dissertation sinisa sladic

Microsoft Windows Server Upgrading

Sinisa Sladic

B.Sc. IT Management 2015

Dundalk Institute of Technology

Sinisa Sladic

All rights reserved

2015

Microsoft Windows Server Upgrades Acknowledgements

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my project supervisor Paula Keane, for continuous support and

encouragement throughout this project. Paula has helped me scale down the idea

of my project and greatly contributed to the production of my thesis by constantly

giving me feedback and discussing any ideas I proposed.

I would also like to thanks all other lecturers Ive had throughout the 3 years of my

education in Dundalk Institute of Technology. Without the knowledge I gained from

the variety of different modules I have studied, this project would not be possible.

A special thanks goes to my I.T Management classmates for giving me support

throughout the year and taking their time to discuss project ideas.

I also thank Peadar Grant, my second reader, for taking his time to review this

project.

And finally, I would like to thank my family for continuous support and for providing

moral support throughout my education.

Microsoft Windows Server Upgrades Declaration

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Declaration

I hereby declare that the work described in this project is, except where otherwise stated,

entirely my own work and has not been submitted as part of any degree at this or any other

Institute/University.

Sinisa Sladic

2015

Microsoft Windows Server Upgrades Abstract:

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Abstract:

In this report the reader can find information on Microsoft Window Server technology and

the upgrade issues surrounding Windows Server 2003 and 2008 R2. The purpose of this

project is to develop the best practices for upgrading to Windows Server 2012 and to show

what kind of an impact upgrading can have on an Enterprise. The upgrade process will

contain VBScript code which will help administrators upgrade servers by enabling them to

migrate Active Directory users from one server to another via Microsoft Excel. It will also

contain code which is entered into command prompt and adds Active Directory users into

specified groups. This project will outline the various stages that administrators need to go

through in order to successfully upgrade an organisational server successfully. These stages

include server installation, Active Directory migration, Server Backup and Restore, Migration

of DHCP (Domain Host Configuration Protocol), DNS (Domain Name System), IIS/Web Server

(Internet Information Services), Print Services, File Services, and Group Policy. This project

will also show various improvements Microsoft have made with Windows Server 2012.


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Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................... 1

Declaration ........................................................................................................................................ 2

Abstract: ........................................................................................................................................... 3

1. Literature Review ...................................................................................................................... 7

1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 7

1.2 Project Aims ............................................................................................................................ 8

1.3 Project Objectives .............................................................................................................. 8

1.4 Window Server Technology ..................................................................................................... 9

1.5 Windows Server 2012 Features and Roles .............................................................................. 11

1.6 System Requirements ............................................................................................................ 14

1.7 Installation Modes ................................................................................................................. 15

1.8 Planning for Server Installation .............................................................................................. 17

1.8.1 New Installation .............................................................................................................. 17

1.8.2 Upgrading a system ......................................................................................................... 17

1.8.3 Backing up the Server ...................................................................................................... 18

1.8.4 Verifying System Compatibility ........................................................................................ 18

1.8.5 Additional Tasks .............................................................................................................. 18

1.9 Problems of Implementation ................................................................................................. 19

1.9.1 Upgrading from Windows Server 2003/2008 to 2012 R2 ................................................. 19

1.9.2 Upgrading from Windows Server 2003 to Server 2008 .................................................... 19

1.10 Virtualization ....................................................................................................................... 20

1.11 Virtual Box ........................................................................................................................... 20

1.12 Security Improvements ........................................................................................................ 21

2. Research Question ................................................................................................................. 23

3. Study Design ............................................................................................................................ 24

4. Plan for Progression ................................................................................................................. 25

5. Design and Implementation ..................................................................................................... 27

5.1 Server Upgrading Issues ......................................................................................................... 27

5.2 Process for testing the outlined issues ................................................................................... 27

5.3 Upgrading issues explained .................................................................................................... 28

5.4 Upgrading from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008 ............................................ 29

5.5 New Server installation .......................................................................................................... 32

5.6 Backing data up ..................................................................................................................... 35

5.7 Recovering Backed up Data .................................................................................................... 36


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5.8 Installing all roles on new server (Windows Server 2012) ....................................................... 38

5.9 Replicating what was implemented on old systems so organization is not affected ................ 39

5.10 Active Directory User Configuration via Microsoft Excel ....................................................... 40

5.11 How user permissions are applied and how folder sharing works using VBScript .................. 42

6. Why upgrading to Windows Server 2012 is important ............................................................. 45

6.1 Resilient File System .............................................................................................................. 45

6.2 PowerShell 3.0 ....................................................................................................................... 45

6.3 Server Interface Choices ........................................................................................................ 45

6.4 Storage Spaces ....................................................................................................................... 45

6.5 Compatibility ......................................................................................................................... 45

6.6 Virtualizing Domain Controllers.............................................................................................. 46

6.7 Remote Management ............................................................................................................ 46

7. Problems Encountered ............................................................................................................ 47

8. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 48

9. Appendix ................................................................................................................................. 49

10. Bibliography ......................................................................................................................... 59

11. Sites Visited ......................................................................................................................... 61

12. Images Used ........................................................................................................................ 61


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Table of Figures

Figure 1: Server 2003 support end ..................................................................................................... 7

Figure 2: Server 2012 editions ......................................................................................................... 10

Figure 3: Windows Server 2012 system requirements...................................................................... 14

Figure 4: Hardware recommendations ............................................................................................. 14

Figure 5: Server interfaces ............................................................................................................... 16

Figure 6: Gantt Chart of Plan for progression ................................................................................... 26

Figure 7: Command Prompt Commands .......................................................................................... 29

Figure 8: Adprep Commands ........................................................................................................... 29

Figure 9: Windows Server 2008 installation ..................................................................................... 30

Figure 10: Error Message ................................................................................................................. 30

Figure 11: Upgrading to 32 or 64 bit ................................................................................................ 31

Figure 12: Final Upgrade Step .......................................................................................................... 31

Figure 13: Server Manager Console ................................................................................................. 32

Figure 14: DHCP Settings ................................................................................................................. 33

Figure 15: Group Policy Management Console ................................................................................. 33

Figure 16: Group Policy Configuration............................................................................................. 34

Figure 17: Backing up the server ...................................................................................................... 35

Figure 18: Back up wizard progress .................................................................................................. 35

Figure 19: Recovering Backed up Data P1 ........................................................................................ 36




Figure 23: Same Roles/Services Installed on Both Servers ................................................................ 38

Figure 24: Windows Server 2008 Group Policy ................................................................................. 39

Figure 25: Windows Server 2012 Group Policy ................................................................................. 39

Figure 26: VBScript Code P1............................................................................................................. 40







Figure 33: Microsoft Excel User Info ................................................................................................ 44

Figure 34: Adding Users to Groups Code .......................................................................................... 44

Microsoft Windows Server Upgrades Literature Review

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1. Literature Review

1.1 Introduction

Windows Server is a series of server operating systems developed by Microsoft. A server is

a more powerful version of a desktop computer which is developed to help Enterprises

manage their users, network, file sharing, authentication, web services, mail services,

storage, and much more. The first server series was released in 2003, followed by the

second release in 2008, and the final release in 2012. As shown in Figure 1, Microsoft have

officially announced that they are no longer going to support Windows Server 2003 from

the 14th of July 2015 and this leaves many Enterprises who are still using the 2003 version

with no other option but to upgrade their systems. According to (Wlodarz, 2014),

Enterprises who currently use Windows Server 2008 also need to consider upgrading as

moving between server versions is something warranted once every 5 7 years. When

upgrading servers, companies must pay for the new servers license, new hardware if

required, and an I.T professional to implement the upgrade if necessary. Companies who

dont specialise in I.T may ask, why upgrade their systems if there is no faulty with the

servers they currently use? According to the Moores Law (Anon, n.d.), computer

processors double in complexity every two years, this means users must upgrade their

operating systems in order to have a system that is up to standard in terms of performance.

