* Upgrading to Windows 2000, 2003 that's no harder, longer than installing new app
If we’re all very lucky, this may be the last time I’ll talk about Windows NT and upgrade paths. Really. Microsoft has almost given up hope that it will ever get all customers of NT servers to migrate to Windows 2000 or 2003 servers, but there may be one more pocket of holdouts who could benefit from the information I’m about to offer.
First, if you’re still running NT Server because an application or service requires it, then there’s little more to be said. But if all that’s holding you back is the thought of the time it will take to back up everything (twice), remove the NT operating system, install the new server system (Windows Server 2003, for choice) and then re-install the applications and services – there’s a glimmer of hope. There’s no question that doing a fresh install on existing hardware could involve the best part of a weekend. And you probably have better things to do. But in specific upgrade scenarios, there are tools available that make the job no harder (and take no longer) than installing a new application.
First, let’s identify the versions of Windows you can upgrade to:
1) Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition
2) Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
3) Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition
4) Windows Server 2003 Web Edition
5) Windows Small Business Server 2003
The numbers after the following operating systems indicate which of the above systems can be safely upgraded to on a supported hardware platform:
Windows NT 3.51 (none, sorry!)
Windows NT 4.0* Server (1, 2)
Windows NT 4.0* Terminal Server Edition (1, 2)
Windows NT 4.0* Enterprise Edition (2)
Windows 2000 Server (1, 2, 5)
Windows 2000 Advanced Server (2)
Windows 2000 Datacenter Server (3)
Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition (1,2,5)
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition (2)
Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition (3)
Windows Server 2003 Web Edition (4)
Windows Server 2003** Beta3/RC1/RC2 (1, 2, 3, 4)
Small Business Server 2000 (5)
Windows Small Business Server 2003 (5)
* Windows NT 4.0 upgrade is supported by Service Pack 5 (SP5) or later.
** Interim releases of Windows Server 2003 will upgrade to the release to manufacturer (RTM) code of same edition. For example, RC1 Standard Edition upgrades to RTM Standard Edition.
So there are tools to help you move from an NT 4 or Windows 2000 server up to the latest server operating system quickly and almost painlessly. Of course, I still recommend you do two full, complete backups before starting the upgrade – but you can do that automatically in the wee hours while you’re catching your beauty sleep!
Microsoft’s Upgrade Assistance Center (https://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/upgrading/nt4/default.mspx) is the place to go to begin to plan your journey to the latest, easiest, most secure server operating system to ever come out of Redmond. Take a look, or at least make a note to take a look in the near future.
