Installing Windows Server 2012 R2 on top of Windows Server 2008 R2 with RAID 1 configuration

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I have Dell PowerEdge Rack Server R510 that have Dell PERC S300 RAID Adapter which is configured to RAID 1. The server runs Windows Server 2008 R2. Currently the OS corrupted I cannot do backup anymore using Windows Backup, I cannot remove or add server roles, I cannot install updates and some application software fail to accessed from domain users. Also I cannot edit DNS and DHCP information.

I tried to perform in place upgrade to Windows Server 2012 R2 but it keep showing Setup is restarting for three days now. So I have come to a decision to install Windows Server 2012 R2 on top of the existing one Windows Server 2008 R2.

The server has two shared Printers & one shared Scanner, File Server, AD DC, DNS, DHCP, and two Access Points. It serves more than 20 PCs mostly in wireless connectivity.

My Questions are:

  1. Will I be able to access the RAID Drives from Windows Server 2012 R2 after installing it on top of Windows Server 2008 R2 without need a of reconfiguring the RAID Adapter?

  2. On top accessing the RAID Drives, will my data be safe after the process that I won’t lose them?

  3. How will I be able to transfer DNS, DHCP, AD DC roles records from Windows Server 2008 R2 to Windows Server 2012 R2 after the installation is successful?

  4. With the new OS Server 2012 R2, will the client PCs pick Server 2012 R2 automatically or I’ll be required to rejoin them to the domain.

  5. What is the best way if I’m wrong with my decision?

Thank You!

Answer

Ummm… No. You can’t install Windows Server 2012 R2 “on top of” Windows Server 2008 R2. The in place upgrade isn’t working. That means you’ll have to install a “new” copy of Windows Server 2012 R2. That means you’ll lose everything that is currently in Windows Server 2008 R2. So make sure you have a current backup of your data.

Because this is a Domain Controller you’ll want to install another server, make it a Domain Controller with DNS, transfer the DHCP and Print Server configuration to the new server, and then rebuild this server. If you don’t do that first then you’ll lose your AD.

Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : waka , Answer Author : joeqwerty

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