New server?!?!

AJ · #1 09-Jul-2007, 03:10 PM

I am running an SBS box to run my home network including my email. I have now got myself a new machine to be a server (OK a pc playing at being a server, but it'll do the job). Now my question is how do I go about transferring all the exchange emails and user accounts and the rest to my new box. It is a different machine with different hardware to the original, so sticking the HDD into the new machine isn't really an option.

Thanks

drum_dude · #2 09-Jul-2007, 03:15 PM

Ok heres an option - but its just a guess. Use the NT Backup on the old sbs box to back up all drives including the system state - then restore it all onto the new SBS box!

ajs1976 · #3 09-Jul-2007, 03:16 PM

http://www.sbsmigration.com/

Might not be worth buying for a home setup, but I used it for a production migration and it work great.

**Sparky** · #4 09-Jul-2007, 05:13 PM

How many accounts are we talking here?

The quickest way might be just to recreate the AD from scratch and then exmerge the mailboxes across.

AJ · #5 09-Jul-2007, 06:00 PM

we're only looking at half a dozen accounts or so

Thanks ajs1976 but you are right it is a tad pricey

D_D I think that the system state data can not be restored like you say as the new server is a totally different machine, but I could be wrong there.

Thinking about it, how does this sound. I'll export all the mail boxes from exchange to a .pst file. All of the data is on another drive to the system drive so that's safe. I'll load SBS onto the new server and then import the pst files into the new mailboxes. This will cut down on downtime. I shall have to make AD again, but as there are so few users, that shouldn't take too long. By doing it this way I will only ever have one SBS box live at a time. I have read that you can't have more than 1 SBS box in a domain at a time and one I set the new server up I don't really want to get into the hastle of renaming the domain.

How's that sound??

**BosonMichael** · #6 09-Jul-2007, 06:11 PM

Quote:

“

Originally Posted by AJ

we're only looking at half a dozen accounts or so

Thanks ajs1976 but you are right it is a tad pricey

D_D I think that the system state data can not be restored like you say as the new server is a totally different machine, but I could be wrong there.

Thinking about it, how does this sound. I'll export all the mail boxes from exchange to a .pst file. All of the data is on another drive to the system drive so that's safe. I'll load SBS onto the new server and then import the pst files into the new mailboxes. This will cut down on downtime. I shall have to make AD again, but as there are so few users, that shouldn't take too long. By doing it this way I will only ever have one SBS box live at a time. I have read that you can't have more than 1 SBS box in a domain at a time and one I set the new server up I don't really want to get into the hastle of renaming the domain.

How's that sound??

”

Sounds workable. I had to export/import PSTs when I had an Exchange box that was somewhat corrupted many years ago. Worked like a charm.

**Sparky** · #7 09-Jul-2007, 06:26 PM

Quote:

“

Originally Posted by AJ

we're only looking at half a dozen accounts or so

Thanks ajs1976 but you are right it is a tad pricey

D_D I think that the system state data can not be restored like you say as the new server is a totally different machine, but I could be wrong there.

Thinking about it, how does this sound. I'll export all the mail boxes from exchange to a .pst file. All of the data is on another drive to the system drive so that's safe. I'll load SBS onto the new server and then import the pst files into the new mailboxes. This will cut down on downtime. I shall have to make AD again, but as there are so few users, that shouldn't take too long. By doing it this way I will only ever have one SBS box live at a time. I have read that you can't have more than 1 SBS box in a domain at a time and one I set the new server up I don't really want to get into the hastle of renaming the domain.

How's that sound??

”

Sounds like a plan.

If you disable DHCP on your current SBS and install the new SBS you wont have too many problems while you migrate.

To save time you can use the mailbox move wizard to move the mailboxes to the new exchange server. If you map a drive from the new SBS to a share on the old SBS then you will be authenticated and the two servers can talk to each other for this to work. Ive done this many times when migrating from old Windows NT SBS installs. I think there may be an option for this in the server management console.

Link:
http://www.msexchange.org/tutorials/...ox_Wizard.html

wanboy67 · #8 10-Jul-2007, 08:19 PM

If you use Snap Deploy with the Universal Deploy extension you could take an image of your old server and deploy it on the new hardware without any changes. It would save you from having to change anything at all. Cost? $19.99 for Snap Deploy & $9.99 for the Universal Deploy extension.

nicolinux · #9 11-Jul-2007, 08:24 AM

I used to do so:
install the new sbs without install the sbs features.
promote the new sbs as domain controller
launch the sbs installation ( will install the sbs features), it will find already the AD.
transfer all the roles to the new sbs and shutdown the old sbs.
import the .pst on the client.
That is working for me