RRAS Migration: Preparing to Migrate

Updated: February 11, 2010

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2

Perform the following steps before you begin migrating the Routing and Remote Access service from your x86-based or x64-based source server to an x64-based destination server that is running Windows Server 2008 R2.

  • Prepare your destination server

  • Prepare your source server

  • Install the migration tools

Membership in the local Administrators group or equivalent is the minimum required to complete these procedures. If User Account Control (UAC) is enabled, you might have to run the following steps by using the Run as administrator option. For more information, see Run a program with administrative credentials in the Windows Server TechCenter (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=131210).

Prepare your destination server

Complete the following procedures to prepare the destination server for the migration of Routing and Remote Access service.

Hardware requirements for the destination server

Your destination server should have the same number or more network adapters as your source server. You can have more network adapters on the destination server than the source server, but the migration fails if you have fewer.

Important

The names of the network adapters on the destination server must be the same as those on the source server, and they must have the same intention (for example, Internet facing versus intranet facing). Most RRAS server components have interface-specific settings and configuration. Having the same number of interfaces, with the same names and intent, helps ensure that the settings are migrated to the right interface. This is critical to a successful migration. If there are more adapters on the destination server than on the source server, you must still have a one-to-one match between the names and intention of the network adapters on the source server and those on the destination server.

Prepare the destination server for migration

To prepare the destination server

  1. Install Windows Server 2008 R2 on the destination server.

  2. Whether or not you intend to migrate the source server name to the destination server, give the destination server a temporary computer name at this time.

  3. If you store the user accounts for remote access users locally on the RRAS server instead of in Active Directory, and if you use the Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) for authentication, then you must perform the following additional steps before migrating RRAS:

    1. To enable the use of CHAP authentication, you must manually configure a local security policy setting that enables passwords to be stored by using a reversible encryption algorithm.

      Security Note
      We recommend that you do not use CHAP for authentication, and that you do not enable the setting to store passwords with reversible encryption. These options are not considered secure, and they are provided only for backwards compatibility. Use them only if your environment requires the use of CHAP.

      1. On the destination server, click **Start**, click **Administrative tools**, and then click **Local Security Policy**.
      1. In the navigation tree, expand Account Policies, and then select Password Policy.

      2. In the details pane, double-click Store passwords using reversible encryption, click Enabled, and then click OK.

    2. Migrate the local users and groups from the source server to the destination server. Do this separately and before you begin migrating RRAS. For more information, see Local Users and Groups Migration Guide (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=160572).

  4. If the source server that is being replaced is joined to a domain, join the destination server to the same domain.

  5. Open a Windows PowerShell session with elevated user rights.

  6. Import the Server Manager module by running the following command at the Windows PowerShell prompt:

    Import-Module ServerManager
    
  7. Determine if Routing and Remote Access service is installed by running the following command:

    Get-WindowsFeature npas-rras-services
    
  8. If the Routing and Remote Access service is not currently installed, run the following command to install it:

    Add-WindowsFeature npas-rras-services
    

    This command installs both the routing service and the remote access service. RRAS can also be installed manually by using Server Manager, and configured by using the RRAS MMC snap-in.

    Server roles were introduced in Windows Server 2008, and they are also used in Windows Server 2008 R2. Routing and Remote Access service is a role service that consists of the Routing service and the Remote Access service. In Windows Server 2003, these two services were not separate. If the source server is running Windows Server 2003, ensure that both the Routing service and the Remote Access service are installed on the destination server. If the source server is running Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2, ensure that the destination server has the same RRAS services installed as has the source server. If the source server has both the routing service and the remote access service, then you must install both services on the destination server.

Note

When installing and configuring RRAS on the destination server, use the default settings.

  1. Verify that RRAS installed successfully by running the following command:

    get-windowsFeature npas-rras-services
    
  2. The Routing and Remote Access service should not be running on the destination server. Use the following Windows PowerShell command to stop it if it is running:

    stop-service remoteaccess -force
    

Note

You must use the -force parameter because RRAS has dependent services.

To verify that the service is stopped, run the following command:

    get-service remoteaccess

The destination server is now prepared for migration.

Prepare your source server

Important

Before you begin migration, as a best practice, we recommend that you perform a backup of the source server. If the migration fails, and the recovery steps to restore the source server also fail, this backup can be critical for the quick restoration of service.

Back up your source server

Install the migration tools

Windows Server Migration Tools in Windows Server 2008 R2 allows an administrator to migrate some server roles, features, operating system settings, shares, and other data from computers that are running certain editions of Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2 to computers that are running Windows Server 2008 R2.

Install Windows Server Migration Tools on the source and the destination servers. Complete installation, configuration, and removal instructions for Windows Server Migration Tools are available in the Windows Server Migration Tools Installation, Access, and Removal step-by-step guide in the Windows Server Technical Library (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=155112).

Windows Server Migration Tools is a set of Windows PowerShell cmdlets. For more information about Windows PowerShell and working with cmdlets, see the section “Working with Windows PowerShell cmdlets” in Windows Server Migration Common Tasks and Information (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=181826).

Important

Before you run the Import-SmigServerSetting, Export-SmigServerSetting, or Get-SmigServerFeature cmdlets, verify that during migration, both source and destination servers can contact the domain controller that is associated with domain users or groups who are members of local groups on the source server.
Before you run the Send-SmigServerData or Receive-SmigServerData cmdlets, verify that during migration, both source and destination servers can contact the domain controller that is associated with those domain users who have rights to files or shares that are being migrated.

See Also

Concepts

Routing and Remote Access Service Migration Guide
RRAS Migration: Migrating Routing and Remote Access Service
RRAS Migration: Verifying the Migration
RRAS Migration: Performing Post-Migration Tasks