Re: Migrate ?
From: Jeff Middleton [SBS-MVP] (jeff_at_cfisolutions.com)
Date: 01/21/05
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Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2005 12:49:32 -0600
Hi Jack,
I am the guy with the website SBSmigration.com offering the documentation
set, tools and project support via a product called the Swing It!!
Technician Kit. I welcome any feedback you want to send me at
YCST@SBSmigration.com, or in this newsgroup. This will mark the first time I
have ever posted an actual comparison of my documentation vs. the MS docs
into a newsgroup, but your concerns seemed to point the need to present the
analysis of what free means vs. valuable. I'm going to give some background
too.
One of the most common follow-up comments made to me from IT Pros is that
they would gladly paid more for what they got because they will make more
money on every migration project in the future, typically while saving the
customer money. It would be impossible to offer support without charging for
the Kit, and some people wouldn't trust a 150 pages of documentation on this
topic without support.
I completely understand that some folks will seek alternatives for doing
upgrade of SBS servers without purchasing a project kit from me to get that
done. I don't want you to have a negative sense of why I'm posting on this
thread, so please bear with me. I'm not here to twist your arm, I'm going to
do exactly what I have done for five years here and elsewhere...I'm going to
try to answer your question based upon my experience, and the resources that
I know exist, and what you want to consider about them. I started posting
reference information directly to the NGs in 2000.
I've presented the background steps of how to do Swing Migration going back
that far as well, but last year for the first time I saw perhaps 5-6 people
a day, every day, asking for a better answer for migration and upgrades, I
said to myself: Enough! It didn't seem to matter to them that they could
Google my posts for 5yrs, then invest 4 month of KB and whitepaper research
as I did, and come up with a more elegate and sane alternative for SBS
migrations....for free. I have put together a guide that accomplishes
something that MS normally assigns a team of writers, testers, PSS support
engineers and substantial worldwide infrastructure to put in the world by
MS....for free. I offered to let MS publish this information for free, MS
declined. Why? They didn't want to add it to their supported methods which
would mean training the worldwide staff on another method.
The alternative I chose was to try to consolidate documentation and a method
that could be presented to a worldwide community of IT Pros to _continue to
use forever for free_, but with support to finish you first project you use
this with delivered by one person: Jeff Middleton. I had no expectation of
who else might provide support or guidence because most of us bill for our
time, and if it takes 150-200 pgs of documentation to describe it
completely, free doesn't seem like a good business model. I did this to try
to help other people around the world get their lives back, stop working on
weekends, and deliver a better value to their customers, and to improve the
community understanding of how to work smart. Swing Migration generally
reduces the upgrade labor by a day over accomplishing the same technical
result by any method MS documented for free. It's also one method that works
for all transition scenarios.
In about a month, a book being published by Harry Brelsford will be released
that includes 2 chapters I authored, including the core documentation I've
written on migration as a chapter. Anyone who wants to buy the book will get
a dozen other chapters for something like $60, and the migration chapter
will then be cheap, not free. I will receive precisely $0.00 for every copy
of that book that goes out the door. However, for those who want support,
tools, updated documentation, variations on the method, or my personal
involvement in deliverying satisfaction to them and their customer project,
they will have the option to buy a kit. I'm done the best I can to make the
information widely available in a responsible way, but also to make a
solution set of the kit valuable as an option, but not free.
Microsoft documents and supports three ways to move from an existing Windows
domain network to SBS 2003:
1. Scratch Install
2. In-Place Upgrade
3. ADMT Migration.
WHERE TO FIND MS METHOD DOCUMENTATION
You can download the documentation MS provides to support those approaches
from the SBS website. The webpage you can use to reach the links from is 3
pages long, it's here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/sbs/upgrade/default.mspx
1. Scratch install is documented as part of the Windows Small Business
Server 2003 Getting Started Guide. The link to that 117 page document is
here:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/sbs/2003/plan/gsg/sbsgsgab.mspx
2. In-Place Upgrade is documented for Windows 2000/2003 Server is in Chapter
3C of the reference above, and in Chapter 3B for SBS 2000.
3. NT 4.0 Server or SBS 4.5 upgrade via ADMT Migration is described in a 47
page document at this location:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=16415
For Windows 2000 or 2003, or for SBS 2000 or 2003 upgrade/migration via
ADMT, you should refer to this 50 page document:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/d/c/6dccf9b4-d915-4c95-b5af-100b89e02add/SBS_MigratingSBS2k.doc
PREPARATIONS FOR SBS 2003 UPGRADES AND INSTALLATIONS
Before you perform an upgrade or installation, you probably should review
the information in two documents:
Upgrade Requirement Messages for Windows Small Business Server 2003 Setup
(44 pgs), found here:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/e/f/5/ef5f82ae-620d-409b-a995-a71a461a3220/SBS_SetupRequirements.doc
SBS 2003 Release Notes (13 pgs)
http://download.microsoft.com/download/d/6/1/d614788a-3ab3-4060-90ea-d64093c090e1/SBS_RelNotes.htm
SUMMARY OF MS DOCUMENTATION FOR SBS UPGRADES
The 271 pages of total documentation above which provides no consistent
process to apply to all upgrades, in fact it's three variations of process,
three different results expected, three different troubleshooting patterns.
