Module01-Installing, Upgrading, and Migrating Servers and Workloads
Module01-Installing, Upgrading, and Migrating Servers and Workloads
Module Overview
As a system administrator, one of the early questions you will face is: what Windows edition
meets better your organization needs? Therefore, to effectively benefits from Windows Server
you need to understand the new features available in Windows Server 2016, and differences
between its editions and installation.
In addition, if you have existing servers running prior Windows Servers versions, you must
decide how to upgrade or migrate them to Windows Server 2016.
P.S: You will face many new terms in this module; lot of them will be covered in details later in
next sessions.
Objectives
After completing this module, you will be able to:
Describe the new features of Windows Server 2016.
Prepare for and install Windows Server 2016.
Plan for server upgrade and migration.
Perform a migration of server roles and workloads.
Choose an appropriate activation model.
1
Lesson 1: Introducing Windows Server 2016
Deploying Windows Servers requires careful planning before you touch any hardware including
selecting the proper operating system edition, the best installation option for your organization's
needs, features and roles of each server and the virtualization strategy you should use. This
lesson explores the new features and capabilities in Windows Server 2016, in particular the
various installation options available to help you to determine the appropriate Windows Server
2016 edition per workloads.
Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
Select a suitable Windows Server 2016 edition.
Describe the hardware requirements for Windows Server 2016.
Describe installation options for Windows Server 2016.
Describe the new features of Windows Server 2016.
2
- Includes two virtual machine licenses.
Exercise: Compare Windows server 2016 editions by supported server roles.
Hardware requirements
The hardware requirements needed to support Windows Server 2016 depend on:
The services that the server is hosting.
The load on the server.
How responsive you want the server to be.
The installation type (Desktop experience/Core).
The installation method (Network/local media).
The operating system environment (OSE): Physical/Virtual.
The absolute minimum required for a Server Core installation on a physical server is:
Processor architecture 64-bit
Processor speed 1.4 gigahertz (GHz)
RAM 512 MB(Core)/2 GB (Full)
Hard drive space 32 GB
Note: A Windows Server 2016 installation on a virtual machine with the minimum single
processor core and 512 MB of RAM fails. However, you can allocate more memory for the
installation and then reduce it 512 MB afterwards, and the operating system runs.
Question: What are the factors/needs/scenarios that you need to keep in mind when determining
the hardware requirements for your servers?
Installation options
There are two installation options for Windows Server 2016:
Windows Server 2016 (Desktop Experience):
o The full installation with graphical management interface.
o Supports all Windows Server roles.
Windows Server 2016 (Core):
o Command line management interface.
o Does not support all server roles.
4
Lesson 2: Preparing and installing Windows Server
This lesson describes each of Windows Server 2016 installation options: Desktop Experience or
Server Core, and provides guidance on how to perform an installation of Windows Server 2016.
Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
Explain how to plan for Server installation.
Explain how to install Server Core/Full.
Explain the post-installation configuration.
Explain how to select a suitable installation type.
Describe the tools available for remote managing Windows Server 2016.
Explain how to use Windows PowerShell to manage Windows servers.
5
Installing Server Core and Server with Desktop Experience
Get ready for the installation
Before installing Windows Server 2016 you should perform several tasks to prepare for
installation:
Disconnect any undesired device (UPS with serial connection)
Back up your server
Disable virus protection software
Copy storage devices drivers
Post-installation configuration
After you have installed Windows Server 2016, you typically should complete the following
tasks:
Configure the IP address
Set the computer name
Join an Active Directory domain
Configure the time zone
Enable automatic updates
Add roles and features
Enable the Remote Desktop feature
Configure Windows Defender Firewall settings
The tools that you can use to complete these tasks depend on the installation type:
Core
o PowerShell or other command-line tools.
o Remotely.
Full
o Server manager
Firewall settings
Depending on the tool you use for remote management, some firewall exceptions should be
configured, such as:
COM+ Network Access (DCOM-In)
Remote Event Log Management (NP-In)
Remote Event Log Management (RPC)
Remote Event Log Management (RPC-EPMAP)
7
Using Windows PowerShell 5.0 to manage servers
PowerShell 5.0 is a scripting language and command-line interface designed to assist you in
performing administrative tasks, and to manage remote servers through:
Importing modules
Not all PowerShell cmdlets are installed by default. You may need to import additional modules.
To import modules you use the Import-Module cmdlet:
Get-Module –ListAvailable
Import-Module -name ADDSDeployment
PowerShell Direct
PowerShell Direct enables you to run PowerShell commands and script in a Hyper-V VM from
the host operating system. Use the following cmdlet to start a remote session between your host
and a the VM :
8
Lesson 3: Preparing for upgrades and migrations
When deploying Windows Server 2016 you have to identify when to upgrade the existing
Windows Server using the existing hardware or when you should migrate the existing roles and
features to a clean installation of Windows Server 2016.
Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
Describe the differences between an in-place upgrade and migration.
Identify scenarios when an in-place upgrade is appropriate.
Identify the benefits of migrating to Windows Server 2016.
List solution accelerators available to help with your upgrade or migration.
Describe best practices for server consolidation.
Migration
You perform an upgrade when you want to use new hardware, and migrate the roles, features,
and settings from old servers.
Supported versions: Windows Server (2012, 2008, 2003)
Use Windows Server Migration Tools to transfer files and settings from the old server.
Solution accelerators
Microsoft provides some tools to assist you in upgrade/migration processes:
9
Microsoft Deployment Toolkit
o Automate server (and desktop) deployments.
Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit (MAP)
o Perform inventory on IT infrastructure
o Generate report or proposal based on the Windows Server 2016 Readiness
Assessment
o Capture performance metrics of the current IT infrastructure
o Estimate server utilization based on that metrics
Win Server migration tools
o Migrating server roles and features
10
Lesson 4: Migrating server roles and workloads
When considering a new operating system deployment, you should plan for the upgrade and
migration?
- Does actual IT infrastructure support the new OS.
- What Edition should you choose?
- What is your strategy for migrating/upgrading?
- What roles/features can be migrated/Cohested?
- What roles/features can be consolidated into virtual machines?
Lesson Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
Explain how to implement server migrations.
Explain how to migrate servers across domains.
11
Lesson 5: Windows Server activation models
When planning server upgrade and migrating, you should consider system licensing and
activation.
Lesson Objectives
After this lesson, you will be able to:
Describe the volume licensing and activation options for Windows Server 2016.
Plan a suitable volume activation process.
12
Lab: Installing and configuring Server Core
Estimated Time: 60 minutes
13
Module Review and Takeaways
Review Questions
Question: What major advantages does Server Core have over a full Windows Server 2016
installation?
Question: Five years ago, your organization bought a new rack-mount server and installed
Windows Server 2012 on it. You now want to install Windows Server 2016 via the upgrade
method. What should you do?
Question: Which role can you use to manage KMS?
Tools
The following table lists the tools that this module references.
Tool Use to Where to find it
RSAT Used for managing servers remotely Download from the Microsoft
from a Windows 10 workstation download center
Sconfig.cmd Used for configuring a Server Core Start from a command prompt
installation or
Windows PowerShell console
Windows Server Use for assistance in migrating from Download from the Microsoft
Migration Tools one version of Windows Server to download center
another version
Volume Use the VAMT to manage Multiple Download from the Microsoft
Activation Activation Keys (MAKs) download center
Management
Tool
14