Upgrading Small Business Server 2003 to Windows Server 2012

Many IT departments are still running Small Business Server 2003. Eventually you will need to make the switch to Windows Server 2012 as the end of life for SBS 2003 is almost here. Fortunately I have recently done this exact type of upgrade to a new domain controller. View my blog Building a Windows Server 2012 Domain Controller from Scratch to see a build log of a new domain controller server. After getting a new server built you can then start the process of upgrading your old domain onto the new server

The first step in migrating is removing Exchange 2003 from your SBS 2003 domain. If you aren't already using Exchange Online by now you are in trouble! Go get your exchange online service from Microsoft, I like Plan 1. Follow these steps to remove your old Exchange Server. 

Remove Exchange

1.  Go to Active Directory Users and Computers
2.  MyBusiness->Users->SBSUsers, Select All, Right click Exchange Tasks. Delete Mailbox.
3.  Users-> Select All, Right click Exchange Tasks. Delete Mailbox.
4. Insert SBS 2003 Disc 2, Add or Remove Programs->Windows Small Business Server 2003->Remove Exchange.

Now you can join your new Windows Server 2012 to the SBS 2003 domain. The next step is to raise your forest level to the minimum required level for a Windows Server 2012 domain.

Raise Forest Level

1. Go to Active Directory Domain and Trusts ->Raise Forest Functional Level to 2003. 
2. This will also raise the domain level to 2003.  

 Now we can promote our new Windows Server 2012 to become another domain controller in our domain. 

Promote Domain Controller

1. Add roles and features->Active Directory Domain Services
2. Promote it to domain controller

Usually you would let this server synchronize with the current domain controller but I have found there to be a bug with replication from SBS 2003 to Windows Server 2012 and it requires that you manually reset replication. To check if you are replicating look on the new server shared folders for the following shares called SYSVOL and NETLOGON. You should have files containing your logon scripts on both servers if replication is working. If not, follow these steps to reset replication on both domain controllers.

Reset Replication

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type cmd and then press ENTER.
3. In the Command box, type net stop ntfrs.
4. Click Start, and then click Run.
5. In the Open box, type regedit and then press ENTER.
6. Locate the following subkey in the registry:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NtFrs\Parameters\Backup/Restore\Process at Startup
7. In the right pane, double click BurFlags.
8. In the Edit DWORD Value dialog box, type D4 and then click OK.
9. Quit Registry Editor, and then switch to the Command box.
10. In the Command box, type net start ntfrs.
11. Quit the Command box.

If you did everthing right on the registry wait for event ID 13516 to show up in you new server event log under Custom Views->Server Roles->Active Directory Domain Services.

Migrate DHCP
Next is to migrate over your DHCP server settings.Now this step may be easy for some but it can bite you in the pants in the future. It can be as simple as just Export and Import DHCP settings to the new server. This will work fine if you only intend to have one DHCP server on your new domain. However, if you ever want to have DHCP failover servers, which is a great new feature in Windows Server 2012 that uses two domain controllers, you can not export and import from SBS 2003. You will have to manually add all your DHCP settings into your new DHCP server by hand.

Transfer FSMO roles
Now, we are almost done. The next part is the most important. We will need to transfer all five FSMO roles from the SBS 2003 server to the new Windows Server 2012 server. You should then confirm the transfer with the following command: netdom /query fsmo

Removing Old Server
We now can started the removal process of the old server off the network. Remove Certificate Services from the old server. Next run DCPromo. If the netlogon service times out then just stop it, then restart dcpromo again.

Enable Time Service
On the new server you need to enable the time service with a command like the following: 
w32tm /config /manualpeerlist:newservername /syncfromflags:manual /reliable:yes /update

And that's it, not so painful now was it?

Building a Windows Server 2012 Domain Controller from Scratch

Recently I had to build a new domain controller to replace our 10 year old one. We like to run servers into the ground here before replacing them. I didn't want to pay a lot but I wanted high performance so I decided to build a custom server one from scratch. Support for Windows Server 2012 was a must, along with built-in USB 3.0 which we use for offsite backups. This server is amazingly fast, with reboots under 10 seconds and it never breaks a sweat at doing its job 24/7. Here's the build log of parts needed:

• Memory: 2 x Kingston Technology ValueRAM 8GB DDR3 1600MHz PC3 12800 ECC CL11 DIMM with TS Server Workstation Memory KVR16E11/8
• System Hard Drives: 2 x Samsung Electronics 840 Pro Series 2.5-Inch 256 GB SATA 6GB/s Solid State Drive MZ-7PD256BW
• DVD Reader: Lite-On Super AllWrite 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive - Bulk - IHAS124-04 (Black)
• Hot Swap Cage: ICY DOCK ToughArmor MB996SP-6SB 6 x 2.5 SATA 6Gbps HDD / SSD Mobile Rack / Cage in 1 x 5.25 bay
• Tower Case: Corsair Carbide Series White 500R Mid Tower Computer Case (CC-9011013-WW)
• Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast Series CP-9020039-NA650W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular High Performance Power Supply
• Motherboard: Supermicro Motherboard ATX DDR3 1600 LGA 1150 Motherboards X10SAE-O
• Processer: Intel Xeon E3-1245V3 Haswell 3.4GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Server Processor BX80646E31245V3
• Backup Hard Drive: WD Green 2 TB Desktop Hard Drive: 3.5 Inch, SATA III, 64 MB Cache - WD20EZRX

Now, lets go over a few things about putting this server together. Use the two SSD hard drives to install the operating system on and configure Windows Server 2012 Software RAID 1 (Mirroring). This will protect you in case one of the system drives fail.

The Western Digital 2 TB Green hard drive is where you want to save your nightly server backups in case the whole machine needs to get recovered to a certain point in time. You should also run a full server backup regularly onto a USB 3.0 external drive and keep it offsite in the event of any disaster.

Backing up SQL Server with USB 3.0

A backup isn't really a backup until you get it offsite. The cheapest way to do that is to copy your nightly SQL Server backup files to a portable USB 3.0 external hard drive. There is a 10x speed difference between USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 so a 10 hour copy operation becomes 1 hour with the faster connection.

Now wait, you might say your server is only at USB 2.0. That's fine, because you need to first pick a different computer to initially backup your SQL server and this is where you select a shared network drive on a computer that has USB 3.0 ports. Mostly likely a newer desktop computer with 1TB or 2TB of internal storage. This will be your first line of defense computer should you need to recover SQL Server data files. If something happens to this computer you can fall back on your external USB hard drive.

First thing you should do each work day is bring in your external hard drive and plug it into the computer where your nightly backups are saved and copy your most recent backup. Once it's done unplug the drive and move it offsite. I recommend you use windows bitlocker to first encrypt the hard drive. This is a feature built into Windows 7 and 8 versions, and it can then be unlocked on any machine using the right passcode.

I have tried Seagate external hard drives in the past but experienced bad writes so I can't recommend them. Instead I have been using Western Digital My Passport drives and have been very pleased with performance for over a year with them. These are the ones I like to buy WD My Passport Ultra 1TB Portable External Hard Drive USB 3.0 with Auto and Cloud Backup - Black (WDBZFP0010BBK-NESN)