Tulloch - Windows Server 2012 Training Guide

• You should have some familiarity with the new features and capabilities found in Windows Server 2012. If not, then before continuing take time to browse some of the following sources of information:

  • The demo videos available on the Microsoft Server And Cloud Platform page at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/new.aspx

  • The topic Whats New in Windows Server 2012 and the subtopics linked from that page in the TechNet Library at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831769

  • The free ebook Introducing Windows Server 2012, which can be downloaded from http://go.microsoft.com/FWLink/?Linkid=251464

• You should have downloaded an evaluation copy of Windows Server 2012 from the TechNet Evaluation Center at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/bb291020.aspx.

• You should have a server system available for testing purposes that meets the minimum hardware requirements for installing Windows Server 2012. This server should also meet the following additional requirements:

  • The system hardware should meet the minimum requirements for installing version 7.0 of the Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit. For more information about these requirements, see http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?&id=7826.

  • The server should have Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 or Windows Server 2008 SP2 installed. If needed, you can download an evaluation copy of Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 from the TechNet Evaluation Center at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/bb291020.aspx.

  • The server should be a standalone server belonging to a workgroup.

  • The network where the server resides should have Internet connectivity, and the server should be configured with a static IP address, subnet mask, default gateway, and primary and secondary DNS servers that enable the server to access the Internet.

  • It is recommended that the server be a physical server (not a virtual machine) for the purposes of performing the exercises in this chapter. If you decide, however, to run the server as a virtual machine using Hyper-V on Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, be sure to install the update described in http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2526776 so that you will be able to upgrade the virtual machines guest operating system to Windows Server 2012 as required by one of the practice exercises in this chapter.

• You will also need a client computer that has Microsoft Office 2010 or Office 365 installed for viewing the reports generated by the MAP Toolkit in one of the practice exercises in this chapter.

• Describe six possible migration scenarios for organizations that want to take advantage of the new features and capabilities found in Windows Server 2012.

• Understand some of the steps involved in an infrastructure-migration process, including pilot testing, assessment, server migration, and role and feature migration.

• Explain how to install and use the Windows Server Migration Tools to migrate server roles from earlier Windows Server versions to Windows Server 2012.

Migration projects involving servers can be categorized in a number of ways, depending on whether you are deploying a new infrastructure, upgrading or consolidating an existing infrastructure, or implementing a new infrastructure model such as cloud computing. In addition, migrations can differ depending on whether or not you are migrating your entire infrastructure or only portion of it; whether you plan on re-using existing hardware or moving to new hardware; whether your environment is managed or unmanaged; whether your existing infrastructure is large or small, centralized or distributed, heterogeneous or homogeneous; and many other factors.

With so many different ways of envisioning and scoping infrastructure-migration projects, its obvious that there is no single approach to how such projects should be planned and executed. However, there are some steps and considerations that are common to all migration projects, and being aware of such best practices and implementing them can help ensure the projects success.

Ill begin by describing the following six possible migration scenarios for organizations that want to take advantage of the new features and capabilities found in Windows Server 2012:

Note that other migration scenarios are also possiblefor example, by combining two or more of the following scenarios to create hybrid scenarios.