Windows Server Migration Tools and Guides
Applies To: Windows Server 2008 R2
Migration documentation and tools ease migrating server roles, operating system settings, and data from an existing server that is running Windows Server® 2003, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2 to a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 R2.
By using migration guides linked from this topic—and where it is appropriate, Windows Server Migration Tools—to migrate roles, you can simplify deployment of new servers (including those that are running the Server Core installation option of Windows Server 2008 R2, and virtual servers), reduce migration downtime, increase accuracy of the migration process, and help eliminate conflicts that could otherwise occur during the migration process.
Most of the migration documentation and tools featured on the Windows Server Migration Portal support cross-architecture migrations (x86-based to x64-based computing platforms), migrations between physical and virtual environments, and migrations between both the full and Server Core installation options of the Windows Server operating system, where available.
Windows Server 2008 R2 Migration Guides
Step-by-step migration guides for supported server roles, features, operating system settings, and data are available on the Windows Server 2008 R2 TechCenter (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=128554).
Windows Server Migration Tools
Windows Server Migration Tools is a feature that is available for installation on computers that are running Windows Server 2008 R2 by using the Add Features Wizard in Server Manager. Windows Server Migration Tools can be removed from Windows Server 2008 R2 by using the Remove Features Wizard.
To migrate roles, features, and other data by using Windows Server Migration Tools, you must also deploy Windows Server Migration Tools on source servers from which you want to migrate data. Windows Server Migration Tools is deployed on source servers by creating a deployment folder on a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 R2, and then copying it to the pre-Windows Server 2008 R2 source computer operating systems shown in the table in this topic.
You must be a member of the Administrators group on the computer on which you want to install, register, or use Windows Server Migration Tools. Additionally, if you are running Windows Server Migration Tools on servers that are running either Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2, you must run Windows Server Migration Tools with elevated user rights. To do this, click Start, click Administrative Tools, right-click Windows Server Migration Tools, and then click Run as administrator.
Complete instructions for the installation, configuration, and removal of Windows Server Migration Tools are available on the World Wide Web, in the Windows Server Migration Tools Installation, Access, and Removal (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=134763) step-by-step guide on the Windows Server 2008 R2 TechCenter.
Supported operating systems
The following table shows operating systems for which migration by using Windows Server Migration Tools is supported.
| Source server processor | Source server operating systems | Destination server operating systems | Destination processor |
|---|---|---|---|
x86- or x64-based |
Windows Server 2003 |
Windows Server 2008 R2 and Server Core |
x64-based |
x86- or x64-based |
Windows Server 2003 R2 |
Windows Server 2008 R2 and Server Core |
x64-based |
x86- or x64-based |
Windows Server 2008 |
Windows Server 2008 R2 and Server Core |
x64-based |
x64-based |
Windows Server 2008 R2 |
Windows Server 2008 R2 and Server Core |
x64-based |
x64-based |
Windows Server 2008 R2 Server Core |
Windows Server 2008 R2 and Server Core |
x64-based |
Note
Foundation, Standard, Enterprise, and Datacenter editions of Windows Server are supported on both full and Server Core installation options, as either source or destination servers.
Migrations between physical operating systems and virtual operating systems are supported.
Migration from a source server to a destination server that is running an operating system in a different system UI language (that is, the installed language) than the source server is not supported. For example, you cannot use Windows Server Migration Tools to migrate roles, operating system settings, or data, from a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 in the French system UI language to a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 R2 in the German system UI language.
The system UI language is the language of the localized installation package that was used to set up the Windows operating system.
Both x86- and x64-based migrations are supported for Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008. All editions of Windows Server 2008 R2 are 64-bit.
Roles that are running on Server Core installations of Windows Server 2008 cannot be migrated, because there is no .NET Framework available on Windows Server 2008 Server Core.