Another big reason for a need to upgrade is compatibility. A company such as Microsoft

may stop supporting a system or they could release a service pack or new software which

does not support old systems and if an Enterprise does not upgrade, they may not be able

to use the newly released features thus losing out on the competitive advantage against

other Enterprises.

When upgrading a Windows Server, the only way you can automatically carry data over

from the previous server version is if you upgrade to the next server version release. For

example, if an Enterprise running Windows Server 2003 wanted to upgrade and still keep all

of their data automatically, they would need to upgrade to Windows Server 2008. However,

if the Enterprise wanted to upgrade from the 2003 version straight to 2012, everything

needs to be manually backed up, and the system administrator or the I.T specialist needs to

carefully plan out how they are going to implement the same I.T structure for the Enterprise

again. However, an Enterprise running server 2003 could upgrade to server 2008, and then

upgrade to 2012 from the 2008 version. This way the Enterprise will be able to

automatically keep all of their data. However this method is not advised as each upgrade

must be paid for, and this method can also lead to many errors with the server. In this

project I am going to address the issues when upgrading to Windows Server 2012 R2 from

Windows Server 2003 and 2008, and create the best practices for upgrading a server

system. I will also critically review Windows Server 2008 and 2012 in terms of performance,

security, cost, life-span, scalability, virtualization and other important features. I will also

show what kind of an impact upgrading a server can have on an Enterprise.

Figure 1: Server 2003 support end


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1.2 Project Aims The aim of my project is to create a Windows Server upgrade plan. There are many

Enterprises still running Windows Server 2003 and 2008, and they are not aware of the

benefits that Windows Server 2012 R2 provides. I will create an upgrade plan for

Enterprises running Windows Server 2003 and 2008, and also conduct a technology review

on Windows Server 2012 R2.

I will install Window Server 2003, 2008 and 2012 on my personal computer using Virtual

Box, and this will help me implement my plan, and demonstrate whats new with Windows

Server 2012 R2.

This report will highlight the changes Windows has made with Windows server 2012 R2.

As a part of my case study I intend to talk to two different companies that use the two OS

and determine whether it is beneficial for companies that use the 2008 version to upgrade

or not.

I will also create a VBScript file which will perform a major part of this project when

executed. This file will create users in Active Directory, add users to groups and create

folders and files.

This project will further my understanding on 2008 and 2012 window servers and it will

benefit me when looking for future system administration jobs.

1.3 Project Objectives

Produce a case study showing real life statistics and information on Window Server 2003, 2008 R2 and 2012 R2

Create best practices for server upgrading

Create code to help administrators upgrade servers

Show the most beneficial changes in Windows Server 2012 R2

Critically review Windows Server 2012 R2


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1.4 Window Server Technology Windows Server is similar to a standard windows desktop but it is a lot more powerful and

supports many different roles which are designed to manage a network. Windows server is

designed to handle networking, internet hosting, databases, Active Directory and more

The Windows Server brand includes the following systems:

Windows Server 2003

Windows Server 2003 R2

Windows Server 2008


Windows Server 2012


Windows Server 2012 is the 6th release of Windows Servers which was released in

September 2012 along with Windows 8 which was released the following month in October.

Various features were added or improved over the previous Windows Server version

(Windows Server 2008 R2) such as an updated version of Hyper-V, IP address management

role, updated version of Task Manager and a new file system. Microsoft also made

enhancements in virtualization, storage, networking, management, virtual desktop

infrastructure and more.

There are currently 4 different Windows Server 2012 editions, Foundation, Standard,

Essentials and Data Center.

There are only two editions in the Windows Server 2012 family of operating systems.

Microsoft is opting to simplify the product line, and as a result, Windows Server 2012 will be

available in Standard and Datacenter Editions. There is no longer a feature difference

between the editions, only a difference in support for hardware and guest virtual machines

(VMs). (Morimoto, 2012)

Windows Server Standard and Data Center have the same features without limitation, the

only difference between the two editions is the price and the product usage rights. If you

have Standard, you can install two virtual machines of Server 2012 as well as the host for

each licence purchased. If you have Data Center, you can install an unlimited virtual

instances of Server 2012. However, this does not apply if you want to run Linux virtual

machines on either version. Data Center usually costs around 5 times as much as the

Standard edition therefore if you are not using virtualising and running big workloads on a

standalone machine, then Standard is the best suitable edition.

Windows Server Foundation is an edition designed to be bundled with hardware. It is an

inexpensive first server solution. However it has several significant limitations. One of them

is that it only allows one processor. You cannot add a second licence for a second

processor. Another limitation is that it does not support Hyper-V at all, and it only allows 15

users with no expansion possible other than upgrading to a different edition.


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Windows Server Essentials is the recommended edition for small businesses. The idea of

the Essentials edition is to provide local user and small network management. It provides a

host of features and access to cloud services. Like Foundation, it doesnt support Hyper-V as

a host, though it does support Hyper-V as a guest. It supports up to 25 users and 2

processors. Essentials is a great value for businesses with fewer than 25 users and it has a

simple licence upgrade option if required. (Anderson, 2012)

Figure 2 is a table taken from Microsoft which shows brief information about all the

Windows Server 2012 editions along with the latest pricing for the systems.

Edition Ideal For Feature Comparison Licensing Model Pricing in USD

DataCenter Highly virtualized

private and hybrid

cloud environments

Full Windows Server

functionality with

unlimited virtual

instances

Processor + CAL $ 6,155

Standard Low density or non-

virtualized

environments

Full Windows Server

functionality with 2

virtual instances

Processor + CAL $ 882

Essentials Small business

environments for

servers with up to two processors

Simpler interface,

pre-configured

connectivity to cloud-based services,

one virtual instance

of Essentials

Server up to 25

Users

$ 501

Foundation Economical general

purpose server with a

single processor

General purpose

Server functionality

with no virtualization

rights

Server up to 15

Users

OEM Only

Figure 2: Server 2012 editions


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1.5 Windows Server 2012 Features and Roles Active Directory Certificate Services (ADCS) enables Windows Server 2012 to provide

certificates to clients and servers. Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS) is an Active

Directory tool that lets administrators customize services in order to issue and manage

public key certificates. (Rouse M. , 2012) A public key certificate is a digitally signed

document that serves to validate the senders authorization name. According to (Microsoft,

2008), AD CS can be used to enhance security by binding the identity of a person, device, or

service to a corresponding private key. AD CS gives organizations an efficient, secure, and

cost effective ways to manage the distribution and use of certificates

Active Directory Domain Services (ADDS) This role configures the server to host Active

Directory database. This database is a collection of objects within the network. An object

can be a single user, group or it can be a hardware component such as a printer or a

computer. This database is then used to authenticate users to logon to the network and to

authorize their use of resources on the network. ADDS also allows the system administrator

to monitor users and the administrator can change the users information such as username,

password, access rights etc Most organizations that run a Windows Server will have ADDS

installed on the network as it is one of the most important roles of the server and it helps an

organization to manage their users.

Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) The ADFS is a software component that

provides users with a single sign on access to systems and applications that an organisation

offers. For example, DKIT college has a system that enables students to log in to computers,

moodle and mail using the same username and password. This feature is very useful

because users do not need to remember multiple usernames and passwords for different

services.

Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (ADLDS) According to (Weber, 2013), AD

LDS is a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directory service that provides flexible

support for directory-enabled applications, without the dependencies that are required for

Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS). AD LDS provides similar functionality as Active

Directory Domain Services (ADDS), but it doesnt require the deployment of domains and

domain controllers. AD LDS is a simpler version of ADDS, It gives you the capabilities of a

multi-master LDAP directory that supports replication without some of the extraneous

features of an Active Directory domain controller (domains and forests, Kerberos, trusts,

etc.). (Weber, 2013) This role is used in situations where you need a directory for the

purpose of Active Directory integrated applications.

Active Directory Rights Management Services (ADRMS) According to (Ross, 2013) ADRMS

enables Active Directory to exchange information with AD RMS- compatible software.

Enabling an additional layer of security that content owners can use to protect their

documents. Content owners can specifically set permissions that controls who can open,

modify, forward or print each document.


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Application server is a program that handles all application operations between users and

back-end business applications or databases. An application server is usually used for

complex transaction-based applications. (Beal, n.d.) A good metaphor to explain this is a

shopping mall example. If you own a store, you not only need to worry about what the

store is for, you need to worry about the parking, security, security etcBut if you have a

store in a shopping mall, the shopping mall takes care of all these services for you. If you

dont have an application server, you need to worry about all application related services

yourself.

DHCP Server - DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. It is a protocol that

automatically assigns an IP Address for client machines connected to the network. It can

also assign other information such as the subnet mask and default gateway. DHCP

minimizes errors caused by applying IP Addresses manually and it is a centralized and

automated TCP/IP configuration.

Benefits of DHCP

There is no need to manually configure each client with an IP address

There is no need to keep a record of assigned IP Addresses.

It enables you to release the IP address of a computer that is offline and reassign the address to another computer.

Address duplication is eliminated as DHCP automatically tracks IP address assignments.

DHCP server can detect unauthorized DHCP severs on the network

Recycles IP addresses when computer is disconnected

Ads the management of TCP/IP settings on devices.

DNS Server Domain Name System translates Internet domain and host names to IP

Addresses. It automatically translates a website address to an IP Address of web servers

that are hosting a specific site. For example, when a user types in a URL address into a web

browser and hits enter, the URL address is translated to an IP address of the server that is

hosting the website you are trying to access enabling you to access the website. DNS is also

allows a computer to join a domain.

FAX Server A fax server is a role installed in a local area network (LAN) server that enables

computer users who are connected to the LAN to send a receive fax messages. Fax

messages can be stored as printable word processing, database, graphics, or spreadsheet

files. Documents can also be scanned and sent as fax messages. There are several

advantages to using a fax server opposed to an ordinary fax machine. A single fax server can

emulate multiple fax machines which results in reduced overhead. Some functions can be

automated such as automatically sending information at specified times. Received faxes

can automatically be saved as files on the server. (Rouse M. , 2005)


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File and Storage Services (FSS) FSS provides a central location on your network where you

can store files and share them with users on the network. FSS is used when users need to

access the same files and applications. It allows the system administrator to apply specific

permissions on files on the network. With Windows Server 2012 the FSS role is installed by

default. Additional services can then be enabled as a part of the FSS and specifically

configured for the server.

Hyper V - Hyper V is a virtualization platform which was introduced by Microsoft in 2008.

There are four different versions on Hyper V so far, these are Windows Server 2012 R2,

Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008. Hyper V allows

system administrators to create a virtualized server computing environment. (Microsoft,

2010) Virtualized environment may be implemented by Enterprises to improve the

efficiency of their computing resources by utilizing more of their hardware resources. Hyper

V enables you to add a virtual machine that operates on top of your physical machine. This

allows you to run multiple machines simultaneously on one physical computer. A virtualized

environment can be used to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

Print and Document Services This role enables you to centralize print server and network

printer tasks. Print Server allows you to monitor print queues and receive notifications if

there is an error with print jobs. (Microsoft, n.d.) A Print Service allows printers to be

installed and shared across a network. A printer can be installed and used from every

computer on the network. This method saves organizations a lot of money because 1

printer can be used by a various number of machines.

Network Policy and Access Services enables you to secure remote access to the network,

meeting requirements that all remote users authenticate to the server running Network

Policy and Access Services before gaining access to the corporate network. (Ross, 2013)

Remote Access - This role enables users to connect to the network remotely without

requiring VPN (Virtual Private Network) connections. (Ross, 2013)

Remote Desktop Services This role provides technologies that enable users to connect to

virtual desktops, remote application programs and session based desktops. (Microsoft,

Remote Desktop Services Overview, n.d.) It allows users to work from anywhere.

Web Server (IIS) Web Server or Internet Information Services (IIS) is a role that allows you

to deploy a website on your server. It integrates platforms such as ASP.NET, FTP, PHP and

HTML. It offers functionality which enables you to easily add, remove, and even replace

built in IIS components with custom modules, suited for customer needs. (Microsoft, 2012)

Windows Deployment Services (WDS) This role gives system administrators the ability to

deploy Windows Operating Systems remotely on machines. This role can be very useful in

large companies because the administrator does not have to directly install each operating

system on each machine in the organisation.


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Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) WSUS is a role that enables administrators to

manage the updates and patches released for Microsoft products within the network. This

role is important to large environments as it helps the administrators keep their networks

safe. Rather than each machine manually connecting to Microsoft Update, administrators

can use WSUS to download, manage, and distribute updates from the server. WSUS also

keeps the administrators informed on patch and update progress. It gives administrators

full control of which updates are deployed to each machine.

1.6 System Requirements

In order to install Windows Sever 2012, the minimal requirements are as follows:

1.4 Ghz 64-bit processor, 512 MB of RAM, 32 GB of disk space, DVD Drive, Super VGA

(800x600) or higher resolution monitor, keyboard and a mouse. Depending on the mode

you install (Server core of server with GUI), the installation typically takes about 8 GB to 16

GB of space. However, it is recommended to keep 32 GB of disk space or more, so that you

have enough space for paging and servicing. Additional space may also be required upon

installation of roles and services that the server may host. Figure 3 shows the minimum

system requirements for Windows Server 2012 for all editions.

