Upgrade from Windows Server 2003 Domain Controller to Windows Server 2008

In-Place Upgrade from Windows Server 2003 Domain Controller to Windows Server 2008 Published : December 20, 2007 Last Updated : December 20, 2007 Introduction I have been using Windows Server 2003 for years and I believe its time to shift and try using Windows Server 2008, I have downloaded RC0 and decided to Upgrade my Domain Controller, which is also a DNS & DHCP Server to Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition RC0. In this article, I will show you step by step how to perform an in-place upgrade for a Domain Controller from Windows Server 2003 To Windows Server 2008 RC0

Note: This article was written when Windows Server 2008 was still RC0. Changes might occur later once the product is RTM'd Upgrade Steps On you Windows Server 2003 DC, insert the Windows Server 2008 DVD, and then open command prompt and run the following commands, make sure first to browse to the adprep directory inside the Windows 2008 DVD , in my case case, the F drive is the DVD Drive letter, so to browse to the adprep directory I would write the following inside cmd: cd f:\sources\adprerp adprep/ forestprep adprep/ domainprep adprep/ rodcprep (Optional, if you plan to add a Read Only Domain Controller Later) If the Install Windows page did not auto run before the previous step, double click on your DVD drive where you have inserted the Windows Server 2008 DVD, then Click on Install now A please wait screen will be followed, then a page to decide what to do, either to go online and get the latest updates for installation or to skip going online by clicking on the Do not get the latest updates for installation option I will perform the updates later, so for the purpose of this article, I will click on Do not get the latest updates for installation Enter the product key, click Next Accept the license terms and click on Next What we need to do is to upgrade our server, so click on the Upgrade option The compatibility report will be displayed telling you what hardware might not function once upgrade is completed , also to check with software vendors to check if their software are compatible with Windows Server 2008. click Next Upgrade is now in process The Server will be restarted automatically several times, the Upgrade process will continue with the remaining operations: Expanding Files Installing Features and updates Completing Upgrade After multiple restarts, the Upgrade process will be completed and you will be able to start using your Windows Server 2008. Summary In this article, I showed you how to do an in-place upgrade for Windows Server 2003 Domain Controller to Windows Server 2008. The steps are easy and straightforward, just make sure while reading the compatibility report, if any of the hardware/software installed on your Server are compatible with Windows Server 200

Using Windows Server 2008 as a Workstation

Using Windows Server 2008 as a Workstation Published : April 22, 2008 Last Updated : April 22, 2008       Introduction Many administrators used Windows Server 2003 as their daily workstation, either on their desktops or laptops. Well this will be the same with Windows Server 2008. In this article, I'm going to show you how to disable/enable few options and features in Windows Server 2008 so that you can use it as if it were a client operating system, with the advantage of having it as a server operating system, benefiting from using its different roles and features .

