How to Upgrade Hyper-V Cluster in Windows Server 2012 R2 to Windows server 2019 Cluster

Question

Hello, Our environment have two Windows Server 2012 R2 nodes in the cluster, and we have another third node is not part of the current cluster. We are planning to upgrade the cluster from 2012 r2 to 2019 I heard about Cluster rolling upgrade but I need the best practice to avoid any losing of production VMs and down time as well So the scope of work is

1. Installing windows server 2016 on the third node.
2. Adding the third node to the current cluster.
3. Migrate all VMs from Node 1 two node 3.
4. Drain,Evict Node 1 from the cluster.
5. reformat the node 1 C drive and install new windows server 2016.
6. Configure Hyper-V , Failover Cluster, Storage, Network, then add node 1 back to the cluster.
7. Live Migrate The VMs from node 2 to node 1.
8. Do the same for node 2.
9. so now i will have 3 nodes running windows server 2016.
10. i will do the same steps for windows server 2019.

My question here, does the above scope is correct or not? do I need to upgrade cluster functional level after upgrade to 2016 or i have to wait until i upgrade to 2019 Thanks

Answer 1

You can perform the cluster upgrade directly from 2012 R2 to 2019 without needing to upgrade to 2016 first.

1. Install Windows Server 2019 on the third node.
2. Configure Hyper-V, Failover Cluster, Storage, and Network on the third node.
3. Add the third node to the current cluster.
4. Migrate all VMs from Node 1 to Node 3 using Live Migration.
5. Drain and evict Node 1 from the cluster.
6. Reformat the Node 1 C drive and install Windows Server 2019.
7. Configure Hyper-V, Failover Cluster, Storage, and Network, and add Node 1 back to the cluster.
8. Live Migrate the VMs from Node 2 to Node 1.
9. Drain and evict Node 2 from the cluster.
10. Reformat the Node 2 C drive and install Windows Server 2019.
11. Configure Hyper-V, Failover Cluster, Storage, and Network, and add Node 2 back to the cluster.
12. Distribute the VMs across the three nodes as needed.
13. After all, nodes are running Windows Server 2019, update the cluster functional level to the latest version using the following PowerShell command:

Update-ClusterFunctionalLevel

By following this plan, you can minimize downtime and ensure that your production VMs remain operational during the upgrade process. Remember to have a backup of your VMs and cluster configuration before starting the upgrade process, just in case you need to restore the environment.

Answer 2

duplicate answer by mistake