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Overview of the Process of Migrating from a Cluster Running Windows Server 2003

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2008

This topic provides an overview of the process of migration that applies to any migration scenario, including both scenarios described in this guide: a migration when both the old and new clusters have multiple nodes when the settings are migrated, and an in-place migration for a two-node cluster. For specific information about each of these two migration scenarios, see Migration When Both Old and New Clusters Have Multiple Nodes When Settings are Migrated and In-Place Migration for a Two-Node Cluster.

For information about hardware requirements and other requirements, see Overview and Requirements for a Two-Node Failover Cluster.

You can use a wizard to migrate the settings of some types of resources from a cluster running Windows Server 2003 to a cluster running Windows Server 2008. From the third page of the Migrate a Cluster wizard, you can view a premigration report that explains which resources are eligible for migration and describes additional steps to perform after running the wizard. After the wizard finishes, it provides a report that describes additional steps for completing the migration.

When you shift your clustering operation from servers running Windows Server 2003 to servers running Windows Server 2008, you cannot perform a rolling upgrade, that is, you cannot have nodes running different operating systems in the same cluster. Improvements in failover clusters in Windows Server 2008 mean that the two versions of clustering—server clusters in Windows Server 2003 and failover clusters in Windows Server 2008—use very different underlying functionality for communication with storage and for networking. For information about improvements in failover clusters, see https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=62368.

Warning

You must perform the copying or moving of data or folders (including shared folder settings) during a migration. The wizard for migrating clustered resources does not copy data from one location to another. It also does not copy any mount point information used in the old cluster.

Identifying which clustered resources can be migrated from a cluster running Windows Server 2003

This section lists the clustered resources that can be migrated from a server cluster running Windows Server 2003.

Important

You cannot use the Migrate a Cluster Wizard to migrate mail server and database server applications or any other resources that are not listed in the following subsections. For information about migrating mail server applications, see https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=91732 and https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=91733.

Resources for which the Migrate a Cluster Wizard performs most or all of the migration steps

After you use the Migrate a Cluster Wizard to migrate the settings of the following resources to a failover cluster running Windows Server 2008, few or no additional steps are needed before the resources can be brought online.

Warning

You must handle copying or moving of any data during a migration. The wizard for migrating the settings of clustered resources does not copy data from one location to another.

  • File Share: You can migrate settings for a File Share resource and for the associated Physical Disk, IP Address, and Network Name resources.

    The Migrate a Cluster Wizard automatically translates File Share resources in Windows Server 2003 to resource types used in Windows Server 2008. Therefore, some resources might look different after the migration. The following table provides details:

    Resource as seen in server cluster running Windows Server 2003 Migrated resource as seen in failover cluster running Windows Server 2008

    One File Share resource

    One File Server resource

    Multiple File Share resources

    A single clustered file server with multiple shared folders

    File Share resource as a DFS root

    Distributed File System resource

  • Physical Disk: You can migrate settings for Physical Disk resources other than the quorum resource.

    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 will provide the highest availability for the failover cluster. You can change the quorum configuration settings if necessary for your specific environment.

    You cannot migrate settings for other storage resource types (resource types provided by a vendor).

    For information about using new storage for your migrated cluster instead of continuing to the use old storage, see Cluster Migrations Involving New Storage: Drive Letters and Labels and Cluster Migrations Involving New Storage: Mount Points, later in this guide.

  • IP Address: You can migrate IP Address settings other than the cluster IP address. IP addresses are eligible for migration only within the same subnet.

  • Network Name: You can migrate Network Name settings other than the cluster name. If Kerberos authentication is enabled for the Network Name resource, the wizard will prompt you for the password for the Cluster service account that is used by the old cluster.

Note

If you want to migrate settings from a print spooler in a server cluster running Windows Server 2003, you can use the Printer Migration Wizard built into the Print Management snap-in in Windows Server 2008. For more information, see the step-by-step instructions for creating a print server failover cluster at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=96749. The later part of the instructions tells how to open Print Management so that it appears within Failover Cluster Management. From there, right-click Print Management and then click Migrate Printers to start the Printer Migration wizard.

Resources for which the Migrate a Cluster Wizard does not perform all of the migration steps

After you use the Migrate a Cluster Wizard to migrate the settings of the following resources to a failover cluster running Windows Server 2008, some additional steps are needed before the resources can be brought online:

  • DHCP Service

  • WINS Service

  • DFS Namespace

  • Generic Application

  • Generic Script

  • Generic Service

The wizard provides a report that outlines some of the additional steps that are needed. Generally, the steps you must take include:

  • Installing server roles or features that are needed in the new cluster (all nodes). When migrating DHCP, you must install the DHCP Server role. When migrating WINS, you must install the WINS feature. When migrating a clustered DFS Namespace, you must install the DFS Namespace role service in the File Server role.

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

Important

If you are migrating a Generic Application, Generic Script, or Generic Service resource, you must also confirm that any associated application is compatible with Windows Server 2008, or any associated service exists in Windows Server 2008 and has the same name as in Windows Server 2003. Test the application or service (separately, not as part of a cluster) to confirm that it runs as expected.

  • Ensuring that any data is copied.

The resource settings are migrated, as are the settings for the IP Address and Network Name resources that are in the resource group. If there is a Physical Disk resource in the resource group, the settings for the Physical Disk resource are also migrated.