INDEX

About Windows Server 2008 R2 What's new in Windows Server 2008 R2? Windows Server 2008 R2 Editions & System Requirements Windows Server 2008 R2 Features Matrix Windows Server 2008 R2 Hardware Requirements Transitioning a Windows 2003 R2 Domain to Windows 2008 R2 Prepare Active Directory environment Functional Levels Verification of Existing Active Directory Additional Domain Controller Installation & Configuration Transferring FSMO roles, IP Address and Global Catalog (GC) DHCP Server Migration Demoted the old Domain Controller Conclusion

About Windows Server 2008 R2: Windows Server 2008 R2 is the most advanced Windows Server operating system yet, designed to power the next generation of networks, applications, and web services. With this operating system you can develop, deliver, and manage rich user experiences and applications, provide a highly secure network infrastructure, and increase technological efficiency and value within your organization.

Whats new in Windows Server 2008 R2? The Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system includes changes to earlier version of Windows Server features and technologies that help improve the security of computers running Windows Server 2008 R2, increase productivity, and reduce administrative overhead. The following changes and new features are available Active Directory Certificate Services Active Directory Domain Services AppLocker Biometrics Device Management and Installation Distributed File System DNS Failover Clusters File Server Resource Manager Group Policy Hyper-V (Virtualization) Microsoft iSCSI initiator Microsoft Multipath I/O Network Access Protection (NAP)

Network Policy Server(NPS) Networking Performance and Reliability Monitoring Print and Document Services Remote Desktop Services Server Core Installation Option Server Manager Service Accounts Services for NFS Smart Cards User Account Control Web Server (IIS) Role (IIS7) Windows Deployment Windows Deployment Services Windows PowerShell Windows PowerShell, Cmdlets for Roles and Features Windows Search, Browse, and Organization Windows Security Auditing Windows Server Backup Other changes Active Directory Rights Management Services Core services and fundamentals Windows Update Stand-alone installer TCP chimney

Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) New server migration tools and migration guides Media Audio, Voice Encoder and Decoder.

Windows Server 2008 R2 Editions & System Requirements: Before embarking on the installation of Windows Server 2008 R2, it is important to first gain an understanding of the different editions available and the corresponding hardware requirements. It is also important to be aware of the upgrade options available with each edition. 1. Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation Edition 2. Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard Edition 3. Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Edition 4. Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter Edition 5. Windows Web Server 2008 R2

Windows Server 2008 R2 Features Matrix I have mentioned the features matrix of Windows Server 2008 R2 editions as below Feature Active Directory Certificate Services Active Directory Domain Services Active Directory Federation Services Enterprise Datacenter Standard Itanium Web Foundation

Yes

Yes

Limited

No

No

Limited

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

No

Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services Active Directory Rights Management Services Application Server DHCP Server DNS Server Fax Server File Services Hyper-V Network Policy and Access Services Print and Document Services Remote Desktop Services Web Services (IIS) Windows Deployment Services Windows Server Update Services (WSUS)

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes Limited Yes Limited

Yes No No No No No No

No No Yes No No No No

Yes Yes Yes Yes Limited No Limited

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes

Limited Yes Yes

No Yes No

No Yes No

Limited Yes Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Windows Server 2008 R2 Hardware Requirements The following below details provides an overview of Microsofts recommended minimum hardware requirements. Category Processor Minimum/Recommended Requirements Minimum: 1.4 GHz -x64 processor Recommended: 2GHz or faster Note: For Itanium based systems an Intel Itanium 2 processor is required.

Memory

Minimum: 512 MB RAM Recommended: 2GB RAM or greater

Disk Space

Minimum: 10GB Recommended: 40GB or greater

Note: Systems with RAM in excess of 16GB will require greater amounts of disk space to accommodate paging, hibernation, and dump files.

Drive

DVD-ROM drive

Display & Peripherals Super VGA or greater-resolution monitor (800x600) Keyboard Microsoft Mouse - Compatible pointing device.

As with the specified system requirements for all Windows systems, it is best to aim for the recommended values rather than the Minimum values to ensure acceptable levels of performance.

Transitioning a Windows 2003 R2 Domain to Windows 2008 R2 You are running with Windows Server 2003 (R2) Domain controllers at the moment and youre looking to replace with Windows Server 2008 R2 Domain controllers to utilize the new features of Windows Server 2008 R2. Transitioning Active Directory is the most common way to migrate Active Directory. Upgrading your Windows Server 2003 (R2) Active Directory environment to Windows Server 2008 R2 can be done in three distinct ways: In-Place upgrading x64 installation of Windows Server 2003 (R2)can upgraded in-place to Windows Server 2008 R2, as you keep the below in mind before proceed this task. o The Windows Server 2003 patch level should be at least Service Pack 2 o Standard Edition can be upgraded to both Standard and Enterprise Edition o Enterprise Edition can be upgraded to Enterprise Edition only o Datacenter Edition can be upgraded to Datacenter Edition only. Transitioning - Migrating this way means adding Windows Server 2008 R2 Domain Controllers to your existing Active Directory environment. After successfully moving the Flexible Single Master Operations (FSMO) roles you can simply demote the previous Domain Controllers, remove them from the domain and throw them out of the window. Transitioning is possible for Active Directory environments which domain functional level is at least Windows 2000 Native. Restructuring - A third way to go from Windows Server 2003 (R2) / 2008 Domain Controllers to Windows Server 2008 R2 Domain Controllers is restructuring your Active Directory environment. This involves moving all your resources from one (Windows Server 2003) domain to a new and fresh (Windows Server 2008 R2) domain. Tools like the Active Directory Migration Tool (ADMT) are priceless in these kinds of migrations.