Processor: Minimum 1.4 GHz 64 bit

RAM: Minimum: 512 MB

Disk Space: Minimum: 32 GB

Figure 3: Windows Server 2012 system requirements

Figure 4 shows the hardware recommendations for all server 2012 editions.

Figure 4: Hardware recommendations


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1.7 Installation Modes When installing Windows Server, the setup gives you two modes of installation. You can

either install Windows in full server mode with the GUI, or just the Server Core mode

without the GUI experience. Server Core installation requires approximately 4 GB less space

than a GUI server.

Server Core is the recommended version by Microsoft because it requires less disk space

and has a smaller attack surface. Server Core does not have Server Manager or any other

ways to manage roles and features, management must be done either remotely from a

client machine or using the command prompt or Powershell. This makes the Server Core

mode more secure but requires higher expertise to be managed.

However there is an option which enables users to freely switch between the two modes at

any time, one approach which might be considered is to initially install the Server with a GUI

option, use the graphical tools to configure the server and then switch to the Server Core

installation option after.

In earlier versions of Windows Servers, once you install the server in Core or with GUI mode,

you could not switch to the other. The only option was to rebuild the server from scratch. In

Windows Server 2012, we have changed the package hierarchy in such a way that you can

choose to add or remove the GUI at any point of time. So you can actually install a full

server, then configure it using the full blown UI. Once everything is done, you could just

remove the graphical shell and convert your Windows Server to Server Core. (Marlin, 2012)


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Figure 5 shows the features that are available in the Server with GUI interface but not in

Server Core.

Features Server Core

Installation

Server with

GUI

Command prompt available available

Windows PowerShell/Microsoft .NET available available

Server Manager not available available

Microsoft Management Console not available available

Control Panel not available available

Control Panel applets not available available

Windows Explorer not available available

Taskbar not available available

Notification area not available available

Internet Explorer not available available

Built-in help system not available available

Themes not available not

available

Windows 8 Shell not available not

available

Windows Store and support for

Windows Store apps

not available not

available

Windows Media Player not available not

available

Figure 5: Server interfaces


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1.8 Planning for Server Installation Before upgrading servers it is very important to plan out the steps that are going to be taken

to successfully perform this task. This way the administrator can go back and identify any

stages where an error might have occurred. Planning out the upgrading process also

simplifies the task itself and helps the administrator accomplish the task more efficiently.

There are two different methods for upgrading servers, new installation, which is

completely installing a new server from scratch, and the second method is upgrading the

server whilst still keeping the whole server infrastructure in place.

1.8.1 New Installation

Before installing a new version of Windows Server, it is important to make several decisions

to ensure the process is done safely. If you have an existing Server environment in place,

you must consider whether to upgrade an existing server or perform a complete new

installation. There are benefits to each of these options.

By installing a complete new server you are starting off with a fully functional server with no

errors. You also avoid migrating problems that might have existed on your previous server

which may have been caused by corrupt software, incorrect configuration or faulty

applications. It is very important to remember that once you install a new server, all

configuration settings from previous installation will be erased. Therefore the administrator

must document server configuration information, prepare all the appropriate software that

is going to be reinstalled, and back up any data that needs to be kept. Typically, most new

installations are installed on a brand new formatted hard drive, doing so gives you the

cleanest installation.

1.8.2 Upgrading a system

Upgrading your server replaces your current Windows files but still keeps all the important

information such as the existing Active Directory users, settings, groups and permissions.

Applications also do not need to be reinstalled and all data is kept. This is the option that

most Enterprises will choose simply because the administrator does not have to build

everything from scratch again. Before upgrading, it is important to perform a complete

backup of any application and data that you wish to keep. In order to perform an upgrade

to Windows Server 2012, you must be running the most recent predecessor operating

system (Windows Server 2008 R2). Upgrades from any older server versions are not

supported. However, if you need to preserver settings and upgrade from Windows Server

2003 or before, it is possible to upgrade to Windows Server 2008, and then upgrade again to

Server 2012. (Morimoto, 2012)

When upgrading an existing server to Windows Server 2012, all files, programs and

configuration settings are kept from the previous version. However, there are still some

important tasks that must be performed before the upgrade.


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1.8.3 Backing up the Server

Backing up your server before an upgrade is the most important task that needs to be done.

A full backup of your servers data, including the system state, can make a huge difference in

a working environment. If you perform a full backup and something goes wrong while

installing a new system, this can cause a minor setback, but if you do not perform a backup,

this can cause a complete disaster in a working environment.

1.8.4 Verifying System Compatibility

It is important to check if your hardware and applications are compatible with the server

version you are upgrading. This can be done using the Microsoft Application Compatibility

Toolkit which can be accessed from the following link:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/aa905066.aspx

1.8.5 Additional Tasks

Disconnect UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) devices

Setup automatically detects devices that are connected through serial ports, UPS can cause

issues with detection process.

Disable your virus protection software

Anti-Virus can interfere with the installation. It can make the process much slower by

scanning every file.

Provide mass storage drivers

If your manufacturer has released a new driver for the new system, you should save it to an

external device and provide it during the setup on the disk selection page by clicking Load

Driver or F6.


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1.9 Problems of Implementation There are many issues that can occur when upgrading servers, especially if the upgrade is

being performed in a large organization which contains many users and a variety of different

services/roles.

1.9.1 Upgrading from Windows Server 2003/2008 to 2012 R2

Upgrading from Windows Server 2003 or 2008 to 2012 R2 is a very messy task to say the

least. One of the biggest problems is that Windows Server 2003 is a 32-bit system while

Windows Server 2012 R2 is a 64-bit system. This means you cannot automatically upgrade

the system and still keep all of your data and configuration. The best way to accomplish this

task is to install a new Windows Server 2012 R2 system from scratch and manually move all

data across.

This process involves very careful planning as all configuration and settings need to be noted

as they will need to be re-configured in the new server environment. User accounts, group

policies, permissions, files, and any other important data need to be backed up and

manually configured on the new server. The benefits of installing a new server from scratch

and then manually implementing all the configuration from the previous server is that it

gives you a brand new error free system.

The upgrade procedure starts of by inserting a Windows Server 2012 R2 disk into the DVD

drive and following the installation wizard. The installation wizard asks you which kind of

installation you wish to perform (Upgrade or Custom), in order to successfully upgrade and

keep all your files, settings and applications, you need to select the upgrade option and wait

for the installation wizard to complete. (Anon, 2012)

1.9.2 Upgrading from Windows Server 2003 to Server 2008

Upgrading from Windows Server 2003 to 2008 R2 is a much simpler task than upgrading to

Windows Server 2012. One of the major concerns with this though, is that that Windows

Server 2008 R2 is only five years younger than the 2003 version, and Microsoft will most

likely stop supporting this version within a few years. Therefore if an organisation was

upgrading their server, the advisable option would be to go with the 2012 system.

However, if a decision has been made to upgrade from Windows Server 2003 to 2008 R2,

this can be quite a simple task and it doesnt take a very long time to do this. This process

can be done simply by inserting a Windows Server 2008 R2 CD and following the installation

wizard along with a few other minor steps which are outlined in Chapter 5.4. Before

upgrading, system administrator needs to evaluate if all the applications installed on the

server are compatible with the upgraded version, if there is any incompatible applications,

the system administrator needs to upgrade the software to the supported version before

upgrade or uninstall the software completely.