Each use the SBS Setup tools, but the server configuration is known to be in
a different condition to start with depending upon the scenario. That's all
before you even start to research additional background information in KBs
you encounter the need to include in your transition and troubleshooting
process.
All three methods are substantially disruptive to the production and
configuration support environment.
Microsoft provides support of In-Place upgrades for existing DCs running
Windows 2000, Windows 2003, or SBS 2000, provide that they have no trusts,
the server involved has all FSMO roles, and you are comfortable with using
the same hardware. In such cases, your desktop profiles are not affected by
the upgrade, and the server identity remains the same. You should perform a
complete disaster recovery backup of you candidate server before you begin.
In addition, to perform ADMT migration, you must bring your existing DC into
compliance for the installation and setup requirements.
In-Place upgrade of a Windows 2000 or SBS 2000 server prevents your server
installation from adopting the best practice security configurations
provided by a clean installation of Windows 2003 Server. In addition, you
will need to cleanup configuration information before and after your
upgrade, and the final condition of the SBS 2003 Server will not have the
exact same behavior and configuration as a clean installation of the same
product provides. You preparations and troubleshooting of the upgrade
process will vary from server to server, probably with no two situations the
same, or results identical.
Microsoft does not provide support of In-Place upgrade for other Windows
platforms such as NT 4, SBS 4.0, SBS 4.5, BackOffice 3.x, BackOffice 4.x,
BackOffice 2000, or any version of Windows Enterprise Edition. For these
platforms, you must either determine if ADMT can be used, or do a scratch
installation.
Microsoft provides ADMT method for use with SBS 4.5, SBS 2000, SBS 2003 or
Windows NT, Windows 2000, or Windows 2003 based domains. ADMT requires a
full disaster recovery preparation of your server because it modifies the
existing domain while tranfering to the new domain. ADMT requires you to
adopt a new Netbios Domain name, a new SBS Server name, and new IP for the
server. This will break your UNC, URL, most recently used docs, shortcuts,
intranet favorites, script references, group policies and anything else that
expected continuity of the namespace in your network. In addition, to
perform ADMT migration, you must bring your existing DC into compliance for
the installation and setup requirements. ADMT also requires you to introduce
new server hardware. ADMT method also will extract your Exchange Information
Store contents as individual mailboxes, and in doing so, migrate mailbox by
mailbox to the new Exchange Server. This will break Single Instance Storage
on your Information Store, and that will result in a larger Information
Store than you started with, break all existing message reply paths, all
your Outlook rules, and all your server side configuration with regard to
rules, shared permissions, public store security and rules, plus require
reconstruction of any shared calendar features. Because of the process
outlined for ADMT, you will have interuption at your desktops, probably
breaking portions of the User Profile configuration of every profile at
every machine, requiring some variable degree of inspection and cleanup at
each computer.
For all cases above, the production network must be shutdown for the
duration of the construction and installation process.
ALTERNATIVE SBS 2003 UPGRADE/MIGRATION METHODS
The concept presented by SBSmigration.com is to produce a unified reference
for all domain migration scenarios, using a method which applies to all, has
less negative impact on the business and IT Pro service requirements. The
kit reduces the research and troubleshooting, and produces consistent result
by alway producing the new server based upon a clean server installation,
but preserving the AD, Exchange Store, and most of the shared resource
configuration. The guide is detailed, but organized. Some customers who have
used the kit have reported obtaining the Kit, starting within an hour of
receiving the kit reference, and finished a successful migration that day
with all the benefits outline below. That said, a typical experience is
likely to be a low-impact construction schedule, allowing days of
configuration testing and analysis on the first attempt, and a dramatically
easy introduction to the existing domain upon completion. Most people report
going home early the day they deploy. There is nothing to do for an undo,
the production server remains in operations the entire time, unless the
hardware is being redeployed as the new server install chassis.
