Every time a new version of Windows
ships, organizations wonder when the right time to migrate to the new
operating system. It used to be that you waited until the first service
pack shipped before installing any Microsoft product. However, Windows
Server has been extremely solid in its release over the past decade;
even the beta program for Windows Server 2012 didn’t turn up any
surprises. Early-adopter organizations were implementing Windows Server
2012 (known early on as Windows Server 8) in their production
environments upward of 12 to 18 months prior to the product release.
So, the decision of when to implement Windows
Server 2012 comes down to the same decision on migration to any new
technology: Identify the value received by implementing Windows Server
2012, test the solution in a limited environment, and roll out Windows
Server 2012 when you are comfortable that the product meets the needs
of your organization.
The cost and effort to migrate to
Windows Server 2012 vary based on the current state of an
organization’s networking environment, as well as the Windows Server
2012 features and functions the organization wants to implement. Some
organizations begin their migration process to Windows Server 2012 by
adding a Windows Server 2012 member server into an existing Windows
2003/2008 network. Others choose to migrate their Active Directory to
Windows Server 2012 as their introduction to the new operating system.
Adding a Windows Server 2012 System to a Windows 2003/2008 Environment
Many organizations want to add in a specific
Windows Server 2012 function such as Windows Server 2012 Remote Desktop
Services (previously called Terminal Services), Hyper-V R2
virtualization, DirectAccess, or BranchCache. Such functions can be
installed on Windows Server 2012 member servers in an existing Active
Directory 2003 or Active Directory 2008 networking environment. This
allows an organization to get Windows Server 2012 application
capabilities fairly quickly and easily without having to do a full
migration to Active Directory 2012. In most cases, a Windows Server
2012 member server can simply be added to an existing network without
ever affecting the existing network. This addition provides extremely
low network impact but enables an organization to prototype and test
the new technology, pilot it for a handful of users, and slowly roll
out the technology to the client base as part of a regular system
replacement or upgrade process.
Some
organizations have replaced all their member servers with Windows
Server 2012 systems over a period of weeks or months as a preparatory
step to eventually migrate to a Windows Server 2012 Active Directory
structure.
Migrating from Windows 2003 and Windows 2008 Active Directory to Windows Server 2012 Active Directory
For organizations that are still running an
Active Directory 2003 environment, migrating to Active Directory 2012
can provide access to several additional capabilities, including Active Directory
Recycle Bin, global catalog cloning, managed service accounts,
PowerShell administration, and offline domain join.
Organizations that have already migrated to
Active Directory 2008 or 2008 R2 already have most of the new
functionality available in Active Directory and may determine whether a
movement to AD/2012 will be of value. Effectively, Windows Server 2012
uses the same Active Directory organizational structure that was
created with Windows 2003 and 2008, so forests, domain trees, domains,
organizational units, sites, groups, and users all transfer directly
into Windows Server 2012 Active Directory. If the organizational
structure in Windows 2003 or 2008 meets the needs of the organization,
the migration to Windows Server 2012 is essentially just the insertion
of a Windows Server 2012 GC server into the existing Windows 2003 or
2008 Active Directory domain to perform a GC update to Windows Server
2012 Active Directory.
Of course, planning, system backup, and prototype testing
help minimize migration risks and errors and lead to a more successful
migration process. However, the migration process from Windows 2003 and
Windows Server 2008 to Windows Server 2012 is a relatively easy
migration path for organizations to follow.