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1.10 Virtualization Virtualization has become very important in todays world and more and more organisations

are starting to use it. Virtualization is the creation of a virtual (rather than actual) version

of something, such as an operating system, a server, a storage device or network resources.

(Rouse M. , n.d.) Virtualization is referred to as the technology that separates computing

platforms in to logical resources or computer environments. These environments are called

virtual machines. A virtual machine is installed on top of your physical machine and this

allows you to run multiple operating systems simultaneously provided that your hardware

specifications allow you to do so. Virtualization can save an organisation a lot of money.

For example, if an organisation requires two servers, they could run one physical server and

one virtual server on one physical machine. The virtual machine can do just as good of a job

as the physical machine. One machine also takes up less space than two machines which

can also be an important factor. Windows Server 2008 R2 and 2012 R2 enable you to use

virtualization via a role called Hyper-V. Microsoft have made plenty of improvements to

Hyper-V with the release of Windows Server 2012 R2 and I plan on evaluating these

improvements in the implementation part of this report.

1.11 Virtual Box Virtual Box is a cross platform virtualization application. It allows users to run a variety of

different operating systems on their computer simultaneously. Operating systems are

imported and installed in the VirtualBox as an application. This allows users to experiment

using different Operating Systems without doing any damage to their computers. Virtual

Box was developed by Innotek GMbH in 2007 as an open source software package. The

company was later purchased by Sun Microsystems. (Anon, n.d.) Virtual Box is similar to

Hyper-V as they both make virtualization possible. Virtual Box will be used to install

Windows Server 2003, 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2012 R2 on my computer as virtual

machines.


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1.12 Security Improvements Enterprises that are running Windows Server 2008 or older versions may question whether

2012 edition offers enough new security features to make it worth the upgrade. Windows

Server 2012 R2 comes with many improved security features such as:

Secure Boot

Windows Server 2012 has replaced the traditional ROM-BIOS with a new improved industry

boot standard known as UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface.) This prevents boot

code updates without appropriate digital certificates and signatures.

Secure Boot is a feature on UEFI-based PCs that helps increase the security of a PC by

preventing unauthorized software from running on a PC during the boot sequence. It checks

that each piece of software has a valid signature, including the operating system that will be

loaded. (Wigleven, 2013)

Taken together, UEFI and Secure Boot improve the security significantly by reducing the risk

of malicious code from taking control of the operating system.

Bitlocker

BitLocker is Microsoft's easy-to-use, proprietary encryption program for Windows that can

encrypt your entire drive as well as help protect against unauthorized changes to your

system such as firmware-level malware. (Paul, 2014)

New BitLocker protectors have been added in Windows Server 2012 to allow administrators

to enable disk encryption without any hassle. With the new network protector mode,

administrators can automatically unlock the encrypted disk as long as the server is

connected to the network and joined to its Active Directory domain. With these new

enterprise-intended features, Windows Server 2012 is much easier to encrypt with BitLocker

than its predecessor.

Early Launch Anti-Malware

Early Launch is a Windows Server 2012 feature that ensures than only known digitally signed

antimalware programs can load right after Secure Boot finishes. This makes sure that only

legitimate antimalware programs can get into memory and execute before any fake

antivirus programs or other malicious software.


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DNSSEC

DNSSEC is a set of extensions to DNS that provides: Origin authentication of DNS data. Data

integrity. Authenticated denial of existence. (Anon, www.godaddy.com, n.d.)

DNSSEC has been significantly improved with Wndows Server 2012. In previous versions, it

required very long command prompt commands, only worked with static zones, and

required re-signing anytime a record was updated. Now DNSSEC is integrated with GUI and

Active Directory, with automatic re-signing. DNSSEC is so significantly updated and easy to

use that I expect most enterprises to be enabling it along with their first few Windows Server

2012 DNS servers. There's no reason not to now. (A.Grimes, 2012)

Data classification

Documents can be automatically classified according to their contents or Active Directory

attributes. For example, Rights Management Service can automatically encrypt documents

that contain specific content or classifications. Administrators can automatically control

which users and groups can access specific documents based upon content or classification.

Dynamic Access Controls and Expression-Based Authorization Rules

Server 2012 includes an advanced file and folder permissions. Any object (user, group,

computer etc) can be given one or more attributes known as claims. Claims are

something you either are ("I'm a Dell laptop with MAC address of 00-aa-00-62-c2-06") or any

attribute associated or assigned to an object ("a manager in the finance group working from

home") (A.Grimes, 2012). Claims are then used for authentication and authorization.

An example of this is where specific users working from home from specific devices can use

the private VPN and access a server, and within it, they can only access documents with

medium data classification. Certain documents with high data classification can be

configured to require users to be on site using domain joined computers. This is a brand

new Server 2012 R2 feature and it goes a lot more in depth than just defining security

decisions based upon the user account and their group memberships.

Microsoft Windows Server Upgrades Research Question

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2. Research Question As a part of my case study I am going to research what is the best way for an

organisation to upgrade to Windows Server 2012. I am going to answer questions such

as:

In what way does upgrading benefit a company?

How much does it cost for a company to upgrade?

Does an upgrade offer any new beneficial functionality?

Does upgrading prove beneficial in the long run?

Does upgrading require additional new hardware?

What tools can be used to make upgrading more convenient?

Microsoft Windows Server Upgrades Study Design

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3. Study Design I will create a questionnaire and interview two different companies that use Windows

Server 2008 R2 and 2012 which will help me answer some of the proposed questions.

I will also install Windows Server 2003 and 2008 on my computer using Virtual Box and

implement an upgrade to Windows Server 2012 while keeping all server infrastructure

in place.

I will also use the internet and library books to research all the areas in this project.

Microsoft Windows Server Upgrades Plan for Progression

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4. Plan for Progression Based on many online reviews, Windows Server 2012 is a great Operating System which

without a doubt, most Enterprises should upgrade to. In the Implementation part of this

project, I am going to verify if this statement is true or not by installing Windows Server

2003 and 2008 R2 on my computer using Virtual Box and implementing an Active Directory

Service and then upgrading this system to Windows Server 2012. I will perform benchmark

tests on Windows Server 2008 R2 and 2012 and show my results on graphs and diagrams.

I will document all my work and create the best practices for upgrading to Windows

Server 2012.

I will also highlight the important features on both servers and show which server version

they work best on. These features are as follows:

Server Manager

VPN

Hyper V

Security

Powershell

Active Directory

Microsoft Windows Server Upgrades Plan for Progression

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Figure 6 shows a Gantt chart of my plan for progression. The dates start and finish dates are

not completely accurate as the working time schedule will need to be adjusted according to

my new timetable in January.

