Advise on upgrading NT4 server to win2k

[cormac1]

hi all,
we have a single NT4 PDC, and it is to be upgraded to win2k server soon. There are very few programs that run off the server and it is a single box solution for our small office.
Are there any things I should be carefull of?
Will I have to do a clean install or will NT take the 2k disk and just upgrade it without effecting the rest of my software?
Please any assistance or pointers would be greatly appreciated.
C.

 

[sgscit]

Cormac, as with all microsoft products - be very carefull.

Ensure your backups are up to date.
Make a BDC even on a spare PC and replicate all DNS, DHCP, WINS etc data then take it off line.

We had a couple of small DNS issues that we did not know about on the network and when we upgrded it snow balled. Amazingly, a replication with a fresh 2k server fixed most of the DNS issues and along with the correct implementation of WINS our network is now running faster than before the upgrade, though we have had 3 weeks of pure hell on the network while getting it all up to scratch.

Do you have a test environment? Ie a PC or server that you can throw all your apps onto and configure the same as your production server to test an upgrade on? If you can do this and then do an upgrade on it, you will find out if you have any issues with the upgrade on your apps.

Good luck with your upgrade

 

[cormac1]

Hi sgscit,
thanks for the info, unfortuntaly we don't have a test bed or a spare machine to do that with, so I will have to use the only server we have. With this in mind, are there any things I should be looking out for. Can I export all my user and system info and then just import the settings back? Or will I have to do a whole clean re-install of everything, O/S, Network settings, Mail client etc. Oh please tell me there is an easier way.. (as I cross my fingers behind my back).

C.

 

[gbiello]

Cormac,
How old is your server? Do "winnt32 /checkupgradeonly" from the Windows 2000 install CD to make sure all your hardware, drivers, applications etc. can handle Win2K. This could save you some sleepless nights.

Bottom line, upgrading your existing server sounds like playing with fire. I'd want nothing to do with it.

You may wish to purchase a new server, build a seperate 2K domain and establish a 2-way trust to the old domain. Use addusers to export and import accounts (or ADMT). Then slowly port everything across.

good luck,
-gbiello

 

[cormac1]

Hiya Gbiello,
cheers, the server is a dell machine and less than a year old, there should be no hardware probs. If NT and 2k are built on the same platform, then why won't I be able to just upgrade? Will 2k over write everything or is there an option for it to just update files that it needs and leave most of the rest of the server as is?

What should I pay particular attention to ?
tnx again.
C.

 

[gurner]

An upgrade in place will work ok as long as mentioned there are no hardware conflicts.

There are a few prerequisites to an upgrade, these differ slightly depending on what OS it is and which one it is going to.

some examples are.

the LDAP port in exchange 5.5 will need to be changed from the current 389 to say 379 or 399 for example

and then Exchange services stopped and restarted.

Proxy Services will need to be stopped and specified Manual start.

World Wide Web publishing will need the same thing.

you may need to disable the NIC temporarily.

If upgrading from SBS4.5 to SBS2000 and still intend on running Exchange 5.5 for a little while longer DO NOT service pack Windows to SP2 or 3 afterwards. You will kill your Exchange server and many sleepless nights will ensue!

you really really MUST plan out your Domain structure and DNS structure, for future upgrades/changes/additional machines/future growth e.t.c. then promote it to the First Name Server Active Directory Domain Controller (my over elaborate name for the ActDir equivelant of a PDC)

The ideal solution is as mentioned in another posting above to build a machine from scratch and a bit at a time move it across a bit at a time once satisfied with the new machine and the proposed stucture of the domain.

But i have seen sites that can't do this, so make sure you have upto date backups of everything.

Or my Golden Nugget of advice, buy Norton Ghost and make an entire Ghost copy of the server, makes time consuming backup restores look like a waste of a life.

With Ghost just blast the whole operating system back on in less than 2-3 minutes if it all goes 'Pete Tong' (no one will no the difference if the ghost was taken minutes before the upgrade started)

 

[gurner]

Also, if you collect email from an ISP into Exchange 5.5 via an Internet Mail connector then you will need to note down all the details, delete the connector, do the upgrade and then reinstall the connector afterwards and re-add the details

 

[gbiello]

Hi again Cormac,
You CAN upgrade if you wish, I just wouldn't want anything to go wrong. Knock-on-wood, I haven't had that happen yet, I just tend to be a little on the cautios side.
-gbiello

 

[cormac1]

Hiya, thanks for all the advise, I'm going to leave it till next weekend - too much to do this week. there are no h/w issuse so hopefully it'll all run smoothly. We use Mdaemon not Exchange. Bleedn'd DNS errors all over the place today, mondays...typical!
C.

 

[Aslamvs]

HI,

this ARticle may help you for doing upgrade from NT to 2k

check it out,

http://www.winnetmag.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=7967

HTH ========================================
If there is a will there is a way
========================================

 

[jjgraf]

here is a throught go out buy a hardrive drive copy the c:\ drive and if it snows ball just reset the copied harddrive to be the bootable one.

Drive copy from

http://www.powerquest.com/

does work on W2K server even though they say it does not. I have done it successfull a dozen times with 3.0 and 1 time with 4.0

before starting make sure the copy will boot just to be on the safe side.

also i have done the upgrade path it has some major pit falls I allways say do a clean install if possible

 

[cormac1]

Gentlemen...
a heartfelt thank you for your advice. I performed the upgrade and it couldn't have gone sweeter....
Have tested all apps, connections and it even fixed a weird RAS problem I was having....

urge to kill fading, fading, rising, fading, .....gone.....come family let us all bask in television's warm glow

M.