Replacing a Windows 2003 SBS

I support a small office with a single server that needs replacing.

I am wondering the best method to use to replace a single production server running SBS 2003 Premium with a new single SBS 2003 R2 Std server without losing AD, Exchange and Data directories.

I am looking at replacing the Windows 2003 Small Business Server Premium Edition system with a new server, all new hardware for upgraded power and capacity, and changing the OS from SBS Premium to SBS Standard R2. The Original Premium installation is corrupted and has been "repaired" with a repair install. I only want to make sure that Active Directory and Exchange and the data directories are moved properly to the new server with no data loss and minimal downtime. Exchange and AD have a lot of information in them (thousands of contacts, hundreds of email addresses, etc).

Ultimately I want the new server to look pretty much exactly the same as the old one, just more reliable and powerful. The IP needs to be the same eventually and the server and domain name has to be the same as well.

Is there a guide to doing this or can anyone give me a roadmap? As I understand SBS I would not be able to install this alongside it in the domain and replicate data between Domain Controllers...is that correct? If so what other ways are there to make sure this is successful?

Thanks for any help,
j5

 

First let me say I haven't migrated an SBS box, yet. But I do have some texts on the subject, and they all say it isn't for the faint hearted. Suffice to say, you will need to do a migration, and you'll need to do a lot of planning. I have a copy of "How to cheat at managing small business server 2003" (use torrents) and it provides some helpful information on what to do (pg 81). Worth a read and good luck.

 

One very definite risk you have is that in transfering the AD from the old system to the new, you will also transfer the corruption. If AD is corupted on the old system you are better off wiping and building from new rather than transfering it to a new server.

The problem then is transfering the Exchange data. Not an easy task.

How many users do you have? If less than twenty a process I have used in a similar situation is to export all Outlook data to pst and pab files at the client PCs. Then wipe and reinstall from scratch. Then copy the Outlook pst and pab file back into the system via Outlook. Its a bodge, but in my experience easier than trying to restore Exchange onto a new system. It only makes sense if you have a relatively small number of users.

The good new is that if you are putting the data onto a new system you can try it without wiping the original system.