How to: Server migration to Cloud (Azure / AWS / IBM / Rackspace), including applications and data

 How to: Server 2016 migration, including applications, profiles, shares and data

In this article, we'll focus on Server 2016 migration tools and overall migration guidelines. In short, we'll describe a way to migrate applications, databases, user profiles, shares, data from any server to a new Server 2016 (even 2003 to 2016 is support, with compatibility considerations of course). We will also cover role migration best practices and tutorials.

Migration covered here is native migration - not app virtualization. You can use these methods to migrate from physical to physical, physical to virtual / Cloud, Cloud to Cloud etc. Virtualization can be added for compatibility workarounds, but we will not be using it in this tutorial.

The goal of this how to is to allow to complete a server migration in less than 4 hours for application and file servers, and less than 24 hours for role-focused servers (although complicated cases may require more time).

Just want to find out how to automate the migration, and don't need a general tutorial?
Scroll down for the actual migration process.
Or, if you need to migrate workstations, click here for migration to Windows 10.

Before you begin: Audit your servers and plan your migration.

Audit your servers: In a typical environment, you'll have quite a few different server types. There will be role-oriented servers, which focus on Windows Server roles such as Domain Controller, Active Directory, IIS, Exchange, DNS, DHCP. The more common group, however, are application and file servers, which run the actual business applications and store the company data. They typically outnumber the role-based group.

Migration is done in a different way for these two. Roles are migrated manually, or with utility tools that are typically focused on one specific role (see below).

Application and file servers, however, can be migrated automatically and on massive scale, using server migration software such as Zinstall WinServ.

In the planning stage, you need to prepare a list of servers in the environment, and figure out what each of them is responsible for.

Even just knowing how many role servers and how many application servers is already a big step. Since application server migration can be automated, you will be able to develop a fairly accurate estimate of time and effort that will be required for the migration.

Schedule your migration time slot: Migrations take time, and during that time, your users may be affected to some extent. If possible, try and schedule the actual migration to be performed after hours or during a weekend. Note that you don't actually have to stay there yourself at that time: application migration can be performed remotely or launched in advance in unattended mode.

Verify your backups are up to date, and are actually restorable: Any major upgrade may go wrong, and without a valid up-to-date backup, you risk losing everything you've had on the server. Make sure to verify that the backup you have is not damaged and ready to be restored if needed!

Decide on replacement type: Once you have decided to replace a server, you have several options regarding what the replacement will be. It may be a physical Windows 2016 server, a virtual server running on premise, or a Cloud-based server running off premise (such as migration to Azure or migration to Amazon AWS). If you are using WinServ, it supports any of those transfers, so migration difficulty does not vary significantly with your choice.

How to migrate to Windows Server 2016

The process below outlines the migration steps for moving from Server 2003 / 2008 / 2012 / 2016 to a new Windows Server 2016.

Option 1: Direct migration to Server 2016 over the network

  1.     Before you begin, consider disabling the firewall on the old server, or at least adding Zinstall to its whitelist, so that the firewall does not interfere with the migration.
  2.     Run Zinstall WinServ on both servers.
  3.     Select the first option, "Moving between two machines", on both servers.
  4.     If you do NOT want to transfer server applications, and are only interested in a profile, data and shares transfer, switch the radio button on the main screen to "profile and settings only" mode.
  5.     On the source server, choose the "Source computer" option, and leave it running. It will be waiting for connection from the new one.
  6.     On the new Server 2016, choose the "Target computer" option.
  7.     WinServ will automatically detect the source server. Alternatively, if the servers are on different networks, you can manually specify the source server's IP address.
  8.     If you'd like to select exactly what you want to transfer, press the Advanced menu. If you just want to transfer everything, you don't need to go to the Advanced menu.
  9.     Click Next and then Go to start the migration.
  10.     The transfer will take a while (depending on how much data you have to transfer), and report to you when done.
  11.     That's it!

Option 2: Indirect migration, via intermediate storage


  1.     Run Zinstall WinServ on both servers.
  2.     On the source server, select the 3rd option, "Moving from Machine to Container"
  3.     Choose the container location (such as a network share, a NAS, a USB hard drive - any type of storage), and press Go to perform a full capture of the source server to that location.
  4.     On the new 2016 server, select the 4th option, "Moving from Container to Machine"
  5.     If you do NOT want to transfer programs, and are only interested in a profile, data and shares transfer, switch the radio button on the main screen to "profile and settings only" mode.
  6.     Specify the location of the container created in step 3.
  7.     If you'd like to select exactly what you want to transfer, press the Advanced menu. If you just want to transfer everything, you don't need to go to the Advanced menu.
  8.     Click Next and then Go to start the migration.
  9.     The transfer will take a while (depending on how much data you have to transfer), and report to you when done.
  10.     That's it!

