Migrate to 2003

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ken F
  • Start date Start date
This for a hosting company, they are hosting a few hundred sites on a 2000
box, they want upgrade to a new box and 2003, the 2000 box does not have AD
on it just DNS with hundred of entries for all domains they host, so
basically the main thing I need to move over and migrate is all the DNS
entries and IIS setting and site folders, what's the best method of
accomplishing this, also can anyone point me to a good tech note on how to
properly configure DNS for a hosting company.
Click to expand...

I'll skip the remarks about a hosting company not knowing how to do
this, but you're facing a terribly long and twisted change over.
Follow these steps to make it as painless as possible:

1) Install DNS on the new server.
2) Create secondary zones for the primaries on the W2K box.
3) Let the DNS replicate (or force it).
4) Promote the zones to primary.
5) Remove the old box.

As an alternative, you could copy all the .dns files over and use
them.

Jeff
 
Jeff Mackeny said:
This for a hosting company, they are hosting a few hundred sites on a 2000
box, they want upgrade to a new box and 2003, the 2000 box does not have AD
on it just DNS with hundred of entries for all domains they host, so
basically the main thing I need to move over and migrate is all the DNS
entries and IIS setting and site folders, what's the best method of
accomplishing this, also can anyone point me to a good tech note on how to
properly configure DNS for a hosting company.
Click to expand...

Have you considered just UPGRADING the machine to Win2003?

If you have new hardware then you can backup the machine (System
State will get most of the "settings" including DNS but not the data
such as the web sites themselves so do both a System State and data
backup), and reload this on the new "Machine."

You will probably have to boot in "VGA" or even safe mode to
straighten out the video and some drivers -- you may even need to
do a "repair install" (from the CDROM) if their is a difference in
SCSI drivers or something so critical, but still it should be possible
to migrate using a backup/restore.

Then upgrade it. If it works (it almost always will) then you proceed;
if it doesn't you haven't lost anything.

Someone else suggested "make the new machine a secondary" which
I too will sometimes suggest but that is tedious for hundreds of sites
and doesn't handle the IIS metabase as well.

There is another poster here who has created a migration too for the
DNS but you still have to fool with the IIS parts.

My vote is for the backup/restore/upgrade -- at least try it.
[/QUOTE]
 
Herb, Ok you guys are freaking me out, I thought its a straight forward
procedure, upgrade is not an option because the reason for the migrate is
hardware fault, the entire hosting is currently on an old clone box which
must be replaced with a new box, will the ADMT utility do any good for me
(keep in mind AD is not installed on this server, will restoring to a new
box the system state blue screen the new sever since its totally different
hardware, please make it as lease complex as you can, why does MS have to
make everything so complex?


Please advice, thanks for your time and help
Jeff


Herb Martin said:
Have you considered just UPGRADING the machine to Win2003?

If you have new hardware then you can backup the machine (System
State will get most of the "settings" including DNS but not the data
such as the web sites themselves so do both a System State and data
backup), and reload this on the new "Machine."

You will probably have to boot in "VGA" or even safe mode to
straighten out the video and some drivers -- you may even need to
do a "repair install" (from the CDROM) if their is a difference in
SCSI drivers or something so critical, but still it should be possible
to migrate using a backup/restore.

Then upgrade it. If it works (it almost always will) then you proceed;
if it doesn't you haven't lost anything.

Someone else suggested "make the new machine a secondary" which
I too will sometimes suggest but that is tedious for hundreds of sites
and doesn't handle the IIS metabase as well.

There is another poster here who has created a migration too for the
DNS but you still have to fool with the IIS parts.

My vote is for the backup/restore/upgrade -- at least try it.
Click to expand...
[/QUOTE]
 
Jeff Mackeny said:
Herb, Ok you guys are freaking me out, I thought its a straight forward
procedure, upgrade is not an option because the reason for the migrate is
hardware fault, the entire hosting is currently on an old clone box which
must be replaced with a new box, will the ADMT utility do any good for me
(keep in mind AD is not installed on this server, will restoring to a new
box the system state blue screen the new sever since its totally different
hardware, please make it as lease complex as you can, why does MS have to
make everything so complex?
Click to expand...

I will repeat what I wrote last time:

And in general it will work although you may have to putz around
with safe mode or a repair install, but remember you are working
with backups so you are free to try multiple paths until you find
one that works or give up on this idea.

It's what I would do in your situation (as I understand your problems.)

It is a documented, almost supported, that you can restore the
system state of one machine, even a DC to another -- for this it should
be the same OS, Server2000->Server2000 then upgrade.

See Chapter 9 of the Distributed Systems Guide of the Win2000 Resource
Kit books or the equivalent on the TechNet CDROM or Web site.
(Backup and Restore chapter.)



--
Herb Martin

Please advice, thanks for your time and help
Jeff


how
Click to expand...
[/QUOTE]
 
In
Herb Martin said:
I will repeat what I wrote last time:


And in general it will work although you may have to putz around
with safe mode or a repair install, but remember you are working
with backups so you are free to try multiple paths until you find
one that works or give up on this idea.

It's what I would do in your situation (as I understand your
problems.)

It is a documented, almost supported, that you can restore the
system state of one machine, even a DC to another -- for this it
should
be the same OS, Server2000->Server2000 then upgrade.

See Chapter 9 of the Distributed Systems Guide of the Win2000 Resource
Kit books or the equivalent on the TechNet CDROM or Web site.
(Backup and Restore chapter.)
Click to expand...

Just to add....

249694 - How to Move a Windows 2000 Installation to Different Hardware:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=249694

263532 - How to perform a disaster recovery restoration of Active Directory
on a computer with a different hardware configurati:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=263532

314082 - You Receive a Stop 0x0000007B Error After You Move the Windows XP
System Disk to Another Computer [boot XP on different hardware]:
(This applies to Windows 2000 as well and I've been using this for years and
works perfectly)
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=314082






--
Regards,
Ace

Please direct all replies to the newsgroup so all can benefit.
This posting is provided "AS-IS" with no warranties and confers no
rights.

Ace Fekay, MCSE 2000, MCSE+I, MCSA, MCT, MVP
Microsoft Windows MVP - Active Directory

HAM AND EGGS: A day's work for a chicken; A lifetime commitment for a
pig. --
=================================
 
This for a hosting company, they are hosting a few hundred sites on a 2000
box, they want upgrade to a new box and 2003, the 2000 box does not have AD
on it just DNS with hundred of entries for all domains they host, so
basically the main thing I need to move over and migrate is all the DNS
entries and IIS setting and site folders, what's the best method of
accomplishing this, also can anyone point me to a good tech note on how to
properly configure DNS for a hosting company.
 
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