Figure 6: Gantt Chart of Plan for progression

Microsoft Windows Server Upgrades Design and Implementation

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5. Design and Implementation

5.1 Server Upgrading Issues Based on my research it was clear that there are a lot of issues that can arise when

upgrading a corporate server, it is never a straight forward process. When upgrading a

server there are many things that need to be taken into consideration in order to upgrade

successfully. Upgrading from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008 is not a major

issue because both systems are 32 bit. This makes the upgrading process pretty straight

forward but there are still some steps that need to be performed.

The bigger problem arises when upgrading from Windows Server 2003 or 2008 to Windows

Server 2012. Because one system is 32 bit and the other 64 bit, it is impossible to upgrade

automatically and carry over all the data to the new server. The only way this can be done is

by manually installing a brand new Windows Server 2012, and then replicating the whole

infrastructure from the previous server on the new server. Depending on how big an

organisation is and the troubles that may arise, this process can take from one day to a

whole week to do. This process took me about 12 hours in total to fully complete. The

VBscript and command line code I created (as shown in Appendix A and B) has greatly

benefited me as shortened the upgrading process by a mile.

5.2 Process for testing the outlined issues Using Virtual box, I installed Windows Server 2003, 2008 and 2012. The first thing I

concentrated on was upgrading from Windows Server 2003 to 2008. I installed services on

Windows Server 2003 such as Active Directory, DHCP, DNS, IIS, File services, Group policy

etc I upgraded the 2003 server to 2008 and all the services I had installed on the 2003

server were automatically carried over to the 2008 server. There are a few steps that need

to be followed to ensure that this upgrading process is done correctly, so I created the best

practices for upgrading from Windows Server 2003 to 2008 which can be found in this

document below.

The second part of my project which was the most difficult and time consuming part, was

upgrading from Windows Server 2008 to 2012. As previously mentioned, one system is 32

bit and the other is 64 bit. This means that the only way to upgrade to Windows Server

2012 is by installing a brand new server from scratch. This leaves the I.T Administrator with

plenty of work to do such as manually moving all the Active Directory users, migrating all the

files, and installing all the services that were installed on the previous server. If the upgrade

is done correctly, an organization will not be affected at all apart from some downtime.

Similarly to the best practices I created for upgrading from Windows Server 2003 to 2008, I

created the best practices to follow when upgrading from Windows Server 2008 to 2012 but

this part was much more complex.


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5.3 Upgrading issues explained 1. Arguably the most important issue that arises when upgrading to Windows Server

2012 is, how are all the users going to be created on the new server? This process

can be done manually, which means that the I.T Administrator would have to create

each user one by one, and each user would have to reconfigure their passwords.

This process can take a very long time, the duration depends on how many users

need to be created, the number of different groups on the network, group policies

etc...For example, if there was 1000 users that needed to be created, this process

would take approximately between 5 to 10 hours of constant work. To make this

step easier and more convenient, I have used Microsoft Excel to store user

information, and I have also created a VBScript file which takes in the user

information stored in Excel, and creates all the users in Active Directory. This whole

process is shown in Chapter 5.10. This saves a lot of time and also reduces the

possibility of making mistakes when creating users.

2. DHCP is another service/role that most organisations will have installed on their

server. DHCP leases out I.P addresses to computers connected to the domain. No

automation can be done when configuring this service/role on Windows Server

2012. There isnt any major work that needs to be done apart from installing the

DHCP itself, and then configuring the DNS address and DNS Domain Name to be set

exactly the same as it was set on the previous server. This process is explained in

Figure 14.

3. Group Policy is a very important security measure as it prevents users accessing

restricted areas on the computer. Each group policy that was applied on the

previous server needs to be replicated on the Windows Server 2012. This is also a

manual process which can take up some time depending on the variety of the

implemented group policies. The process of implementing group policy on Windows

Server 2012 is shown in Figures 15 and 16.

4. Many I.T Administrators may wonder about how exactly they are going to move all

the files from the previous server on to the new server. There are many different

ways of doing this, but the most suitable way of doing this is using the Windows

Server Backup service/role. This service/role enables you to back up the entire

server on a hard drive and then this data can be restored on the new server using

Windows Server Backup again. This process is explained in Chapter 5.6 and 5.7.

5. Once all the users are installed in Active Directory, they need to be made members

of appropriate groups. This task can take up a lot of time if done manually, so I have

created code which takes all the users from a specified Organisational Unit and

makes them a member of a specified group. The code for this process can be found

in Figure 24 and in Appendix A.


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5.4 Upgrading from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008 The following steps should be followed in order to successfully upgrade from Windows

Server 2003 to 2008. Each of the steps is simplified to ensure that the user does not

encounter any major issues.

Step 1: Launch Windows Server 2003 and insert the Windows Server 2008 CD

Step 2: Enter Command Prompt and access the CD drive by typing CD.. followed by the

letter assigned to the CD drive as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7: Command Prompt Commands

Step 3: Type adprep/forestprep and hit Enter. This connects the Active Directory to a file

located on the CD which ensures that Active Directory users are migrated to new server.

Step 4: Type adprep/domainprep and hit Enter. This gets the domain of the server and

creates a file on the CD and then the domain in installed automatically on the new server.

After running the commands in step 3 and 4, the user should get a screen similar to Figure 8

below. If there are any errors shown in the command prompt, Active Directory will not be

upgraded.

Figure 8: Adprep Commands


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Step 5: Launch the Windows Server 2008 CD and click Install Now as shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9: Windows Server 2008 installation

Note: If Steps 3 and 4 were not done correctly, you will get a message as shown below. You

will not be able to upgrade and an error message shown in Figure 10 will be displayed. Go

back and make sure Steps 3 and 4 are executed successfully.

Figure 10: Error Message


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Step 6: Click on Upgrade, and Select either a 32 bit Windows Server 2008 version or 64 bit as

shown in Figure 11. I would advise on selecting the 64 bit version as more applications are

built for 64 bit computers.

Figure 11: Upgrading to 32 or 64 bit

Step 7: Follow the installation wizard and the upgrade will complete once the installation is

fully complete and the computer restarts. Figure 12 shows the upgrading process, after this

step is complete the computer will automatically restart.

Figure 12: Final Upgrade Step

Note: Upgrading took about an hour, after the upgrade all the settings were transferred to

Windows Server 2012, including all the Active directory users.


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5.5 New Server installation

Steps for analysing organisations system and structure

If you are not the I.T Administrator of the organisation on which you are upgrading systems,

the first thing to do is to get the I.T Administrator of the company to assist you with this

task. The reason for this is because the I.T Administrator of the company will know about

the important services on the server, what exact functions those services provide on the

network, group policy that needs to be applies etc

It is very important to analyse everything on the server before upgrading as this will help

achieve a successful upgrade without losing any data or configuration. I have created a few

general steps that will help analyse the server infrastructure.

Step 1: Open up the Server Manager console. This shows all the services that are installed

on the server. All these services need to be installed on the new server manually so it is

important to note all the roles as shown in Figure 13.

Figure 13: Server Manager Console


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Step 2: Check the DHCP Settings by clicking on Start > Administrative Tools > DHCP. Note

the value for the DNS Servers and Domain Name. These are very important and will need to

be replicated on the new server. The DNS Servers IP address is 192.168.1.1 and the Domain

Name is serverupgrades2.com as shown in Figure 14.

