When you perform a migration installation of Windows SBS
2011, your new server joins the existing AD DS domain, and the setup
program promotes it to a domain controller. Normally, Windows SBS does
not permit more than one domain controller on the network, but for a
21-day period after the migration installation, your new server and
your old one can coexist. During that time, you must complete the
migration process by performing the tasks in the Migration Wizard. Once
you have completed those tasks, the new server is ready to take over as
the network’s sole domain controller. You can then demote your old
server and remove it from the network.
The following sections examine the various tasks involved in completing a migration from an earlier version of Windows SBS.
1. Reconfiguring Folder Redirection
Folder redirection is a
Windows feature that enables workstations in an AD DS environment to
store the contents of certain folders, such as a user’s Documents
folder, on a server instead of the local disk. In a network
environment, storing data files
and other critical folders on server drives rather than local ones is
generally preferable because it enables users to access their files
from any computer and it enables administrators to back up the files
more easily.
To use folder
redirection, you configure Group Policy settings that specify where
each workstation should store the contents of specific folders. These
Group Policy settings are part of the AD DS database and are therefore
copied to your new server as part of the Windows SBS migration process.
However, although the migration installation process copies the
settings themselves to the new server, it does not modify those
settings; they still specify the old server’s disk as the location for
the redirected folders.
If you have been using folder redirection on your existing network
running Windows SBS 2003 or Windows SBS 2008, you must reconfigure it
by performing the following steps:
-
Modify the migrated Group Policy settings to point to your new server instead of the old one.
-
Enable folder redirection on your server running Windows SBS 2011 using the Windows SBS Console.
Note
These steps ensure that all the redirected data from your existing
server running Windows SBS gets migrated to your new server running
Windows SBS 2011, and that the required Group Policy settings are in
place to ensure the future redirection of the desired folders.
2. Running the Migration Wizard
Clicking the Migrate to Windows SBS link in the Windows SBS Console starts the Migrate To Windows Small Business Server 2011 Wizard, as shown in Figure 1, which guides you through a series of tasks that completes the migration process.
When you click Next to bypass the Welcome page, the Migration Wizard Home page appears, as shown in Figure 2.
The Migrate To Windows Small Business Server 2011 Wizard is essentially
a shell that provides access to information and links to other wizards,
and tracks your progress through the list of tasks. Some of the tasks
are optional, and others are required. You must complete the tasks in
the order given, although you do not have to perform them all in one
session. As mentioned previously, you have 21 days to work your way
through the list, skipping optional tasks, if desired, and completing
the required ones.
As you access each task in the list, an initial wizard page appears
that explains what you must do and provides links to help pages, other
wizards, or both. This page also contains option buttons that enable
you to specify the current status of the task: Task in progress, Task complete, or Skip task
(for optional procedures). As you complete each task, you designate it
as such, and the wizard allows you to proceed to the next one. You can
cancel out of the wizard at any time, and your status indicators remain
in place, so that the next time you start the wizard, you resume where
you left off.
The following sections examine the various tasks in the Migrate To Windows Small Business Server 2011 Wizard.
Change Where to Store Data on the Destination Server Page
The optional Change
Where to Store Data on the Destination Server task enables you to
specify alternatives to the default data file locations on your server.
By default, Windows SBS 2011 stores all its data files on the system
drive because it is likely to be the only one available during the
installation process. However, if you have other hard disks on the
computer, you might want to store your data files on a different drive
to distribute the input/output (I/O) load among the storage devices.
When you perform the Change Where To Store Data On The Destination
Server task, a page appears that contains links to individual wizards
that enable you to specify locations for the various types of data
files, as shown in Figure 3.
By changing the locations before you migrate the data from your old
server, you avoid having to allocate space for the data on the system
drive and move it to another location later.
To store data files on a different volume, you must create the
volume before you run the individual wizards. You might have created
simple volumes on other disks during
the Windows SBS 2011 installation process, but if you intend to use the
other volume types that Windows SBS 2011 supports (such as striped,
spanned, or RAID-5), or if you intend to use a third-party redundant
array of independent disks (RAID) solution, you must create the volumes
now by using the Disk Management snap-in for the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) or some other tool.
The Configure the Network task displays a page, shown in Figure 4, containing a link to the same Connect To The Internet Wizard that you can access from the Getting started tasks
list. As in a new Windows SBS 2011 installation, you must run this
wizard to configure your server’s TCP/IP client and DHCP Server. As in
a clean Windows SBS installation, you must complete this task before
you can proceed to the next one.
