Migrating to Windows Small Business Server 2011 : Performing Post-Migration Tasks (part 3)

Migrate Windows Server Update Services Data

Migrating Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) data and settings is an optional task, because the service on your new server running Windows SBS 2011 will eventually reach the same level of synchronicity as your old server, assuming that you use the same WSUS configuration and Group Policy settings. The server will download all the same updates, create the same computer group memberships, and perform all the same automatic approvals.

If, however, you have devoted a lot of effort to creating group memberships and approving updates manually, you can migrate your WSUS data to the new server. The Migrate Windows Server Update Services Data page provides a link to a help page that describes the procedure for exporting your software updates and metadata from your source server and importing them into the destination server.

Finish Migration

The final task in the Migrate To Windows Small Business Server 2011 Wizard first gives you an opportunity to return to any of the previous tasks you have skipped, as shown in Figure 8. If you select the Finish the migration option or if all the previous tasks show a status of Completed, The Finish The Migration page appears, which leads you through the process of demoting your old server so that it no longer functions as an AD DS domain controller.

Figure 8. The Finish The Migration page in the Migrate To Windows Small Business Server 2011 Wizard.

Caution

Before you demote the server running Windows SBS 2003 or Windows SBS 2008, you must uninstall the old version of Exchange Server using Control panel to remove all vestiges of it from the AD DS database.

To complete the migration and remove the source server from the network, you must complete the following tasks:

1. Uninstall Exchange Server.

2. Remove Active Directory Certificate Services.

3. Disconnect printers from the source server.

4. Demote the source server.

5. Remove the source server from the domain.

6. Edit the Software Updates Group Policy object (GPO).

These tasks are covered in the following sections.

Note

Although you are removing the old server from your network, you cannot simply shut it down or reformat its drives. The AD DS database that you migrated to your new server running Windows SBS 2011 still contains references to the old server, and you must remove them by uninstalling Exchange Server and demoting the old server before you can physically remove it from the network.

Uninstalling Exchange Server

Now that you have migrated all your Exchange Server data from the source server to your new destination server, you no longer need the old Exchange Server installation. However, you still want to uninstall the old version of Exchange Server from the source server to remove all vestiges of it from AD DS before you demote the source server.

If you are running Windows SBS 2008 on your source server, you must use the Programs And Features Control panel to remove Exchange Server 2007, as shown in Figure 9. If you are running Windows SBS 2003 on your old server, you must use the Add Or Remove Programs Control panel to remove Exchange Server 2003.

Figure 9. The Windows SBS 2008 Programs And Features Control panel.

Removing Active Directory Certificate Services

If your source server is running Windows SBS 2008, you must remove Active Directory Certificate Services before the server will allow you to demote the domain controller.

To remove Active Directory Certificate Services, use the following procedure:

1. Log on to your server running Windows SBS 2008, using an account that is a member of the Domain Admins and Enterprise Admins groups.

2. Click Start. Then click Administrative Tools > Server Manager. A User Account Control message box appears.

3. Click Continue. The Server Manager Console appears.

4. Scroll down to the Roles summary section and click Remove roles. The Remove Roles Wizard appears.

5. Click Next to bypass the Before You Begin page. The Remove Server Roles page appears.

   

6. Clear the Active Directory Certificate Services check box and click Next. The Confirm Removal Selections page appears.

7. Click Remove. The wizard removes the role.

8. Click Close. The wizard closes.

Disconnecting Printers

If you have any printers that are physically connected to your source server, disconnect them and make sure that any AD DS objects for those printers are removed from the directory.

Demoting the Source Server

To demote your domain controller running Windows SBS 2003 or Windows SBS 2008, use the following procedure:

1. Log on to your server using an account with network Administrator privileges.

2. Click Start, and then click Run. The Run dialog box appears.

3. In the Open text box, type dcpromo and click OK. A User Account Control message box appears.

4. Click Continue. The Active Directory Domain Services Installation Wizard appears.

   Note

   If you are demoting a server running Windows SBS 2003, there is no User Account Control message box, and the procedure launches the nominally different Active Directory Installation Wizard.

5. Click Next to bypass the Welcome page. An Active Directory Domain Services Installation Wizard message box appears, warning about the server’s Global Catalog status.

   Note

   Because your new server is functioning as a Global Catalog server, you can safely demote the old server, despite this warning.