Figure 14: DHCP Settings

Step 3: It is very important to check the Group Policy Management console to view all the

policies that are applied on the network. If these policies are not replicated on the new

server, this could allow users on the network to access some locations on the computer

which they may not be permitted to do so. To view the Group Policy click on Start >

Administrative Tools > Group Policy Management. On this console, you can see all the

policies that are applied on the network, but they also need to be accessed to view what

exactly they do. There are 2 different group policies applied on the serverupgrades2

domain, they are called Default Domain Policy, Disable network settings, and Disable

Control Panel as shown in Figure 15.

Figure 15: Group Policy Management Console


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Step 4: Right click on each of the Group Policies and click on Edit. Then navigate through all

the windows making sure to note exactly what setting are applied. This can be an easy task

if all of the Group policies are named and explained well, but it can also be very time

consuming looking exactly for what the Group policy does. Below I will explain how I found

what settings are applied to one of the Group Policies on the Server Upgrades network.

One of the Group Policies was named Disable network settings. I needed to know exactly

what this Policy did so I browsed through the Group Policy Management and located the

settings that were configured as shown in Figure 16 below. This step needs to be done for

every single Group Policy and this needs to be noted and replicated on the new server. It is

a very important part of successfully upgrading to a new server. Figure 16 shows how the

same group policy settings are implemented on previous server and on Windows Server

2012 and all this needs to be done manually.

Figure 16: Group Policy Configuration


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5.6 Backing data up It is very important to backup all server data before upgrading. In case something goes

wrong, you can always go back and recover the data that was lost or corrupted. Windows

Server 2008 and 2012 enable you to back up the entire server using Windows Server

Backup. Before backing up data, Windows Server Backup needs to be installed as a feature

in Server Manager. Once installed, the server is ready to be backed up. In the below images

I will show the process of how I backed up the Server Upgrades server.

Step 1: Open up the Server Backup Manager by clicking on Start > Administrative Tools >

Windows Server Backup. From this screen you can click on Backup once as shown in

Figure 17, which will open up a wizard that allows you to back up the entire server.

Figure 17: Backing up the server

Step 2: Insert a Hard Drive on which you wish to back up the data and follow the

configuration wizard to back up the data as shown in Figure 18.

Figure 18: Back up wizard progress


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5.7 Recovering Backed up Data After the Backup is complete, you can restore all of the data on the new server (Windows

Server 2012) provided that Windows Backup Manager is installed on it. Having backed up

all the data from Windows Server 2008 in Step 2 of Backing up Data, now you can see in

Figures 19, 20 and 21 how all the data was recovered on Windows Server 2012.

Step 1: Access Windows Server Backup and click Recover

Figure 19: Recovering Backed up Data P1

Step 2: Follow the Recovery Wizard, select the location where the backup was stored (Hard

Drive).



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Step 3: Select the location where you want the data to be recovered and the recovery

process will begin. When completed, all data will be stored in the specified folder.


The C: drive on Windows Server 2008 is now recovered on Windows Server 2012 and all the

files that were stored on Server 2008 can be accessed on the upgraded server as shown in

Figure 22.



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5.8 Installing all roles on new server (Windows Server 2012) All the roles that were installed on Windows Server 2008 need to be manually installed on

Windows Server 2012. This is done by accessing Server Manager and clicking on Add Roles.

From this screen you can install all the available services using the configuration wizard. It is

very similar to Server Manager in Windows Server 2008. In Figure 23 you can see that all

the services that were installed on Windows Server 2008 are now installed on Windows

Server 2012. This process took about 45 minutes to complete.

Figure 23: Same Roles/Services Installed on Both Servers

Note: When all the roles (services) are installed, Active Directory needs some final

configuration before it is ready to work. To get Active Directory ready you must run the

equivalent of DCPROMO on Windows Server 2008. To do this, go to the Server Manager,

click on ADDS and you will be able to complete final configuration from that screen.


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5.9 Replicating what was implemented on old systems so organization is not affected Now that all the required services are installed on Windows Server 2012, we must replicate

Group Policy on the new server. To do this, have a look at Step 3 from New Server

Installation chapter, and make sure that all Group Policy that was on Server 2008 is also

configured on Server 2012 and applied to appropriate users. Figures 24 and 25 shows how I

applied the same settings on Windows Server 2008 and 2012.

Figure 24: Windows Server 2008 Group Policy

Figure 25: Windows Server 2012 Group Policy


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5.10 Active Directory User Configuration via Microsoft Excel Active Directory information is one of the most important assets to an organisation. Active

Directory holds information about all the users, computers, and groups on the network. If

this information is lost, the I.T Administrator needs to create new accounts for everyone in

the organisation which takes a long time. Services such as DNS, DHCP, IIS, Print Services

etc can all be installed and configured on the new server, but configuring Active Directory

would take days if it was done from scratch.

There are different kinds of software out there such as Quest and Migration Manager by

Dell, which help you carry over Active Directory information to the new server. This

software must be paid for and they effectively do the same thing that I was able to do using

Microsoft Excel and Notepad++. I created a piece of code using VBScript, which enables you

to carry over all Active Directory information by just double clicking on a VBScript file I

created. I used this code to create all the users that were on Windows Server 2008 Active

Directory on the new server, Windows Server 2012. This code also creates folders and files

and shares them to the appropriate users on the network. This code can be very useful to

an organisation because it allows the organisation to migrate all of their users. The code I

created to do this task is explained below and the full code can be found in Appendix part B.

Figure 26: VBScript Code P1

Declaring variables

All of the declared

variables are used

further down

somewhere in the

code.

Naming 4

Organisational units

in Active Directory

called Server

Upgrades,

Administrators,

Designers and

Support.


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Creating the

organisational units in

Active Directory.

Creating a connection

to a spreadsheet that

contains user

information.

Creating a connection

to the domain and to

excel application.

Collecting data stored

in Excel.

Using the stored data

to create users in

Active Directory.

Enabling passwords

The above code is

repeated in a loop until

an empty cell is

encountered.

This above code is

repeated as users are

stored in 3 different

Excel files.


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5.11 How user permissions are applied and how folder sharing works using VBScript



Creating groups because all

the created users are stored in

different groups for

authentication and security

purposes.

Creating 3 groups called

Adminsglobal, Designersglobal

and Supportglobal.

Creating 3 more groups called

Adminslocal, Designerslocal

and Supportlocal.

Setting LDAP attributes for the

created groups.


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Note: The above code is ran as a VBScript file. When this file is ran, all the users will be

created in Active Directory and folders and files will be shared on the network.

Adding global groups to

domain local.

Creating folders on the C:

drive for the created

users.

Creating files inside the

folders.

Creating a connection to

the server and sharing

the created folders and

files on the network.

Assigning control to

appropriate users for the

created folders and files.


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Figure 33 shows the data thats stored in Excel. This data is used to create the users in

Active Directory.

Figure 33: Microsoft Excel User Info

Once all the users are created, they need to be placed into groups. This process can be

done manually by editing each user and making them a part of the appropriate group, or it

can be done using Command Prompt. I created code which needs to be pasted into

Command prompt, and it takes in all the users stored in a particular Organisational Unit in

Active Directory, and it makes these users members of the specified groups. This is also a

very helpful piece of code as it saves a lot of time and prevents mistakes being made.