Server Roles migration

This part of the migration is done manually, and multiple tutorials exist that may help. We recommend John Savill's excellent guide: Winding Down Windows Server 2003 in Your Organization. Information below is based on the article above.


  1.     IIS migration: If all you have running on IIS 6 are basic HTML pages or Active Server Pages (ASP), you can copy the content to the IIS version running on Server 2012 or Server 2012 R2, then update the DNS records to point to the new IIS server. However, organizations typically have more complex configurations. The good news is that you can use a migration toolkit named Web Deploy 3.5. If you need to migrate websites to Microsoft Azure websites, there's a separate tool available named Azure Websites.
  2.     DC and AD migration: Providing you have followed best practices, your domain controllers (DCs) don't run any other software, which means the existing domain and forest will be prepared for Server 2012 or Server 2012 R2. In this case, you need to create new DCs running Server 2012 or Server 2012 R2, migrate the Flexible Single-Master Operation (FSMO) roles, migrate any certificates or other items, then decommission the Server 2003 DCs. To introduce Server 2012 DCs, the forest (and therefore the domains) must be Windows Server 2003 mode. For detailed guidance on migrating DCs, see Upgrade Domain Controllers to Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2012.
  3.     DHCP migration: DHCP scopes provide the IP addresses given to clients, along with their IP configuration (e.g., gateway, DNS server). To migrate DHCP scopes, the best option is to export the scopes from the Server 2003 instance, then import them to the Server 2012 or Server 2012 R2 instance. Full details on this approach are available in the TechNet Networking Blog post "Steps to move a DHCP database from a Windows Server 2003 or 2008 to another Windows Server 2008 machine." If there is any delay in the DHCP scope export and import and a risk of IP address reuse, you can configure the DHCP server to check if an IP address is being used before it's allocated by enabling address conflict detection.
  4.     DNS migration: If you're hosting DNS on Windows, you're likely integrating it with AD and your DNS servers are DCs. Therefore, when you migrate AD, the DNS configuration will move as well. It's important to remember to migrate any DNS server configurations, such as forwarding. If the DNS servers will be hosted on new IP addresses, you need to make sure that you update any static IP configurations and all DHCP configurations. To avoid this time-consuming task, most organizations will change the IP addresses of the new servers to that of the old servers once the old servers are retired.
  5.     Print services: Like file services, printer configurations and shares must be migrated from the source server to the target server. In addition, you'll need new printer drivers that are 64-bit and compatible with Server 2012 or Server 2012 R2 as well as with modern clients. Microsoft has a print migration wizard and command-line tool you can use for migrating printer services. You can download these tools from the Migrate Print and Document Services to Windows Server 2012 web page.
  6.     Exchange migration: Upgrade from Exchange 2007 to Exchange 2013
  7.     SQL server migration: See Supported Version and Edition Upgrades

Dealing with incompatible applications

Some legacy 3rd party applications running on Windows Server 2003 may be incompatible with Windows Server 2016. Such applications are generally legacy DOS, 16-bit or 32-bit only software, or older versions such as SQL Server 2000 or 2005, which has not been updated for newer OS versions. It is strongly recommended to eliminate these applications from the production environment as soon as possible.

If these applications cannot be eliminated immediately, and are mission-critical for continued operation of the organization, the recommended option to preserve them operation is to perform a virtualized migration of those applications, into a virtual Server 2003 instance running on newer replacement server. Then, continue to take the steps required to phase those applications out and stop running the virtualized 2003 instances.

WinServ is application-generic, and can migrate even custom and in-house applications that have not been seen by the outside world - as long as they are capable of running on the new server. Here is a partial list of common applications that our customers have migrated in the past:

  • MS SQL
  • MySQL
  • SAP (including SAP Business One)
  • Oracle
  • Sybase
  • DB2
  • Java Application Server
  • Crystal Reports
  • Avaya
  • PeopleSoft
  • JD Edwards Enterprise One (JDE E1)
  • Citrix
  • Apache (Windows only)
  • WebSphere
  • Microsoft Dynamics

After the migration

Once the migration process is complete, it is time to verify the results.

You may need to adjust your domain's DNS to point to the new server where needed. For example, changing the CRM-SERVER DNS entry to the new server's address.
Same goes for login scripts and GPO policy.
Launch every application and console you use, and verify they load correctly.
Using a client workstation, verify that clients can access the migrated server correctly and their applications run without issues.

Congratulations! Your server migration is now complete.

Ready to migrate to Windows Server 2016?
Contact us for assistance, volume licensing, and help in setting up a POC.

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