When to migrate and when to perform a clean installation

This is an often asked question. If you have an existing server, but consider the setup to be messed up, then starting again can be an option. However, if you chose to start again, you will need to perform the following tasks on every machine in your network:

  • Back up the machine (just in case you need to restart the process)
  • Back up all useful data and settings
  • Remove the machine from the SBS 2003 domain
  • Join the machine to the SBS 2008 domain
  • Restore the data and settings

For files and data stored on the servers, you will need to modify all security settings as these will be set for the old users and not the new users on the SBS 2008 system. This is a very lengthy and manual process, and one that often leads to data or settings being lost if careful planning is not carried out first.

Only migrating a part of a system

The migration process is one that happens at many levels, with stages that can be skipped if you wish to clean up a system. You can avoid much of the clean installation pain by selecting what you migrate.

If you migrate only the Active Directory components, you will avoid the lengthy process described. You can still clean up all other aspects of a system as if it were a clean installation. For this reason, I will almost always recommend a migration for even a handful of users.

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