Migration Paths for Migrating to a Failover Cluster Running Windows Server 2008 R2

Updated: January 7, 2010

Applies To: Windows Server 2008 R2

This topic provides information about how to migrate or upgrade specific clustered services or applications to a cluster running Windows Server 2008 R2. For a list of all topics in this guide, see Migrating Clustered Services and Applications to Windows Server 2008 R2 Step-by-Step Guide.

Migration paths for specific migrations

Use the following table to find the section or sections of this topic that apply to your migration:

Migrations for which the Migrate a Cluster Wizard performs most or all steps

For the clustered services or applications in the following list, the Migrate a Cluster Wizard performs most or all of the steps for a migration to Windows Server 2008 R2. The wizard performs various actions, including copying all resources in the clustered service or application and copying the resource properties and checkpointed keys for each resource. After you run the wizard, few or no additional steps are needed before the clustered resources can be brought online. If additional steps are needed, the post-migration report indicates the steps.

For more information about the Migrate a Cluster wizard, see Migrate Resource Groups to a Failover Cluster Running Windows Server 2008 R2 (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=161335).

The Migrate a Cluster Wizard performs most or all steps for migrating the following services and applications:

• Distributed File System (DFS) Namespace

• File Server (also see Clustered File Server or File Share migrations later in this topic)

• Generic Application

• Generic Script

• Generic Service

• IPv4 Address, when migrating within the same subnet

• IPv6 Address or IPv6 Tunnel Address (cannot be migrated from Windows Server 2003)

• iSNS (cannot be migrated from Windows Server 2003)

• Network Name (other than the cluster name)

  If Kerberos authentication is enabled for the Network Name resource, the migration wizard will prompt you for the password for the Cluster service account that is used by the old cluster.

• NFS (cannot be migrated from Windows Server 2003)

• Physical Disk (resource settings only; does not copy data to new storage)

• Remote Desktop Connection Broker (migrations between clusters running Windows Server 2008 R2 only)

• WINS

If additional steps are needed after you run the wizard, they are usually steps such as the following:

• Installing server roles or features that are needed in the new cluster (all nodes)

• Copying or installing any associated applications, services, or scripts on the new cluster (all nodes)

• Ensuring that any data is copied

• Providing static IP addresses if the new cluster is on a different subnet

• Updating drive path locations for applications if the new cluster uses a different volume letter

For information about migrating clustered services and applications other than those in the preceding list, see Migration paths for specific migrations earlier in this topic.

Unavailable or unsupported migrations from previous operating systems

Some services and applications that can run in a failover cluster on Windows Server 2008 R2 cannot be migrated (in some cases because they were not supported on earlier versions of clustering). The following table lists the services and applications that are unavailable or unsupported in migration:

Clustered DFS Replication migrations between clusters running Windows Server 2008 R2

Support for migration of clustered Distributed File System (DFS) Replication to a cluster running Windows Server 2008 R2 is as follows:

• From a cluster running Windows Server 2003: No

• From a cluster running Windows Server 2008: No

• Between clusters running Windows Server 2008 R2: Yes

To migrate clustered instances of DFS Replication between clusters running Windows Server 2008 R2

1. Obtain the name of the cluster to which you will be migrating. In Active Directory, this is the name that is used for the computer account of the cluster itself (also called the cluster name object or CNO). Add this name to the replication group that you will be migrating. For more information, see Add a member to a replication group (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=169014).

2. Wait until DFS Replication finishes synchronizing the replicated data to the cluster to which you are migrating.

3. If you plan to decommission the cluster from which you have migrated, remove its network name from the replication group. If necessary, destroy the cluster.

For more information about DFS Replication in Windows Server 2008 R2, see Deploying DFS Replication (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=169015).

Clustered DHCP migrations

Migrating clustered DHCP to a cluster running Windows Server 2008 R2 requires additional steps beyond the steps that are required for running the Migrate a Cluster Wizard. For more information, see Migrating DHCP to a Cluster Running Windows Server 2008 R2 Step-by-Step Guide (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=140512).

Clustered DTC migrations

Support for migration of clustered DTC to a cluster running Windows Server 2008 R2 is as follows:

• From a cluster running Windows Server 2003: No

• From a cluster running Windows Server 2008: Yes

• Between clusters running Windows Server 2008 R2: Yes

Before you begin the migration, you must make sure the list of transactions that is being stored by DTC is empty. This is also called draining the transaction logs. If you do not drain the logs, the information in the logs (the transaction state information for unresolved transactions) will be lost during the migration. Unresolved transactions include Active, In Doubt, and Cannot Notify transactions.

To drain DTC transaction logs of unresolved transactions

1. Stop the application that creates transactions on the clustered instance of DTC that is being migrated.

2. On a node of the cluster that you are migrating from, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Component Services.

3. Expand Component Services, expand Computers, expand My Computer, expand Distributed Transaction Coordinator, and then expand Clustered DTCs.

4. Expand the clustered instance of DTC that you are migrating, and then click Transaction List.

5. View the transaction list to see if it is empty. If there are transactions listed, then either wait for them to be completed or right-click each transaction, click Resolve, and then select Forget, Commit, or Abort.

   For information about the effect of each of these options, see Transaction State Resolution After System Failure (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=169116).

For additional information, see View Transaction Information (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=169117).

