In those cases we often have to install a new operating system that we want to use. Understanding this psychology of users, Microsoft has realized that the process of moving to the new operating system is simpler, the more users will implement this process.
While there are many things to consider when moving from a Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003-based network to a Windows Server 2008 network, there is a service that determines whether the migration process is successful, DHCP.
DHCP is one of two network-based services that help control network behavior (the other is DNS). Moving a DNS database of Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008 is a simple process, we just need to change some configuration for DNS, the most complicated point is that it requires a refund. into a switching zone between old and new servers to migrate DNS data. On the other hand, DHCP does not have an integrated mechanism that simplifies the process of transferring data in a database from one server to another. However, we only need to do a few more things to move DHCP services from Windows 2000 Server / Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008.
There are a number of different steps to follow depending on whether we are migrating DHCP from Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003. Here we describe these two processes.
1. Move DHCP from Windows 2000 Server to Windows Server 2008
The process of migrating a DHCP database of Windows 2000 Server to Windows Server 2008 requires two major steps. First, we will export DHCP settings from the Windows 2000 server. After that, we will import these settings into the Windows Server 2008 server. This process will take about 20 minutes regardless of the time to install and configure Windows Server 2008. Before installing, we need to install DHCP Role on Windows Server 2008 server.
Export the settings from the Windows 2000 Server server
Moving DHCP database settings from Windows 2000 Server is a fairly simple task. First we will have to turn off the DHCP service on the Windows 2000 Server so that it cannot be restarted. To do this, we will use the Services Console in the Administrative Tools folder. Double-click the DHCP Server item and select the Disabled option for the Startup type field as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Turn off the DHCP service on the Windows 2000 Server server.
After canceling this service, we will turn off the currently running DHCP service by clicking on the Stop button in Figure 1 or using the net stop dhcpserver command from the command line. Once canceled and turned off the running DHCP service, what we need to do next on this Windows 2000 Server server is to export the data in the DHCP database to transfer to the Windows Server 2008 server.
We can export these data using Registry Editor (regedt32). Save the appropriate keys to another location, such as the network drive that Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003 servers can access. Open Registry Editor and access the Configuration key with the path HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoft DhcpServerConfiguration .
Then, click on the Registry menu and select Save Key as shown in Figure 2. We need to select the name that matches the key to make it easy to distinguish, for example, save this key with the name config.key .
Figure 2: Exporting the Configuration key from Registry Editor.
In addition, we need to copy all the data in the % SystemRoot% System32Dhcp folder (Figure 3) to another location, it is best to copy to the drive containing the previously saved Configuration key. Next we will switch to Windows Server 2008 server.
Figure 3: Content of Dhcp folder.
Enter the settings into the Windows Server 2008 server
Before moving the DHCP configuration information to a Windows Server 2008 server, we need to install the DHCP Server service on the Windows Server 2008 server. If you have not done this process, you can do so via the Export Server Manager . currently in the Start menu.
Once the DHCP service is installed, we need to turn it off so that we can enter DHCP configuration information. To stop this service, we only need to use net stop dhcpserver command. Then we were able to enter DHCP configuration information into the Windows Server 2008 server.
First, enter the key we exported earlier from the Registry Editor . On the Windows Server 2008 server, double-click this registry file. When a message appears asking to confirm the process, click Yes .
Next we will complete moving the data in the % SystemRoot% System32Dhcp folder . Access this address on Windows Server 2008 server and then delete all data in it, including all subdirectories and their data. Then copy the data from the Dhcp folder of the Windows 2000 Server to the Dhcp folder of the Windows Server 2008 server .
Once that's done, we can start to bring the Windows Server 2008 server into operation. We will have to start the DHCP Server service with the net start dhcpserver command from the Command Prompt . If the process is successful we will get the message shown in Figure 4.
Once the DHCP service is installed, we need to turn it off so that we can enter DHCP configuration information. To stop this service, we only need to use net stop dhcpserver command. Then we were able to enter DHCP configuration information into the Windows Server 2008 server.
First, enter the key we exported earlier from the Registry Editor . On the Windows Server 2008 server, double-click this registry file. When a message appears asking to confirm the process, click Yes .
Next we will complete moving the data in the % SystemRoot% System32Dhcp folder . Access this address on Windows Server 2008 server and then delete all data in it, including all subdirectories and their data. Then copy the data from the Dhcp folder of the Windows 2000 Server to the Dhcp folder of the Windows Server 2008 server .
Once that's done, we can start to bring the Windows Server 2008 server into operation. We will have to start the DHCP Server service with the net start dhcpserver command from the Command Prompt . If the process is successful we will get the message shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4: Starting the DHCP Server service on the Windows Server 2008 server.
Move DHCP from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008
Moving DHCP from a Windows Server 2003 server to Windows Server 2008 is much easier than migrating from Windows 2000 Server. Suppose the DHCP server is running on a Windows Server 2003 server, and we have installed the DHCP server on the Windows Server 2008 server (in this article we will not mention IPv6 DHCP features).
To move DHCP from a Windows Server 2003 server to a Windows Server 2008 server, we need to do the following:
1. Launch Command Prompt on the DHCP Server of the Windows Server 2003 server .
2. Enter netsh dhcp server export command C: w2k3-dhcp.txt all .
3. Copy the file w2k3-dhcp.txt to the root of drive C: on the new server (after copying the path to this file will be C: w2k3-dhcp.txt ).
To move DHCP from a Windows Server 2003 server to a Windows Server 2008 server, we need to do the following:
1. Launch Command Prompt on the DHCP Server of the Windows Server 2003 server .
2. Enter netsh dhcp server export command C: w2k3-dhcp.txt all .
3. Copy the file w2k3-dhcp.txt to the root of drive C: on the new server (after copying the path to this file will be C: w2k3-dhcp.txt ).
4. On the Windows Server 2008 server, launch the Command Prompt .
5. Enter netsh command dhcp server import c: dhcpdatabase.txt all .
6. Launch DHCP Administrative Console and confirm that all Scope and configuration information have been moved to the new server.
After moving
When the migration process is complete, we need to do some more to rearrange the DHCP Console. Open the DHCP Console from the Administrative Tools folder and reorder all Scope by going to the Action menu and selecting Reconcile All Scopes . If there are any leases needed to be reorganized, click Reconcile to synchronize the DHCP Registry and Active Directory settings .
Confirm that the DHCP Server is running smoothly by opening the DHCP Console and then checking the configuration information shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5: DHCP Console.
Note: Before working with the Registry, we need to perform a system backup of the worst possible situation.