I recently bought a new 64bit laptop, so that I can install Windows Server 2008 with Hyper-V, and use it as my daily operating system on my laptop. I intend to disable few options and enable other in order to experience the Windows Vista visual appearance, plus removing the extra security features that one do not need on its client operating system. The options I'm going to deal with in this article are : Disable Shutdown Event Tracker Disable Password Complexity Requirement Disable IE Enhanced Security Remove the requirement to click CTRL+ALT+DEL Install Desktop Experience Feature Install Windows Search Feature Enable Audio Service Adjust For Best Performance of Programs Disable Shutdown Event Tracker Click on Start > Run Type gpedit.msc > OK , this will open Local Group Policy Editor Expand Computer Configuration  > Expand Administrative Templates > Click on System Double click on Display Shutdown Event Tracker  > Select Disable > Click OK Close Local Group Policy Editor Disable Password Complexity Requirement Many users had difficulty to logon to Windows Server 2008 when they completed installing it and never knew how to log on to it, this was discussed in the article How To Log On To Windows Server 2008 Well, as we are going to use Windows Server 2008 as a workstation, and we might have family members that would use this workstation, we do not wish to force them to create complex passwords. So to disable the requirement of the password complexity, follow these steps : Click Start > Run, type gpedit.msc > click OK Expand Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Account Policies > Password Policy From the right side pane, double click on Password must meet complexity requirements > Select Disable > Click OK Disable IE Enhanced Security Configuration ( IE ESC ) By Default, IE ESC is enabled for the administrators and for the users as well. It configures a number of security settings that define how users browse Internet and intranet web sites, it also reduces the exposure to websites that might pose a security risk. This enhanced level of security can prevent website from displaying correctly in Internet Explorer and restrict access to network resources. I do not wish to get prompted for every site I visit to add it to the trusted sites zone, that's why I prefer to disable it. To disable it : Open Server Manager > Security Information > click on Configure IE ESC You can disable it for both administrators and users, or just anyone of these groups. Make your selection and then click on OK Remove the requirement to click CTRL+ALT+DEL Click on Start > Run Type gpedit.msc > OK , this will open Local Group Policy Editor Expand Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options Double click on Interactive logon : Do not require CTRL+ALT+DEL, and select Enabled > click OK Install Desktop Experience Feature I have covered the Desktop Experience feature in a previous article, check it here Windows Server 2008 Desktop Experience Feature Install Windows Search Service I will be using MS Outlook on my machine, and I will need to search my emails. MS Outlook relies on Windows Search Service, so to install it : Click Start > Server Manager From the left side pane, click on Roles > then from the right side page, click on Add Roles On the Before your Begin page, click Next From the list of available Roles, select File Services > Click Next On the Introduction to File Services page, click Next On the Select Role Services page, select Windows Search Service, click Next ( Note: Deselect the File Server role ) Optionally, you can enable Indexing on selected volumes, select the volume(s) you would like to enable indexing on and then click Next, note that if you do not wish to enable indexing on any of the drives, then do not select any drive and just click Next > Install Enable Windows Audio Service By default, audio is disabled on Windows Server 2008, and you can notice that there is a red x on the audio icon in the notification area To enable audio, click on Start > Run  > Type services.msc > Click Ok Double click on the Windows Audio service Click on Start button, and set the Startup type to Automatic > Click Apply > Click Ok Now you will notice that the audio icon in the notification area is turned to green. Adjust For Best Performance of Programs For best performance as a workstation, I choose to allocate processor resources for programs more than background services. Click Start then right click on Computer and click on Properties From the left side pane, under Tasks, click Advanced system settings Under Performance, click the Settings button Click on the Advanced Tab, and then select adjust for best performance of Programs, Click OK > OK Summary Personally, I prefer using Windows Server 2008 as my daily operating system on my laptop. It performs much better than any client operating system and it has the Hyper-V role that enables me to have Client and Server operating systems as Virtual Machines. By disabling few options and enabling others, you will be experiencing the Windows Vista visual appearance, and have the feeling that you are working with a client operating system.

Enabling Wireless Networking In Windows Server 2008

Published : August 22, 2008 Last Updated : August 22, 2008 Introduction You deployed Windows Server 2008 on your server machine, then you installed a Wireless Network Adapter to the machine, and tried to connect to a wireless network through the Wireless NIC but noticed that its status is always Disabled ! Or what about if you have a laptop with Windows Server 2008 installed on it, and you found out that its Wireless Connection is disabled and can not be enabled ! Are you wondering why ? Well, this is because by default, Wireless Networking is disabled in Windows Server 2008. To Enable it, you have to install its required Feature. In fact, this is the beauty of Windows Server 2008. Most Features/Services are disabled by default, if you do not need it , keep it disabled, and at any time, if you ever needed any feature/service , all you have to do is to install its required feature or enable its service.

If you opened Network Connections page, you will notice that the Wireless Network Connection is disabled by default. Even if you have tried to right click it and Enable, it will remain disabled.

( To open the Network Connections page, click on Start > Network, click on the Network and Sharing Center button, then under Tasks, click on Manage Network Connections )

To enable Wireless Networking in Windows Server 2008, you have to install the Wireless LAN Service Feature

1. Open Server Manager, Click on Start > Server Manager , or Start > Administrative Tools > Server Manager
   
   
   
   
2. From the left side pane, click on Features
   
   
    
3. From the Features page, click on Add Features
   
   
   
   
4. From the list of available features, scroll down the list and enable the checkbox beside Wireless LAN Service, then click Next
   
   
   
   
5. On the Confirm Installation Selections page, click on Install
   
   
   
   Installation will start
   
   
   
   Once installation is completed, click on Close
   
   
   
   
6. Go back to the Network Connections page, and you will notice that the Wireless Network Connection's status has changed from Disabled to Not Connected ( If it didn't show as Not Connected, then right click on the Wireless Network Connection and click on Enable )
   
   
   
7. To connect to a Wireless Network, right click on the Wireless Network Connection and click on Connect/Disconnect
   
   
   
   
8. The list of available wireless connection(s) will be displayed. Choose any and click Connect. You might be requested to enter the shared key if any security settings are set on the Wireless Connection. Or you might need to setup the wireless connection manually, as some Wireless Networks hides their SSID.
   