Figure 34 shows the created code being ran in Command Prompt. If the code works

successfully a message saying dsmod succeeded will be displayed. A more detailed image

of the created code can be found in Appendix A.

Figure 34: Adding Users to Groups Code

Microsoft Windows Server Upgrades Why upgrading to Windows Server 2012 is important

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6. Why upgrading to Windows Server 2012 is important Windows Server 2012 introduces many new features that enhance the functionality of the

operating system. The interface of Windows Server 2012 has much similarity to Windows 8

and there are many improvements Microsoft have made with it.

6.1 Resilient File System Windows Server 2012 introduces a new features called Resilient File System (ReFS). This

new feature is an improvement to New Technology File System (NTFS). ReFS changes the

way data gets written to a disk. ReFS uses an allocate-on-write method whenever any

updates occur to prevent in-place corruption issues. It also uses checksums for metadata as

another measure of validating saved data; you have the ability to enable checksums for the

data as well. (Ferrill, 2012). ReFS is a way to provide a measure of file protection even

when the underlying disk system doesnt do so.

6.2 PowerShell 3.0 Powershell is a built in feature and it can be accessed from the bottom of the screen in

Windows Server 2012. Powershell now allows I.T Administrators to create scripts which

allow you to control or manage just about anything in a Windows Server environment.

Microsoft have said that there is nothing that can be done in the various management GUIs

(Graphical user interface) that cant be done with Powershell.

6.3 Server Interface Choices Windows Server 2012 allows you to install a server which includes GUI or a server which

only contains a command line with no GUI. A server with no GUI requires more knowledge

from the I.T Administrator but it saves space and improves server performance.

6.4 Storage Spaces The new Storage Spaces brings the ability to take all or selected physical hard disks, and put

them into one big pool. The disks can be located physically anywhere and using this new

feature, they are all grouped together. These virtual drives act as one large hard drive and it

can be dynamically expanded when it begins to fill up. When the pool begins to fill up, new

physical disks can be added with no downtime at all. (Nelson, 2013)

6.5 Compatibility It is important to have an up to date system and Windows Server 2012 will be supported by

Microsoft for at least another decade. Windows Server 2012 will be capable of running

software that older systems may not be able to do so.

Microsoft Windows Server Upgrades Why upgrading to Windows Server 2012 is important

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6.6 Virtualizing Domain Controllers Microsoft have implemented server groups in the new Server Manager console. This makes

it easier to install and manage domain controllers. It allows administrators to manage a

number of servers in the network centrally with on board tools. Server groups also enables

administrators to do tasks that had to be done using Powershell in Windows Server 2008 R2.

6.7 Remote Management

Administrators can access servers for remote management of Active Directory domain

controllers either via remote desktop or from their own workstation with PowerShell. In

addition to PowerShell, other tools for managing Active Directory on workstations are also

available and work with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, as well as with Windows

8 and Windows Server 2012. (Joos, 2012)

Microsoft Windows Server Upgrades Problems Encountered

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7. Problems Encountered

Problem 1

I installed Windows 7 Home Premium as a client machine and found out that the Home

Premium edition does not support domain services. This meant that I could not connect my

server and client together, meaning that all the services could not be tested.

How I solved it

I installed Windows 7 Professional to solve this problem.

Problem 2

There wasnt enough hard drive space assigned to Windows Server 2012.

How I solved it

Downloaded software called GParted in order to increase hard drive space in virtual

machine.

Problem 3

Active Directory wouldnt upgrade when upgrading from Windows Server 2003 and 2008 to

2012.

How I solved it

Before upgrading I needed to run adprep /forestprep and adprep /domainprep in command

prompt on the cd drive. This connected the Active Directory Services to Windows Server

2008. After doing this, I was able to fully upgrade my 2003 system.

Microsoft Windows Server Upgrades Conclusion

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8. Conclusion With Microsoft announcing that they will no longer support Windows Server 2003 from 14th

of July 2014, there is going to be many organisations upgrading to Windows Server 2008 or

to Windows Server 2012. Upgrading servers is very important, but there are a lot of

complications that arise as explained above. Upgrading to Windows Server 2012 is only

possible by installing a new system from scratch which means that when upgrading to this

system, the I.T Administrator really needs to know what they are doing as there is a lot of

work involved. I explained and simplified the server upgrading process by outlining the

most important steps and I believe this can serve great help to I.T Administrators and myself

in future. I created a guide for upgrading to Windows Server 2008 and a guide for upgrading

to Windows Server 2012. I feel that I have made this task easier by showing exactly how the

upgrading process is performed, and I also created a VBScript file which does a lot of work

on the server by simply just double clicking on it. This file allows I.T Administrators to carry

over all Active Directory users from one system to another by simply storing user

information in a Microsoft Excel file. I also created code which is entered into command

prompt, and when it is ran, it puts all the users to specified groups. This cuts out a lot of

work that I.T Administrators would need to do manually and it saves a lot of time.

When upgrading to Windows Server 2012, it is important for an organisation not to be

affected by the upgrade. This means that all the files and configuration that was on the

previous server, needs to be set exactly the same way on the new server. I outlined exactly

how this can be done in a series of different steps by showing how server data is backed up

and restored, how group policy is replicated, how users are created, how all the

services/roles are replicated etc...

This project has enabled me to learn and experiment in the I.T area that I have the most

interest in. I feel that my knowledge about Windows Servers has massively expanded and I

would feel a lot more confident working as an I.T Administrator with this knowledge. I

learned about services/roles such as Active Directory, DHCP, DNS, IIS, Group Policy,

Permissions, and server back up. I created a guide for upgrading Windows Server systems

and this took a lot of experimenting with Windows Server 2003, 2008 and 2012. The

upgrading guide that I created contains a step by step solution for migrating services/roles,

and it also contains VBScript code which allows you to move Active Directory users from one

system to another. If I had more time to work on this project, I would improve the VBScript

file by creating a software which runs the code that I created and prompts the user to enter

in values such as the name of the domain, instead of the user having to change the code

themselves.

I believe that I will be able to use this project as a reference point in future because it covers

a lot of areas where issues can be encountered when upgrading servers, and I will also be

able to use it to showcase my knowledge in the I.T Administrating area.

Microsoft Windows Server Upgrades Appendix

Page 49 of 61

9. Appendix

Appendix A

Appendix B

'==========================================================================

' VBScript Source File -- Created with SAPIEN Technologies PrimalScript 2012

' NAME:

' AUTHOR: Windows User ,

' DATE : 12/03/2014

' COMMENT:

'==========================================================================

Option Explicit

'declare variables

Dim objDomain, objNewOU, objAdminOu, objDesignerOU, objSupportOU, objRoot, strContainer,

strContainerAdmins, strContainerDesigner, strContainerSupport, objExcel, objSpread, objUser

Dim objFSO, objFolderApplications, objFolder

dissertation sinisa sladic

Documents

server backup

server installation

organisational server

project ideas

microsoft excel

various improvements

project supervisor paula

continuous support