Clustered Exchange migrations (to Exchange Server 2010)

If you have a failover cluster running an earlier version of Exchange Server and want to use Exchange Server 2010 instead, you do not perform a cluster migration in the same way you might for other applications. You also do not need to install, build, or configure any aspects of failover clustering for your new installation. Instead, install Exchange Server 2010 on multiple servers running Windows Server 2008 R2 and configure the servers in a database availability group (or DAG, which is a group of servers that replicate an Exchange database). Then use the Move Mailbox tool to migrate mailboxes, and use Public Folder Replication to migrate public folders. The following table provides links for more information:

Clustered File Server or File Share migrations

You can migrate a clustered file server from Windows Server 2008, or a File Share resource group from Windows Server 2003, to a failover cluster running Windows Server 2008 R2 by using the Migrate a Cluster Wizard.

For migrations from a cluster running Windows Server 2003 to a cluster running Windows Server 2008 R2, the Migrate a Cluster Wizard automatically translates all File Share resource groups to a single clustered file server (with multiple File Share resources within it). Therefore, some resources might look different after such a migration. The following table provides details:

You do not need to migrate the quorum resource. When you run the Create a Cluster Wizard, the cluster software automatically chooses the quorum configuration that provides the highest availability for your new failover cluster. You can change the quorum configuration settings if necessary for your specific environment.

Clustered Message Queuing (MSMQ) migrations

Support for migration of clustered Message Queuing to a cluster running Windows Server 2008 R2 is as follows:

• From a cluster running Windows Server 2003: No

• From a cluster running Windows Server 2008: Yes

• Between clusters running Windows Server 2008 R2: Yes

When you migrate a clustered instance of Message Queuing, make sure that the migration is complete before you delete either clustered instance of Message Queuing (old or new). Otherwise, service-specific data for Message Queuing might be deleted from the shared storage, which prevents the remaining Message Queuing resource from coming online. After the migration is complete and you are ready to delete a clustered instance of Message Queuing (old or new), first remove the disk resource from that clustered instance and take the disk offline. Then delete the clustered instance of Message Queuing.

Other Server migrations (involving resource types that are not built in to failover clusters)

Before you use the Migrate a Cluster Wizard to migrate an application that uses a clustered resource type that is not built in to failover clustering, be sure to add the resource type to the new cluster. You can then use the Migrate a Cluster Wizard to migrate your clustered application. In this situation, the Migrate a Cluster Wizard will attempt a "best effort" migration.

To add a resource type to a failover cluster running Windows Server 2008 R2

1. To open the failover cluster snap-in on a cluster running Windows Server 2008 R2, click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Failover Cluster Manager. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Yes.

2. If the cluster to which you want to migrate is not displayed, in the console tree, right-click Failover Cluster Manager, click Manage a Cluster, and then select or specify the cluster that you want.

3. In the console tree, right-click the cluster, and then click Properties.

4. Click the Resource Types tab, and then click Add.

5. Specify the following information for the resource type:

   • Resource DLL path and file name: The path and file name of the resource DLL that the Cluster service should use when it communicates with your service or application.

   • Resource type name: The name that the Cluster service uses for the resource type. This name stays the same regardless of the regional and language options that are currently selected.

   • Resource type display name: The name that is displayed for the resource type. This name might vary when you make changes to regional and language options.

For information about running the Migrate a Cluster Wizard, see Migrate Resource Groups to a Failover Cluster Running Windows Server 2008 R2 (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=161335).

Clustered print server migrations

To migrate clustered print servers to Windows Server 2008 R2, use a print migration tool, either from the Print Management snap-in or from the command prompt. For more information, see:

• Migrate Print Servers (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=169109)

• Print Services Migration Guide (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=169511)

Clustered SQL Server migrations

To migrate clustered instances of SQL Server 2005 or SQL Server 2008 to a failover cluster running Windows Server 2008 R2, use the upgrade functionality that is built in to the SQL Server Installation Wizard. For more information, see the following links:

• Version and Edition Upgrades (SQL Server 2008 Books Online) (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=169110). This topic provides information about supported upgrade paths.

• How to: Upgrade a SQL Server Failover Cluster Instance (Setup) (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=169111)

• Whitepapers: SQL Server 2008 Failover Clustering (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=169112)

• SQL Server 2008 failover cluster rolling patch and service pack process (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=169113)

• Resources for Upgrading to SQL Server 2008 (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=169114)

• How to: Upgrade to a SQL Server 2005 Failover Cluster Instance (Setup) (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=169115)

Clustered virtual machine migrations

Support for migration of clustered virtual machines to a cluster running Windows Server 2008 R2 is as follows:

• From a cluster running Windows Server 2003: No

• From a cluster running Windows Server 2008: Yes

• Between clusters running Windows Server 2008 R2: Yes

For information about migrating clustered virtual machines, see the following links:

• If you are not using System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008, see How to upgrade Windows Server 2008 systems that have the Hyper-V role installed to Windows Server 2008 R2 (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=169020). This article includes specific instructions for migrations from a standard cluster disk to a Cluster Shared Volume (CSV) disk.

• If you are using System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008, you can use the Quick Storage Migration feature. For information, see System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 - Quick Storage Migration (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=169021).

• For information about the requirements for using clustered virtual machines with Cluster Shared Volumes and live migration in Windows Server 2008 R2, see Hyper-V: Using Live Migration with Cluster Shared Volumes in Windows Server 2008 R2 (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=164729).

Additional references

Migrating Clustered Services and Applications to Windows Server 2008 R2 Step-by-Step Guide