Small Business Server 2003 to 2012 R2 Migration and Virtualized Domain Controller Questions

garak0410

This is, sadly, one of the ways in which HyperV is more confusing than every other product on the market. Microsoft, in an attempt to make things "easy" makes the SO confusing.

Good, I am justified in my confusion. Ha. And I now see where something like Unitrends is helpful in VM backups now too.

OK, I am going to bump my DC up in memory to handle the backups for now. See, just see an advantage of virtualization. I just am not ready for new snafu's if they should arise related to Hyper-V.

scottalanmiller

And, just in case it isn't clear elsewhere, Unitrends is a VM on is own. It doesn't run on top of something else. You just download and pop into HyperV. It's an appliance, just in virtual form.

garak0410

@scottalanmiller said:

And, just in case it isn't clear elsewhere, Unitrends is a VM on is own. It doesn't run on top of something else. You just download and pop into HyperV. It's an appliance, just in virtual form.

Yes...I installed Unitrends and it automatically created a Hyper-V VM. It was nice.

garak0410

OK...this is officially Migration Week and ready to just "do it."...everyone has twisted my arm to remain with and trust Virtualization. Now that I got that VMQ turned off, the VM's run great.

So, another question I am unclear about and I have may have asked about it in some capacity...and I'll try to be as detailed as possible.

So, since I can skip running ADPREP on the existing Domain Controller since it is 32 Bit, when do I run it on the future new Domain Controller?

My next step in the migration portion of this is this:

			□ Add the AD role.
				® http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh472162
				® After adding the AD DS role and DNS roles to your new Windows 2012 R2 Server simply click the link under Post-deployment configuration from your server manager titled "Promote this server to a Domain Controller"
				® Walk through the wizard and add your new domain controller to your existing domain.

So, here are my questions:
I've never done this wizard before...will it eventually prompt me to enter a domain name? (I want it to be the same as my current one for sure)
By promoting it, it will not affect the other one at all correct? So I should be able to do this during business hours right? Only on demotion of the old one, will this one take over, right?

Thanks...

scottalanmiller

You should already be joined to the domain. It doesn't need to ask you the domain name because you only promote within the domain that you are already in.

scottalanmiller

Becoming a DC will not impact the other DC. Having multiple DCs at once is how AD is meant to be used.

garak0410

@scottalanmiller said:

You should already be joined to the domain. It doesn't need to ask you the domain name because you only promote within the domain that you are already in.

OK, going to go step by step now...even without having the AD role yet, it is OK to join my new Domain Controller VM to the domain, correct? Just wanted to make sure...

scottalanmiller

Yes it must be joined to the domain.

garak0410

OK...adding the AD and DNS roles currently...waiting on the wizard to complete.

garak0410

@garak0410 said:

OK...adding the AD and DNS roles currently...waiting on the wizard to complete.

I got to the joining the domain and promotion step and it is telling me the FORREST FUNCTIONAL LEVEL IS WINDOWS 2000. If it is referring to the old server, I've checked and it is 2003.

scottalanmiller

The old server is 2003 or it's functional level is 2003? Which did you check?

garak0410

@scottalanmiller said:

The old server is 2003 or it's functional level is 2003? Which did you check?

Both...I changed the Functional Level about a month ago in prep for this. Wonder if it ever replicated? So, stuck here now.

scottalanmiller

Maybe it didn't replicate. But there is only one DC, right? So nowhere for it to have replicated to.

garak0410

@scottalanmiller said:

Maybe it didn't replicate. But there is only one DC, right? So nowhere for it to have replicated to.

Well, bad choice of words...wonder if it REALLY changed it. It shows 2003. So, right now, stuck. I could reboot the current DC tonight but alas, it puts me behind a day now.

garak0410

@garak0410 said:

@scottalanmiller said:

Maybe it didn't replicate. But there is only one DC, right? So nowhere for it to have replicated to.

Well, bad choice of words...wonder if it REALLY changed it. It shows 2003. So, right now, stuck. I could reboot the current DC tonight but alas, it puts me behind a day now.

Searching for a similar situation but nothing is coming up.

Dashrender

What does it say your forest function level is? does it show 2003 function level?

garak0410

@Dashrender said:

What does it say your forest function level is? does it show 2003 function level?

Newbie mistake...I had only changed the DOMAIN level and not the forest. Changed...moving on.

scottalanmiller

Cool. Glad that that was an easy fix.

garak0410

Next Error...I got passed the forest part of the wizard. Stopped on the Domain Controller Options Wizard Where you have options for DNS, Global Catalog and such...it stops and says:

A DOMAIN CONTROLLER RUNNING WINDOWS SERVER 2008 OR LATER COULD NOT BE LOCATED ON THIS DOMAIN. TO INSTALL A READ-ONLY DOMAIN CONTROLLER, THE DOMAIN MUST HAVE A DOMAIN CONTROLLER RUNNING WINDOWS SERVER 2008 OR LATER.

Months of research said I could go from SBS 2003 to 2012 R2. Is that the problem? Or is this because I couldn't get ADPREP to run on my 32bit 2003 server?

scottalanmiller

@garak0410 said:

Next Error...I got passed the forest part of the wizard. Stopped on the Domain Controller Options Wizard Where you have options for DNS, Global Catalog and such...it stops and says:

A DOMAIN CONTROLLER RUNNING WINDOWS SERVER 2008 OR LATER COULD NOT BE LOCATED ON THIS DOMAIN. TO INSTALL A READ-ONLY DOMAIN CONTROLLER, THE DOMAIN MUST HAVE A DOMAIN CONTROLLER RUNNING WINDOWS SERVER 2008 OR LATER.

Months of research said I could go from SBS 2003 to 2012 R2. Is that the problem? Or is this because I couldn't get ADPREP to run on my 32bit 2003 server?

No, not supported. You've gone too long between updates I'm afraid. Neither 2003 nor 32bit upgrades are supported.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh994618.aspx#BKMK_UpgradePaths

Edit: that's in place paths, still looking