Migration Requirements

This article explains the steps for preparing your environment to work with the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Server service for Windows® Essential Business Server. These steps are necessary regardless of whether you chose to start the DHCP Server service during the Windows EBS Management Server installation.

If you did not have the DHCP Server service in your environment prior to installing Windows EBS, this article explains how to start using the DHCP Server service to manage IP addresses.

If you are unfamiliar with the DHCP Server service, read Background Information later in this document before you continue.

Preparing for the migration

To ensure optimal performance and reliability, you need to migrate your DHCP Server service to Windows EBS as soon as installation and DNS migration are complete. You should not perform this migration before you migrate the DNS role.

For instructions about how to migrate DNS to Windows EBS, see the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=95814).

Important

If you are migrating from Windows Small Business Server 2003 (Windows SBS), you must complete this migration and decommission your Windows SBS server within seven days of installing Windows EBS. You can extend this grace period to 21 days by installing a software update for Windows SBS 2003 that supports the “join domain” migration of Windows SBS data and settings. For additional instructions about how to migrate from Windows SBS to Windows EBS, see the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=123374).

If your existing DHCP server is running the Microsoft® Windows NT® 4.0 or Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Server operating system, the migration process requires you to temporarily install the DHCP server role on a server that is running Windows Server® 2003. (This temporary server must not already be a DHCP server.) This temporary server is needed to help migrate the scopes and settings from your existing DHCP server to the Management Server.

Time estimate

You will need approximately one hour to complete this task (two hours if your existing DHCP server runs Windows 2000 Server). The time needed depends on the number of clients with static IP addresses.

It is recommended that you perform this migration during a time when network usage is low (such as an evening or a weekend), because if there is an issue during the migration, some computers may experience network disconnections.

Decision flowchart

Study the following flowchart to determine which step-by-step instructions you should start with. It is recommended that you read all the sections before you start the migration.

If you are unsure how to answer a question in the flowchart, read How to Answer Questions in the Decision Flowchart later in this document.

Figure 1   Decision flowchart

Migration overview

The following table provides an overview of what will be migrated.

Target State	Benefit	Start State	Action
Windows EBS Management Server is the only DHCP server in your environment	Avoid IP address conflicts Receive integration benefits from Windows EBS (such as monitoring and security)	DHCP Server service is running on one or more existing servers in your environment	See Section B: Migrate scopes and settings to the Management Server or Section C: Migrate custom settings to the Management Server as directed in the decision flowchart
		No DHCP Server service in environment	See Section A: Configure clients to use the DHCP Server service
Client computers in your environment are dynamically addressed	Reduce network management cost	Client computers are already dynamically addressed	See Section B: Migrate scopes and settings to the Management Server or Section C: Migrate custom settings to the Management Server as directed in the decision flowchart
		Some client computers are statically addressed	See Section A: Configure clients to use the DHCP Server service

If something goes wrong

If something goes wrong with this migration, you can reactivate your existing DHCP server to restore network connectivity while you troubleshoot the issue.