The Windows Server 2012 DHCP server
service has added some new improvements to its features. One of the
biggest improvements is the new DHCP failover functionality that allows
synchronization of DHCP leases and scope information between servers.
Before you can enable that functionality, however, DHCP server roles
must be deployed on multiple systems, and at least one of these systems
must already have a DHCP scope defined.
On most networks, before this new
DHCP feature can be leveraged, existing DHCP servers and their scopes
must be migrated/decommissioned. The following section details the
migration options available for DHCP migration using the Windows Server
2012 Migration Tools.
Migrating DHCP Servers Using Windows Server Migration Tools
The Windows Server 2012 Window
Server Migration Tools are a set of tools designed to aid
administrators with the migration of not only DHCP scope information,
but also the current leases, reservations, and scope options.
Installing the Windows Server Migration Tools on Windows Server 2012
Before the migration tools can be leveraged,
they must be installed on all the source and destination servers.
Because the tools are included with Windows Server 2012, they must first
be installed on Windows Server 2012, and then a special deployment
folder package must be created to support installation on down-level
operating systems. To install migration tools on a Windows Server 2012
system, follow these steps:
1. Log on to the proposed Windows Server 2012 system and click the Server Manager tile on the taskbar.
2. When the Server Manager console opens, on the Welcome to Server Manager page, click Add Roles in the center.
3. On the Before You Begin page, in the Add Roles and Features Wizard, click Next to continue.
4. On the Select
Installation Type page, select the Role-Based or Feature-Based
Installation radio button, and then click Next to continue.
5. On the Select
Destination Server page, select the Select a Server from the Server
Pool radio button and select the local server in the window. Click Next
to continue.
6. On the Select Server Roles page, leave the defaults and click Next to continue.
7. On the Select
Features page, scroll down to Windows Server Migration Tools Features
group and check the box, and then click Next, as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Installing the Windows Server migration tools.
8. On the Confirm
Installation Selections page, click Install to begin the installation.
If a reboot is required, you are prompted after the installation
completes. Reboot as required.
9. On the Installation Progress page, you can monitor the installation progress. Click Close when the installation completes.
Creating the Deployment Folder Package of the Windows Server Migration Tools for Down-Level Operating System Installation
Before the Windows Server migration tools can
be used to migrate DHCP services from older operating systems to
Windows Server 2012, the tools must be installed on the down-level
operating systems. For the Windows Server 2012 migration tools, this
includes Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, and Windows
Server 2003. The process is mostly the same for all versions and
includes two steps: creating the deployment folder package and then
installing that package on the down-level system. To create the
deployment folder package for a Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 system,
follow these steps:
1. On the Windows
Server 2012 system with the Windows Server migration tools installed,
open an elevated PowerShell console session.
2. Change directories to C:\Windows\System32\ServerMigrationTools, assuming that the C: drive is the system drive.
3. Type the command .\SmigDeploy.exe /package /architecture amd64 /OS WS08R2 /path C:\MigTools and press Enter to create the package.
4. After the package
is created, you should have a C:\MigTools\SMT_WS08R2_amd64 folder
created. You can repeat the previous command for Windows Server 2008
and Server 2003 for both 32- and 64-bit editions as required. Close the
command prompt.
This completes the creation of the down-level deployment folder package.
Installing the Windows Server Migration Tools on Windows Server 2008 R2 64-Bit Edition DHCP Server
Once the deployment folder package has been
created, you can copy it over to the destination server and install it.
To install the deployment package on a Windows Server 2008 R2 DHCP
server, follow these steps:
1. Copy the
C:\MigTools\SMT_ws08R2_amd64 folder from the Windows Server 2012 system
to the C:\MigTools folder on the destination Windows Server 2008 R2
server. Create the C:\MigTools folder as required or select another
desired destination folder.
2. Once the folder is
copied over, open an elevated PowerShell console session and change the
directory to C:\MigTools\SMT_ws08R2_amd64.
3. Type SmigDeploy.exe
and press Enter to register and install the tools. If Windows
PowerShell is not installed, this process fails, and the PowerShell
feature must be installed before this process can continue.
4. When the process completes, both the original PowerShell console session and a new PowerShell window are open. Type Exit and press Enter in both windows to close them.
This completes
the registration and installation of the Windows Server migration tools
on a Windows Server 2008 R2 system. This process is the same for both
Windows Server 2008 and 2003, including the prerequisite of Windows
PowerShell for installation and operation.