6. Click OK. The Delete The Domain page appears.

   

7. Leave the Delete the domain because the server is the last domain controller in the domain check box cleared and click Next. The Remove DNS Delegation page appears.

8. Click Next to accept the default setting, and then click Next. A Windows Security message box appears.

9. Type credentials with network Administrator privileges in the User name and password text boxes, and then click OK. The Administrator Password page appears.

10. Type a strong password in the Password and confirm password text boxes. Then click Next. The Summary page appears.

11. Click Next. The wizard demotes the server and the Completing the Active Directory Domain Services Installation Wizard page appears.

12. Click Finish. An Active Directory Domain Services Installation Wizard message box appears, prompting you to restart the computer.

13. Click Restart now. The computer restarts.

Removing the Source Server from the Domain

Your old Windows SBS server is now no longer a domain controller; it is a member server in your domain. To remove the server from the domain completely, you must make it a member of a workgroup using the following procedure:

1. Log on to your old server running Windows SBS using an account with network Administrator privileges.

2. Click Start. Then click Control panel. The Control panel window appears.

3. Double-click System. The System Control panel appears.

4. Click Change settings. A User Account Control message box appears.

5. Click Continue. The System Properties sheet appears.

   Note

   If you are working on a server running Windows SBS 2003, there is no User Account Control message box, and the procedure to reach the System Properties sheet is slightly different than it is in Windows SBS 2008.

6. Select the Computer name tab, and then click Change. The Computer Name/Domain Changes dialog box appears.

7. Select the Workgroup option, type a workgroup name in the text box, and then click OK.

8. A Computer Name/Domain Changes dialog box appears, prompting you for credentials to remove the computer from the domain.

9. In the User name and password text boxes, type the credentials for an administrative account in your domain. Then click OK.

10. A message box appears, welcoming you to the workgroup that you specified.

11. Click OK. A message box appears, informing you that you must restart the computer for the changes to take effect.

12. Click OK.

13. Click Close to close the System Properties sheet. A Windows message box appears, prompting you to restart the computer.

14. Click Restart now. The computer restarts.

Finally, you must remove the computer object from the AD DS database. Demoting the old server from a domain controller to a member computer moves the computer object to a different organizational unit (OU), but removing the old server from the domain does not delete the computer object from the AD DS directory.

To delete the computer object manually, use the following procedure:

1. Log on to your new server running Windows SBS 2011 using an account with network Administrator privileges.

2. Click Start. Then click Administrative Tools > Active Directory Users and Computers. The Active Directory Users And Computers Console appears.

3. Browse to the domain.Local\MyBusiness\Computers\SBSComputers container.

4. Delete the object representing your computer running the earlier version of Windows SBS.

5. Close the Active Directory Users And Computers Console.

Editing the Software Updates GPO

The computer that was your old Windows SBS domain controller is now gone from the domain, but there is still one artifact left that you should remove. The old server still exists in a WSUS GPO, which you can remove using the following procedure:

1. Log on to your new server running Windows SBS 2011 using an account with network Administrator privileges.

2. Click Start. Then click Administrative Tools > Group Policy Management. The Group Policy Management Console appears.

3. Browse to the GPOs container in your domain and select the Update Services Server Computers Policy GPO.

4. On the Scope tab, under Security filtering, locate the object identified with a security identifier (SID) beginning with S-1-5 and select it.

   Note

   Because you have already deleted the computer object for your old server in the previous section, its SID is now unresolvable. This is why the computer does not appear by name in the Group Policy Management Console.

5. Click Remove. A Group Policy Management message box appears, confirming your action.

6. Click OK. The object is removed.

7. Close the Group Policy Management Console.

Completing the Migration Wizard

When you have fully decommissioned your old server, return to the Finish The Migration page (see Figure 10), select the The source server is no longer a domain controller check box, and then click Next.

Figure 10. The Finish The Migration page of the Migrate To Windows Small Business Server 2011 Wizard.

The Finished The Migration Successfully page appears, as shown in Figure 11. Click Finish to close the wizard.

Figure 11. The Finished The Migration Successfully page of the Migrate To Windows Small Business Server 2011 Wizard.

3. Repurposing the Migrated Server

Once you have completed the migration process, you can use the old server for another purpose, such as a computer running Microsoft SQL Server, if you purchased the Windows SBS 2011 Premium Add-On, or as a file and print server. However, it is strongly recommended that you do not use the server in its post-migration state without reinstalling an operating system, as it might be left in an unstable condition.