Windows Server 2008 Migration Considerations - Part 1

Glenn Weadock, over at the Microsoft Subnet is going to be posting some pretty handy articles on Server 2008 migration over the next few weeks. If you are considering upgrading to Windows Server 2008 (from, say, Microsoft Server 2003), this may be valuable reading. In Glenn’s own words:

Windows Server 2008 is a big change from Windows Server 2003, as the 5-year gap in the names would suggest. Microsoft is providing role-based management, major new product variations (Server Core, Read-Only Domain Controllers), support for hardware-based virtualization, Network Access Protection, BitLocker drive encryption, an overhauled Terminal Services architecture, and a raft of less exciting but nonetheless useful evolutionary improvements.

What are some of the primary migration considerations that you should review when evaluating or planning a move to the new product?

Glenn will start with:

New key features (or: “Why should I upgrade?”)
The different product versions
Hardware requirements
Server Core, Read-Only Domain Controllers, Server Manager, Group Policy, and Migration and deployment tools will also be covered.

We will post some links to the articles as Glenn makes them available.

In the meantime, here’s a great little tip from Glenn about WS2008 selection:

Considering how organizations use servers, it’s clear that a full install is often overkill (the huge footprint of a full install isn’t always necessary).  In many medium to large organizations, a certain number of servers are used for a single purpose: file sharing, print sharing, domain controller, infrastructure services (DHCP, DNS), database services, and so forth.

Recognizing the above truths, Microsoft is making Server 2008 available in a special “minimalist” version called Server Core. I was very excited to learn about this, as I have been an advocate for minimalism for many years. As a consultant, I’ve seen many examples of “less is more” in terms of software setups for both clients and servers

Actually, Server Core is an installation option. You do not have to purchase a special “server core” version of WS 2008: When installing your new version of WS 2008, simply opt for the server core install - which gives you the kind of flexibility Glenn was talking about - and voila. Easy as pie.

If you are a SYNNEX reseller and ever have server-related questions, feel free to contact our technical guru Tom Jones. He has an email address (tomj@synnex.com) and a phone number (800-756-2888) and everything.