Reason to transition I feel transitioning is the middle road between the two other ways to migrate to Windows Server 2008 R2:

Restructuring means filling a new Active Directory from scratch In-place upgrading means you're stuck with the same hardware and limited to certain upgrade paths Transitioning means you get to keep your current Active Directory lay-out, contents, group policies and schema. Transitioning also means moving to new machines and this can be dimensioned to last another three to five years without trouble.

Transitioning is good when:

You worked hard to get your Active Directory in the shape it's in. Your servers are faced with aging. In-place upgrading leaves you with an undesired outcome (for instance Server Core or Enterprise Domain Controllers) You need a chance to place your Active Directory files on different partitions/volumes.

Steps to transition Transitioning to Windows Server 2008 R2 Domain Controllers consists of the following steps: Before begin we must consider the below points Avoid common mistakes Plan your server lifecycle Access your readiness Map out your 64bit transition Review the considerations for upgrading Backups Documentation Communication

Prepare Active Directory environment Before you can begin the addition of Windows Server 2008 R2 into your existing 2003 (R2) Active Directory environment, first have to prepare the Active Directory. Microsoft provides two tools to facilitate this preparation. Depending on your current Active Directory environment you need to use either one of them.

adprep.exe

Use adprep.exe to prepare your Active Directory environment for Windows Server 2008 R2 on 64bit (x64) Domain Controllers. adprep32.exe Use adprep.exe to prepare your Active Directory environment for Windows Server 2008 R2 on 32bit (x86) Domain Controllers. You need to run the following commands on the following Domain Controllers in your current Active Directory environment: Command 1. Adprep.exe /forestprep Adprep32.exe /forestprep 2. Adprep.exe /domainprep Adprep32.exe /domainprep 3. Adprep.exe /domainprep /gpprep Adprep32.exe /domainprep /gpprep After preparing your Active Directory for Windows Server 2008 R2 be sure to check the process adprep.log file. Allow sufficient time for proper replication to all Domain controllers and confirm the all of your Domain controllers report Schema version 47. Infrastructure Master Infrastructure Master Domain Controller Schema Master

Type C and Enter

Verification of Active Directory preparation by using ADSIEDIT.MSC

Schema Version is 47

Domain Preparation needs to be done in Child domain (Fis.fichtner.local)

Functional Levels Raised the Domain functional level to Windows Server 2003 in Fis.fichtner.local domain

Raised domain functional level - Windows Server 2003

Raised the Forest Functional level to Windows Server 2003

Verification of Existing Active Directory

Additional Domain Controller Installation: Once completed the Windows Server 2008 R2 OS installation, we have verified the following details as mentioned below 1. 2. 3. 4. Windows Server 2008 R2 with latest Service Pack Windows Server 2008 R2 OS latest updates. Domain membership Host name and IP address configuration.

Added the IP configuration as mentioned below

Verified the Host name and IP address details in Server 2008 R2

Open the Server Manager in Server 2008 R2 and added the Active Directory Domain Service role as refer below screenshots.

Promoted the server as an additional domain controller by dcpromo

DSRM Password - P@ssw0rd

Restarted the server once completion of Active Directory configuration. Configured the DNS with Active Directory integrated zone and verified the DNS.

Transferring FSMO roles and Global Catalog (GC) We have promoted the Server 2008 R2 as a Primary Domain Controller and Global catalog for domain Fichtner. Local

Verified the server 2008 r2 has FSMO roles and GC and changed IP address 172.16.1.1 to new DC (2008 R2). Restart the all domain controllers one by one.

DHCP Server Migrated the DHCP Server from 2003 R2 to 2008 R2 domain controller as below details 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Taken the DHCP server 2003 R2 backup and moved it into centralized location. Stop the DHCP server service in Server 2003 R2. Installed and configured the DHCP server role in Windows Server 2008 R2 Unauthorized the DHCP scope in Server 2008 R2 Imported the 2003 R2 DHCP backup into Server 2008 R2. Start the DHCP server service in Server 2008 R2 Verified everything is working fine.

Verified the clients IP address has assigned from DHCP server which have hosted in Server 2008 R2.

Demoted the old Domain Controller This is last step after upgrade Windows Server 2008 R2 Active Directory environment, Demote the old Active Directory 2003 R2 server. To demote the older DC please refer the below screenshots.

New login Password is P@ssw0rd

Restart the server once the removed process has done.

Conclusion: Finally, we have upgraded your Active Directory environment to Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard. We have verified the Active Directory, DNS, DHCP and replication between all domain controllers without any issue. S.N 1 2 Host Name FI-SERVER10 FI-SERVER07 IP Address 172.16.1.1 172.16.1.17 Description Primary DC, DNS, DHCP, FSMO & GC. Backup DC, DNS