Migrating from SBS 2003 to SBS 2011 - Few Initial Questions

Question

We are planning on doing the migration and I just wanted to check a few things before starting the process.

1. I understand the limit is increased to allow 2 domain controllers on the network for 21 days; will anything be affected with the current network during the migration? i.e Will the DHCP server on the Source Server still function correctly or do I need to move this to my router to handle?

2. I will have about 20 people still working whilst the migration takes place, is this advisable? Will it hurt anything?

3. Does my source server become the primary domain controller whilst I am migrating?

There are probably a few more questions I will have but this will be a good starting point.

Thanks.

Answer 1

You have some misconceptions here. I'll try to answer your questions while dealing with those:

1. SBS does not and never has limited you to a single domain controller. It limits you to a single copy of SBS being run on the network. While you are migrating, it allows you to have both of the SBS servers on the same network. After 21 days, your old SBS server will start shutting down every 1-2 hours. The 21 days allow you to do the migration at your old pace. The old server will still function properly, it is up to you to migrate roles like DHCP over to the new server when you are ready.

2. The standard SBS migration process involves some downtime. You may schedule certain things to occur during off business hours (like Exchange migration and file server migration). Your other alternative is to use a different migration method. There's the swing method available at sbsmigration.com or the zero downtime method available at zerodowntimemigration.com. Both of those methods should provide for considerably less downtime. Both methods do cost some $$$ though

3. There is no such thing as a primary domian controller. Those things went away with the introduction of Active Directory. We now have a multiple master setup. During the migration, your new SBS server will become an additional domain controller and all FSMO roles will be transferred to it. For more information, read up at Technet.