Migration of AD and DFS from 2008 R2 to 2016

Ajith Borra 116 Reputation points
2020-08-14T10:19:24.323+00:00

Hi all,

I have an AD in 2008 R2 server and user data like Desktop, Documents are saving in DFS 2008 R2 server. DFS-N server and DC are on the same server. Now I want to migrate both AD and DFS servers to 2016. So, my question is which one I need to migrate first AD or DFS and what problems will I face in the process of migration. Any suggestions will be helpful.

Active Directory
Active Directory
A set of directory-based technologies included in Windows Server.
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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. Thameur-BOURBITA 32,981 Reputation points
    2020-08-14T11:51:33.15+00:00

    Hi,

    If you have many namespace servers set on DFS-Namespace , you can perform the following steps:

    1. Delete the old DC in list of namespace server in DFS-Namespace settings
    2. Migrate old domain controller to new one
    3. Set new domain controller as a additional server name space.

    You can also start by migrate the server namespace afterwards you can migrate domain controller if there are one or many server namespace.

    ****Please don't forget to mark this reply as answer if it help you to fix your issue***

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  2. Fan Fan 15,336 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor
    2020-08-17T01:26:23.027+00:00

    Hi,
    Based on my experience, there is no requirement for the order to migrate which one firstly.
    Note ,before any changes, back up the DFS and AD .
    For the migration，to avoid more risks, i would recommend add the new server to act as DC and DFS-N server, when everything works well , then delete the old one.
    More information for your reference:

    Add the new server to domain ,promote the server to a new DC,wait for the replication ,make sure that the replication are finished and everything works well , you can check that by the command:
    Dcdiag /v >c:\dcdiag1.log
    Repadmin /showrepl >C:\repl.txt
    Repadmin /showreps * 
    Repadmin /syncall /APeD

    Add the new server to be the DFS-N server, wait for the replication .
    When the new server can working well as DFS-N server, you can delete the old server from the DFSN- servers.
    https://video2.skills-academy.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/dfs-namespaces/add-namespace-servers-to-a-domain-based-dfs-namespace

    Demote the old DC,if the DC hold the FSMO roles, you also need to transfer the roles to the new DCs, you can refer to the following link:

    https://video2.skills-academy.com/en-us/windows-server/identity/ad-ds/deploy/upgrade-domain-controllers

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