Migrating our Small Business Server to Windows Server 2008, which I spoke of here, has been a goal of mine for sometime now. I am proud to say that the conversion went smoothly. I carved Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to perform the move. Here is a brief list of what the migration entailed:
- Create user accounts in Active Directory
- Remove all clients from SBS domain (don’t forget to create a local admin account)
- Transfer file storage from old box to new box (~40 gig, not too bad)
- Transfer our Shelby Systems data to new hardware using Shelby Backup/Restore utility
- Change our Firebox configuration file to ensure our external ips are pointing to our new equipment (namely, our terminal server)
- Ensure our DNS and DHCP settings are properly configured
- Put our new server on our Cisco 3524 XL ENs connected via fiber (I know, they are old – but hey, they are a great price and a solid product).
- Finally, and this is the most time consuming, add all clients to the new domain, transfer user settings, add printers, and map drives.
This process took about 23 hours to complete with most of it (18) coming Friday night. I would do it again, just not tomorrow.