installation
of Windows Server 2008 R2, you will have to tell the setup wizard how
you want your server configured. The wizard will take the information
you provide and will configure the server settings to meet your
specifications.
Taking the time to gather the
information described in the following sections before starting your
installation will likely make your installation go faster, smoother, and
easier.
Note
Although items such as the
server name and IP address are required for a server to function, they
are manually entered after the installation is complete, unless an
unattended installation with an answer file is used.
Selecting the Computer Name
Each computer on a network
must have a name that is unique within that network. Many companies have
a standard naming convention for their servers and workstations. If
not, you can use the following information as a guideline for creating
your own.
Although the computer name
can contain up to 63 characters, workstations and servers that are
pre–Windows 2000 recognize only the first 15 characters.
It is widely considered a best
practice to use only Internet-standard characters in your computer name.
This includes the letters A–Z (upper- and lowercase), the numbers 0–9,
and the hyphen (-).
Although it’s true that
implementing the Microsoft domain name system (DNS) service in your
environment could allow you to use some non-Internet standard characters
(such as Unicode characters and the underscore), you should keep in
mind that this is likely to cause problems with any non-Microsoft DNS
servers on your network. You should think carefully and test thoroughly before straying from the standard Internet characters noted in the preceding paragraph.
Name of the Workgroup or Domain
After the server
installation is complete, you need to determine the name of the
workgroup or domain that the server will be joining. You can either
enter the name of an existing Windows domain or workgroup to join, or
create a new workgroup by entering in a new name.
Users new to Microsoft
networking might ask, “What is the difference between a workgroup and a
domain?” Simply put, a domain is a collection of computers and
supporting hardware that shares the same security database. Grouping the
equipment in this manner allows you to set up centralized security and
administration. Conversely, a workgroup has no centralized security or
administration. Each server or workstation is configured independently
and locally for all security and administration settings.
Network Protocol and IP Address of the Server
When installing Windows Server
2008 R2, you must install and configure a network protocol that will
allow it to communicate with other machines on the network.
Currently, the most
commonly used protocol is called TCP/IP version 4, which stands for
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. This protocol allows
computers throughout the Internet to communicate. After you install
TCP/IP, you need to configure an IP address for the server. You can
choose one of the following three methods to assign an IP address:
Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA)—
APIPA can be used if you have a small network that does not have a
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, which is used for
dynamic IP addresses. A unique IP address is assigned to the network
adapter using the LINKLOCAL IP address space. The address always starts
with 169.254 and is in the format 169.254.x.x. Note that if APIPA is in
use, and a DHCP server is brought up on the network, the computer will
detect this and will use the address that is assigned by the DHCP server
instead.
Dynamic IP address—
A dynamic IP address is assigned by a DHCP server. This allows a server
to assign IP addresses and configuration information to clients. Some
examples of the information that is distributed include IP address,
subnet mask, default gateway, DNS server address, and the Windows
Internet Naming Service (WINS) server address. As the dynamic portion of
the name suggests, this address is assigned to the computer for a
configurable length of time, known as a lease. Before the lease expires,
the workstation must again request an IP address from the DHCP server.
It might or might not get the same address that it had previously.
Although servers and workstations can both be configured to use this
method of addressing, it is generally used for workstations rather than
servers.
Static IP address—
Using a static IP address is the most common decision for a server
configuration. By static, we mean the server or workstation will not
leverage DHCP; the IP address and settings are configured manually. The
address will not change unless you change the configuration of the
server. This point is important because
clients and resources that need to access the server must know the
address to be able to connect to it. If the IP address changed
regularly, connecting to it would be difficult.
Note
Windows Server 2008 R2
includes the latest TCP/IP protocol suite known as the Next Generation
TCP/IP stack. The legacy protocol stack was designed in the early 1990s
and has been modified to accommodate future growth of computers
networked together. The new TCP/IP stack is known as Internet Protocol
version 6 (IPv6).
Backing Up Files
Whether you are performing
a new installation on a previously used server or upgrading an existing
server, you should perform a complete backup of the data and operating
system before you begin your new installation. This way, you have a
fallback plan if the installation fails or the server does not perform
the way you anticipated.
When performing a new
installation on a previously used server, you overwrite any data that
was stored there. In this scenario, you will have to use your backup
tape to restore any data that you want to preserve.
On the other hand, if you are
going to upgrade an existing server, a known good backup will allow you
to recover to your previous state if the upgrade does not go as planned.
Note
Many people back up their
servers but never confirm that the data can be read from the backup
media. When the time comes to recover their data, they find that the
tape is unusable or unreadable, or that they do not know the proper
procedures for restoring their server. You should perform
backup/recovery procedures on a regular basis in a lab environment to
make sure that your equipment is working properly, that you are
comfortable with performing the process, and that the recovery actually
works.