SBSmigration.com provides a Swing It!! Technician Kit which includes a
unified solution and method which works for moving any Windows Domain to any
version of AD based Windows Domain. The same process provide platform and
version cross-grade, and upgrade, works for single and multi-DC networks,
supports installation to new hardware or redeployment. The techniques of
Swing Migration are based upon Microsoft KBs and deployment docs, and are
written in the manner of a detailed project guide for which the setup and
installation steps are laid out in sequence, in detail, and include
supplemental references in-line. The Kit is provided as a Technician license
with unlimited continued use by that technician. You will receive tools with
the Technician Kit to help you with your migration, and which can be used in
many routine operations unrelated to migration. Support of the kit tools and
documentation is provided by SBSmigration.com to assist the purchaser in the
completion of one project, with that support built into the purchase. The
cost of the kit is less than the cost of a MS PSS support call.
Swing Migration generally require virtually no preparation of the existing
domain or server your are replacing, including no unique disaster recovery
steps before starting, unless you are redeploying on the same hardware. For
a new hardware replacement, your production server remains in operations for
the duration of the construction steps you will perform to build the new
server offline, with an open timeline. Introducing the new server with the
same name as before takes only as long as is required to move the data and
Exchange Information Store over from the old server to the new one as an
offline backup (flat file, no export required). Generally, this takes
between 1-3 hrs depending upon the amount of data. The open timeline,
offline construction, and minimal downtime mean the work can be performed
during the weekdays, with out working on weekends or having major impact on
the business operations.
The result of a Swing Migration is preservation of the Active Directory
domain intact, with the same domain name, same server name, same server IP,
same Exchange Information Store, same Outlook Rules, and no break in single
instance storage. You have the option to use Exmerge on the Exchange Store
if you prefer. The result of a Swing Migration is consistent every time
because Swing Migration is based entirely upon performing a clean install of
SBS or Windows Server with only the AD and DNS databases required to bring
forwards. As your option, you can also preserve DHCP and WINS databases, all
Group Policies, all logon scripts, and all file and folder permissions. The
transfer and recreation of all Shared Folder definitions and security is
managed by custom tools.
Upon completion of the Swing Migration, there is typically no impact upon
the workstations whatsoever. You don't need to preserve the workstation
profiles because they are not affected. Each workstation will remain with
the same identity in the same domain because the domain doesn't change. The
profiles don't change, the preferences don't change, the desktops don't
change, you don't have to touch them.
Swing Migration provides a unified and organized solution to the migration
and upgrade of not only SBS servers, but all Windows platforms in which
minimizing downtime, and optimizing construction with offline process is an
advantage. It preserves the maximum amount of invested configuration. It
produces a cleaner result than in-place upgrade, an consistent result in all
cases, applies to any domain to domain upgrade/migration scenario other than
the exceptions listed below.
Swing Migration is not a suitable where multiple permanent Exchange servers
are defined in the original organization, or in which the goal of the
transition is to force the rename of the Netbios domain. Either of those
situations can be addressed by combining Swing Migration with some separate
technique to address the limitation, but may involve process which isn't
consistent with the goals of Swing Method to preserve the same Active
Directory, and a predictable outcome free of complications.
The Swing It!! Technician Kit contains the following materials
13pg Welcome Guide (Getting Started information)
34pg Detailed Overview (Explains the technical concerns, caveats and
increments SBS feature specific details)
63pg How to do a Swing Migration (project reference guide, exact steps to
perform)
16pg Troubleshooting (resolutions to issues common to SBS upgrades, or
frequently missed in a Swing upgrade)
8 pg Tools Reference
6 pg Addendum Steps for NT4/SBS 4.5 Migration Scenarios
8 uniquely valuable tools for optimizing your process in transition, plus 2
(coming this month) additional troubleshooting tools for AD analysis and
cleanup
"Jack Nielsen" <nospamjackd@jackd.dk (Fjern nospam)> wrote in message
news:%23OF$ui6$EHA.2196@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
>
> > You don't have to pay for knowledge, well, you do if it is presented to
> you
> > on a silver platter but as Jeff has emphasised many a time, the greater
> part
> > of his methodology is available from support.microsoft.com, you just
need
> > enter the right search words. They don't yet have his tools which are
> handy
> > rather than necessary.
> >
> > but as I said, give us a little more info. It may be that you do not
need
> to
> > buy anything.
>
> What I was wondering where if we have a W2K standard server without
exhange
> if we could "move" users to the new domain og even have the same domain.
The
> reason for this is that we have to copy profiles on alle the Windows xp
> computers to new profiles if they have to join a new domain. Just want to
> avoid alle the profile copying if possible !
>
> Jack
>
>
- Next message: Dean Collins: "Re: Can I rent out Sharepoint?"
- Previous message: BrianMultiLanguage: "Re: Group Policy Question Re:MS Messenger"
- In reply to: Jack Nielsen: "Re: Migrate ?"
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