Re: SBS Migrations

[Susan Bradley, CPA aka Ebitz - SBS Rocks [MVP]]

But keep in mind that new installations means that profiles get horked,
icons moved.

This post is a bit interesting. Because quite frankly the "kit" ...
it's plain old active directory migration information. That's it.
There's no magic here. You could piece it together yourself from MS
KB's in fact.

The "kit" and value comes from Jeff holding you hand.

It teaches you in the process what active directory is all about.

Is it worth it for a small firm where there's one or two workstations?
Maybe not.

Your money here is spent on the support value. Not the kit.

Recognize it for what it is.

Iakov wrote:
> There are many queries about how to migrate one or more components of SBS
> from point A to B. A very common response to them is "sbsmigration.com."
> That kit is good, which is why people recommend it, however, it is about
> $200, has a learning curve, and so it is not exactly a plug-and-play
> quick-fix. It is over-kill unless you do many migrations. For component
> migrations like Active Directory, Exchange, and so forth, and even for an
> entire SBS migration, a much better solution is the built-in tools. One can
> export data and import back into a new installation.
>
> sbsmigration.com is not a panacea for all migrations, and so novices to SBS
> should avoid the temptation. There are other third-party solutions, but like
> sbsmigration, they also cost money and time to learn. Your time and money
> would be better spent learning about the built-in features of SBS. Each
> component has a data-management feature for backing up or exporting or
> importing data. There is one for SQL, Exchange, SharePoint, WSUS, etc.

[nordberg]

"Iakov" <Ia...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:11F2EA02-2E3B-48F9...@microsoft.com...

> There are many queries about how to migrate one or more components of SBS
> from point A to B. A very common response to them is "sbsmigration.com."
> That kit is good, which is why people recommend it, however, it is about
> $200, has a learning curve, and so it is not exactly a plug-and-play
> quick-fix. It is over-kill unless you do many migrations. For component
> migrations like Active Directory, Exchange, and so forth, and even for
> an
> entire SBS migration, a much better solution is the built-in tools. One
> can
> export data and import back into a new installation.
>
> sbsmigration.com is not a panacea for all migrations, and so novices to
> SBS
> should avoid the temptation. There are other third-party solutions, but
> like
> sbsmigration, they also cost money and time to learn. Your time and money
> would be better spent learning about the built-in features of SBS. Each
> component has a data-management feature for backing up or exporting or
> importing data. There is one for SQL, Exchange, SharePoint, WSUS, etc.

Interesting post.

I don't know how many migrations you've done, but having done somewhere
approaching 50 - half using the MS method involving the ADMT etc, and the
other half using the Swing method - I can find nothing bad to say about the
Swing method. Similarly, I can find no reason to use the "official" method
over Swing either. The "official" method leaves so much work to do with
profiles (yes there is a migration, but in my experience this works only
about 75% of the time without problems), UNC paths etc and also requires a
much greater amount of downtime than Swing.

With regard to the learning curve you refer to, if you follow the notes
to_the_letter, you are unlikely to hit many issues. I don't actually use the
kit any more. We bought it and, after a few uses, I got it down pat and
never really refer to it anymore. I do things slightly different now - my
own version of Swinging, but without the kit I would most likely be still
spending twice as long doing migrations and picking up the pieces of broken
UNC paths and messed up local profiles etc.

[SuperGumby [SBS MVP]]

NO, a person requiring a single migration is more likely to benefit from the
kit and the saving in their time than someone regularly expecting to perform
the procedure.

I KNOW!!! I developed my own migration strategy before Jeff's product became
available. I _know_ how long it took. I _know_ how long it takes to find
obscure MS KB articles. I _know_ the value of my time. I also have a decent
idea of the cost of downtime on an SBS network while someone like me works
out 'the wrinkles' in an independently developed strategy.

I also know that a single PSS call to resolve a problem with one aspect of
such a migration exceeds the cost of the Swing kit, which includes support
for the whole project.

A Swing is an AD migration. The notes also include Exchange 'forklift'. Last
I knew SQL /Sharepoint/WSUS were not covered, and sbsmigration.com makes no
claim to cover such.

I find nordberg's response elsewhere in the thread quite interesting, but
not surprising, having become familiar with the process he no longer really
needs refer to it, or possibly refers to it glancingly. This is another
'strength' of the kit, it is an enabling influence on how you address the
need at hand, use of the kit teaches the practice of structured approach.
Jeff's gift to kit owners :-)

[nordberg]

"Iakov" <Ia...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:AB324281-E466-403B...@microsoft.com...
> For which of these would you recommend sbsmigration.com? OR Which of
> these
> would you not recommend sbsmigration?
>
> i) An entire SBS migration
> ii) Active Directory migration
> iii) WSUS migration
> iv) SharePoint migration
> v) Exchange migration
> vi) Fax Services migration
> vii) SQL migration
> viii) DNS migration
> ix) IIS migration
> x) ISA migration
>
> I'm forgetting something... migration

SBS basic components (AD, Exchange, DNS) - all of these you would benefit
from using the Swing method over the "official" method.

Sharepoint - use SMigrate tool.

WSUS - use the Microsoft methodology*

Fax services - personally, I don't migrate, I just reinstall and manually
configure.

SQL - You can use the Swing guide for this I believe

IIS - Again, the Swing guide talks about this

ISA - you don't migrate, you setup

* I haven't seen the latest revision of the Swing Toolkit so I'm not best
qualified to comment on some of the elements you list....eg I don't know if
Jeff has writted a guide to migrate WSUS content and settings.

To backup what Susan already said, Swing is not a magic kit. It's a
methodology that makes use of a lot of Microsoft tools/utilities.

[Jim Behning]

ISA 2004 has a click to export settings.

Microsoft has a printer migration tool. It has worked great at one
site. Almost great at another.

[nordberg]

"Jim Behning" <jimbe...@doesthisblockpork.mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:io0bc3dc52u2n42sr...@4ax.com...

> ISA 2004 has a click to export settings.
>
> Microsoft has a printer migration tool. It has worked great at one
> site. Almost great at another.

Yes I am aware of the export in ISA but am assuming the OP was referring to
going from ISA2000 to ISA2004 - maybe not....

You are thinking of printmig.exe which does a good job. The only issue I've
ever had with it is with kernal mode drivers that W2003 hates. Depending on
the number of printers involved, I tend to tread very carefully here and
sometimes just recreate them with the same name/share etc as I've seen some
very bad things happen with legacy drivers on a new system.

[Susan Bradley, CPA aka Ebitz - SBS Rocks [MVP]]

What are you migrating from and to?

I only migrate one of those when the rest of those follow to a new
box... as everything is on the same box... and active directory
migration...to what?

IIS migration...or do you mean reinstallation? As there isn't a
"migration" other than the entire box.