DHCP Server Migration: Preparing to Migrate

Applies To: Windows Server 2008 R2

Complete the following procedures before you migrate DHCP Server from an x86-based or x64-based server to an x64-based server running Windows Server® 2008 R2.

• Migration planning

• Install migration tools

• Prepare the destination server

• Prepare the source server

Migration planning

Membership in Domain Administrators, or equivalent, is the minimum required to complete these procedures. Review details about how to use the appropriate accounts and group memberships at Run a program with administrative credentials (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=131210).

To prepare for migration

• Identify your DHCP Server source and destination servers.

• Determine the domain, server name, and passwords on the source server. To identify the domain of the original server, click Start, right-click Computer, and then click Properties.

• If you have not already done so, install Windows Server Migration Tools on the destination and source servers as instructed in Install migration tools.

• Before migration, install all critical updates and service packs on the source server that were released before Windows Server 2008 R2. It is a recommended Best Practice that all current critical updates and service packs are installed on both the source and the destination servers.

• Count the number of network adapters in the source and destination servers and make sure that they are equal in number. If the source server that is running DHCP Server has multiple network adapters and the DHCP Server service is bound to all and serving IP addresses on different subnets, the destination server that is running DHCP Server must also have multiple network adapters so that it can serve the same subnets as on the source server.

• Prepare a migration store file location. The store location must be accessible from the source server during the export and from the destination server during the import. Use a common drive that can contain all DHCP Server–related information from the source server. The storage location should be similar to the following: \\fileserver\users\username\.

Install migration tools

Install Windows Server Migration Tools on the destination and source servers. For more information, see Windows Server Migration Tools Installation, Access, and Removal (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=134763).

Working with Windows PowerShell cmdlets

Cmdlets (pronounced command-lets) are built-in commands included with Windows PowerShell, installed by default as part of Windows Server 2008 R2. Throughout this guide, there are several PowerShell cmdlets that you will have to run to carry out some of the migration steps. For more information about Windows PowerShell and how cmdlets work, see Windows PowerShell on the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=122931).

Except where specifically noted, Windows PowerShell cmdlets are not case-sensitive.

You can obtain detailed Help about specific syntax, parameters, and usage guidelines for any installed Windows PowerShell cmdlet by typing Get-Help <cmdlet name> -full in a Windows PowerShell session, in which cmdlet name represents the name of the cmdlet for which you want help. Add the -Verbose parameter to a Windows PowerShell cmdlet to display detailed information about the operation in the Windows PowerShell session.

Although most commands for DHCP Server migration are Windows PowerShell cmdlets, you can run executable files in a Windows PowerShell session by adding an ampersand (&) before the executable file name. The ampersand is the call operator in Windows PowerShell.

If the executable file is not in the current directory, add the fully qualified path, as shown in the following examples. If an executable file name contains spaces enclose the file name in quotation marks. If you are running the executable file from the current directory, precede the file name with .\.

• Executable file that is not in the current directory: PS C:\> & C:\Windows\System32\notepad.exe

• Executable file that is in the current directory: PS C:\Windows\System32> & .\notepad.exe

• Executable file name that contains a space and is in the current directory: PS C:\Windows\System32> & ".\executable test.exe"

The commands in this document are provided in Windows PowerShell format. For more information, see DHCP Server Migration: Appendix A. You can run Command Prompt commands in a Windows PowerShell session by adding cmd /C before the command, as shown in the following example. The example shows the use of the dir command in Windows PowerShell.

cmd /C dir c:\*

After the command is run and results are displayed, you can continue to work in the same session with Windows PowerShell cmdlets. You can also use Windows PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE), the graphical version of Windows PowerShell. For more information about Windows PowerShell ISE, see Windows PowerShell ISE (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=133161) on the Microsoft Script Center.

Prepare the destination server

To install DHCP Server on the destination server, complete the menu-driven installation process. Complete the following procedure to prepare the destination server.

To prepare the destination server

1. Install Windows Server 2008 R2 and configure the destination server.

2. Make sure that there is sufficient disk space to store the DHCP Server database. The disk space needed varies with each installation and should be equal to or greater than the space for the DHCP Server database.

3. Add the destination server as a member server in the domain of the source server that is being replaced.

4. Verify that the destination server can resolve the names of domain users who are members of the local group during the import operation. If source and destination servers are in different domains, the destination server must be able to contact a global catalog server for the forest in which the source domain user accounts are located.

5. On a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 R2, open a Windows PowerShell session with elevated user rights. To do this, click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, open the Windows PowerShell folder, right-click Windows Powershell, and then click Run as administrator.

6. Load the Server Manager module into your Windows PowerShell session. To load the Server Manager module, type the following, and then press Enter.

   Import-Module ServerManager
   

7. On the destination server, run the following command to install DHCP Server:

   Add-WindowsFeature DHCP
   

   You can also install DHCP Server manually by using Server Manager. For more information, see Install Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=128465).

8. By the end of the migration process, the destination server should have a static IP address. Although you will not change the destination server IP address now, consider the following scenarios in preparation for changing it when migration is complete.

   • If your migration scenario requires that you decommission and disconnect the source server from the network, only then can you make the IP address on the destination server the same as the IP address on the source server. The source server must be disconnected from the network or shut down so that there is no IP address conflict between the source server and destination server. However, the destination server can still serve clients that are searching for the legacy (source) server that was running DHCP Server.

   • If your migration scenario calls for continuing to run the source server on the network for other, non-DHCP purposes, you have to assign the destination server an unallocated IP address in the same subnet as the source server to avoid IP conflicts.

   • DHCP Server clients that attempt to renew an IP address lease send the renew request to the previous IP address of the DHCP server. If the source server has been decommissioned and then disconnected from the network and the new DHCP destination server is operating with a different IP address, this request initially fails because of the changed IP address. However, clients try to rediscover the IP address of the DHCP server on the network and therefore recover from this transient failure.

9. If the DHCP Server database path does not match the default path, you must ensure that the destination server has a disk with the same drive letter as seen in source server’s DHCP Server database path. For more information, see the “Known issues” section of DHCP Server Migration: Appendix A.

The destination server is now prepared for migration.

Prepare the source server

Follow these steps to prepare the source server for migration.

To prepare the source server

1. Back up the source server. The backup should be a DHCP Server-specific backup, not a Windows backup. (A Windows backup backs up the complete operating system.) You can create the DHCP Server-specific backup by using the Netsh command-line tool or Microsoft Management Console (MMC).

   • In the DHCP MMC tree, right-click the server node to open DHCP backup options.

   • Create the backup by using the Netsh command-line tool. For more information, see Netsh Commands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol server (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=128496).

2. If it is running, stop the DHCP Server service. In a Windows PowerShell session that was opened as described in step 5 of To prepare the destination server, type the following, and then press Enter.

   Stop-Service DHCPserver
   

3. If the DHCP Server database path does not match the default path, make sure that the destination server has a disk with the same drive letter as in source server’s DHCP Server database path. For more information, see the “Known issues” section of DHCP Server Migration: Appendix A.

You are now ready to begin DHCP Server migration, as described in DHCP Server Migration: Migrating the DHCP Server Role.

See Also

Concepts

DHCP Server Migration Guide
DHCP Server Migration: Migrating the DHCP Server Role
DHCP Server Migration: Verifying the Migration
DHCP Server Migration: Post-Migration Tasks
DHCP Server Migration: Appendix A