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MoldRiteBud
Contributor
Contributor

Migrating server to Win2016 the ?easy way?

I have a few 2008/ 2012 servers that I need to upgrade to Win2016.  Nearly all of them follow the model of having the OS and the DATA partitions on separate data stores.  None of them have any domain controller roles.  In at least two cases, I want to avoid the down time to backup/copy a couple terabytes of data.  I think I can do something like this:

  1. Create a new data store for the 2016 version of the VM
  2. Install Windows, get patches, etc, using a temporary server name (might be a good time to learn how to make a template!)
  3. Shutdown the old server
  4. Remove the data VMDKs from the old virtual machine
  5. Remove the old server name from AD
  6. Rename the NEW server to match the old.  Update IP address data as needed.  Reboot
  7. Confirm the name change took, add server to AD domain, shut down NEW server
  8. Attach data VMDKs to new server
  9. Power on new server, check that drive letters got assigned correctly.  Check/recreate shares as needed.
  10. Remove the old server from inventory

In theory, I don't think I need to power down the new VM prior to adding the data VMDKs, but I'm a cautious fellow.

Did I miss any steps?

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scott28tt
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

Moderator: Moved to Virtual Machine, Guest OS & VM Tools > Windows


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Although I am a VMware employee I contribute to VMware Communities voluntarily (ie. not in any official capacity)
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diegodco31
Leadership
Leadership

I don't think so.

Deploy a net new VM and migrate data.

Diego Oliveira
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/dcodiego
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MoldRiteBud
Contributor
Contributor

My Bad, apologies..

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MoldRiteBud
Contributor
Contributor

Why do you not think so?  What is the concern?

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a_p_
Leadership
Leadership

From a technical point of view, your plan sounds good to me.

I've done many similar "upgrades" in the past, and what I also did was to rename the VM's files so that all of them match the VM's name in the inventory to prevent future confusion. The easiest way to rename the files is to e.g. storage vMotion the VM after setting the desired name in the inventory.

Please remember that changing file names from the command line will also require manual metadata changes!

André

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diegodco31
Leadership
Leadership

Sorry if I didn't express me correct. But I wanted to say your plan sounds good.

"Your question: Did I miss any steps?"

"My Answer: I don't think so."

Diego Oliveira
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/dcodiego
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