Is AD migration necessary or can we migrate FSMO roles? Windows Server 2008 Standard FE to Windows Server 2016

Daisy Zhou 20,791 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor
2020-07-15T07:32:22.783+00:00

Our current AD machine is getting a little run down and we have purchased a replacement running Windows Server 2016. My question is if a full migration is necessary to keep all the roles, permissions, etc or can me just transfer the FSMO roles? Basically what is the best path for moving from one AD machine to another with these OS's. The current AD Operating System is Windows Server 2008 Standard FE and our new machine is Windows Server 2016.

Source link:
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/8579766b-bb74-4b6f-85d6-a4942201036b/is-ad-migration-necessary-or-can-we-migrate-fsmo-roles-windows-server-2008-standard-fe-to-windows?forum=winserverMigration

Windows Server Migration
Windows Server Migration
Windows Server: A family of Microsoft server operating systems that support enterprise-level management, data storage, applications, and communications.Migration: The process of making existing applications and data work on a different computer or operating system.
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  1. Fan Fan 15,321 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor
    2020-07-15T07:33:30.187+00:00

    Hello,

    Thank you for posting in forum.

    Based on my knowledge, and as Dave mentioned, we could just transfer FSMO roles.

    Step 1. Promote the new machine as a domain controller.

    How to promote DC:

    https://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/14505.how-to-promote-windows-server-2012-as-a-domain-controller.aspx

    Step 2. Check whether the new DC is healthy.

    a.Run Dcdiag.exe /v > c: dcdiag.txt to test if there is trouble with your DC or services associated with it.

    b.Run Repadmin /showreps to show replication and if it was successful or not.

    c.Open Active Directory Users and Computers to check whether the DC is in OU Domain Controllers.

    d.Open Active Directory Sites and Services and check whether the new domain controller has been created under the right side, and its NTDS object has been created.

    Step 3. Transfer fsmo roles from original DC to the new one.

    How to transfer fsmo roles:

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-ca/help/255504/using-ntdsutil-exe-to-transfer-or-seize-fsmo-roles-to-a-domain-control

    Step 4: Shutdown the original DC and check whether the new domain controller can work well.

    Step 5. Demote the original DC.

    How to demote DC:

    https://video2.skills-academy.com/en-us/windows-server/identity/ad-ds/deploy/demoting-domain-controllers-and-domains--level-200-

    If you need any further assistance, please feel free to post back.

    Best Regards,

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