Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Upgrading to Windows Server 2008
A Windows Server 2008 upgrade differs from upgrades in previous Windows versions, which
were in-place upgrades that merged the previous OS version and the new version to keep exist-
ing settings and applications. With a Windows Server 2008 upgrade, a clean installation is per-
formed after renaming the existing Windows directory as Windows.old. After the installation,
settings, documents, and application information from the old OS are migrated to the new
Windows Server 2008 installation directory. Here's an overview of upgrade considerations, fol-
lowed by available upgrade paths in Table 2-1:
• The only previous Windows version supported for upgrade is Windows Server 2003.
• You can't upgrade to a Server Core installation.
• Cross-platform upgrades aren't supported, so you can upgrade only from a 32-bit version
to a 32-bit version or a 64-bit version to a 64-bit version.
• There's no upgrade path to Windows Server 2008 Itanium Edition or Windows Web
Server 2008.
• You can't upgrade to a different language.
2
Table 2-1
Windows Server 2008 upgrade paths
Current version
Server 2008 upgrade path
Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition
Windows Server 2008 Standard or Enterprise Edition
SP1, SP2, or R2
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition
SP1, SP2, or R2
Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition
Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Edition
SP1, SP2, or R2
Microsoft recommends a clean installation to a new disk or partition instead of an upgrade. If
you're considering an upgrade, Microsoft recommends that any third-party software not specifically
supported by the manufacturer for a Windows Server 2008 upgrade be removed before the upgrade.
In addition, hardware requirements for Windows Server 2003 were considerably lower, so be sure
your system meets the minimum CPU, RAM, and disk requirements for Windows Server 2008.
An upgrade is similar to a clean installation with a few exceptions. First, you must boot the
existing OS and log on. Then you can start the Setup program from the DVD. Next, you're asked
whether Windows should go online to get the latest updates for installation. This option is rec-
ommended. You aren't prompted for the language, time, and currency format or keyboard
layout; they must match the settings for the Windows Server 2008 edition being installed. In
addition, in an upgrade you aren't prompted for the location to install Windows. It's installed on
the same disk partition as the OS you booted to.
After a successful upgrade on a domain controller, you might want to change Active
Directory's functional level. This topic is covered in Chapters 4 and 10, but if you want to take
full advantage of the new Active Directory features, all your domain controllers must be oper-
ating at the Windows Server 2008 functional level.
Now that you're familiar with some common standard installations, the next two sections
focus on specialized server installations: Server Core and virtual server installations with Hyper-V.
Server Core: Windows That Doesn't Do Windows
As you learned in Chapter 1, the Server Core installation option provides a minimal server envi-
ronment designed for running specific server roles. Server Core's reduced codebase minimizes OS
vulnerabilities and lessens maintenance and management tasks. In addition, the overall disk and
memory footprint is smaller, thereby requiring fewer hardware resources than a full installation.
 
 
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