Sql-server – Moving and upgrading a whole SQL server instance (2008->2008R2) from a physical server to virtual server (2003->2008)

Kevin, the easiest way to bring across everything (if you are also keeping your instance name) is :-

1. Install a new SQL instance on the new server, ensuring name and paths are identical and ensuring you install all the currently installed SQL components (such as reporting services etc)
2. Patch this server to the same level as your source
3. Make a note of all the database paths on the source server (by issuing select name,physical_name from sys.master_files )
4. Stop your source SQL Server instance
5. Stop your destination SQL instance
6. Copy all database files to your new server (retaining same paths)
7. Start up your new instance (and old if you are retaining that).
8. Finally on your new instance, if you are not keeping the same machine host name then reflect this by changing the server\instance name via following this article http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143799.aspx

There are lots of guides for this type of thing on the internet. If you have time to do it properly, then the rough steps you need to go through are:

• Join the 2008 R2 computer to the domain like any normal workstation.
• Run dcpromo to make it a domain controller (this step copies the user accounts and passwords on it).
• Move important domain controller functions over to the R2 computer (find documentation).
• Make the 2008 R2 computer a DNS server and DHCP server and stop the 2003 server doing it.
• Run dcpromo to take the 2003 server away from being a domain controller, when ready.
• Move files, printers, etc to the 2008 server. No easy way to do this, you setup the shared folders, copy the data over using a tool which keeps all the permissions and file editing dates such as robocopy, then update all the computers to connect to the new server.
• Install your Autodesk and Accounting software on 2008 and move the data accross, probably with their support help.
• Check the 2003 server for last minute look for things it still does, if ok...
• Shutdown the 2003 server. See what happens.
• Keep it for a few months at least, just in case.

If it's not going to last long enough for the above, then make the 2003 server into a virtual machine on the 2008 server, either using Hyper-V or VMWare Server, assuming the new one has the disk space to handle it. Then do the above migration from the virtual machine.

A guide like this one http://blogs.dirteam.com/blogs/sanderberkouwer/archive/2008/03/02/transitioning-your-active-directory-to-windows-server-2008.aspx might well help. You'd be looking at "transitioning" not "restructuring".

Also, take backups first.