   
   
   As you can see, Wireless Networking is enabled now on my laptop.
   
   
   

Summary

By default, Wireless Networking is disabled in Windows Server 2008. To enable it, you have to install its required Feature, which is called Wireless LAN Service.

Related Links

Using Windows Server 2008 as a Workstation

Enabling Wireless Network for a Hyper-V Virtual Machine

Introduction By default, Hyper-V does not have any wireless capability, we simply can not attach a wireless adapter to a Hyper-V child virtual machine ! Imagine  yourself in a situation where you need internet connection to your virtual machines, and there is no network cables or switches around you so that you can connect your virtual machine to the network ! or you could be someone like me who uses his machine for presentations and demos, what we can do in these situations, is to simply share the Internet connection from the wireless adapter on the parent server (host).

Note : Before proceeding, you will need to enable wireless networking on Windows Server 2008, read my article Enabling Wireless Networking In Windows Server 2008 . In this article, we will be completing three steps: Step 1. Setup virtual networks : In this step we will be creating a new virtual network adapter Step 2. Add a network adapter to the virtual machine : In this step we will connect the new virtual adapter that we have created in the previous step to the Virtual Machine. Step 3. Share the wireless network connection  : In this step we will share the Wireless Network Adapter on the parent server (host), and choose to share it with the New Virtual Network that we have created in step1. Now that we have an idea about what we are going to do, lets start with step # 1. Step 1. Setup your Virtual Networks Virtual Network Manager enables you to create and manage virtual networks. The following table describes the available settings of Virtual Network Manager: Setting Description External Creates a connection to a physical network adapter so that virtual machines can access a physical network. Internal Provides communications between the virtualization server and virtual machines. Private Provides communications between virtual machines only. We first need to create a new internal virtual network adapter, to allow communication between the parent (host) and the child. This is done using Virtual Network Manager. To do this, follow these steps: Open the Hyper-V Manager ( Click on Start > Administrative Tools > Click on Hyper-V Manager ) From the right side pane, click on Virtual Network Manager... Add caption From the right side pane, select New virtual network , then under Create virtual network, select Internal and click Add Give a meaningful name to the new virtual network adapter, then click on OK Going to the parent's (host machine) network connection page, you will noticed that a new network card is listed there now. If you want, rename this network adapter to something more meaningful, something like VLAN1 Publish Post Right click on the network adapter, and click on Rename > type the new name for the Network Adapter (VLAN1) Step 2. Add a network adapter to the virtual machine To add a network adapter to a Hyper-V virtual machine, make sure that your virtual machine is turned off and then follow these steps : Open Hyper-V Manager  ( Click on Start > Administrative Tools > Click on Hyper-V Manager ) In the middle pane, under Virtual Machines, select the virtual machine that you want to add to it a network adapter. In the right side pane ( Action pane ), under the selected virtual machine name, click Settings... In the left side pane, make sure that Add Hardware is selected, and on the Add Hardware page, choose a Network Adapter or a Legacy Network Adapter ( Choose Network Adapter if you have already installed Integration Services on your virtual machine, if you have not yet installed it, then choose Legacy Network Adapter ). I didn't install the Integration services yet, so I'm going to choose Legacy Network Adapter and click Add From the drop down list, select the name of the virtual adapter that we have created earlier in step 1 (Internal Only NIC) and then click on OK Step 3. Share the wireless network connection Open the parent's (host) Control Panel and open Network and Sharing Center Click on Manage Network Connections Select the network adapter that you use to access the Internet. I use Windows Server 2008 as my daily OS on my laptop, that's why I always use the wireless connection. Right click on the wireless network adapter, click on Properties then click on the Sharing Tab Select the checkbox beside Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection. And from the drop down list, select the Virtual network adapter that we have previously created in step 1 (VLAN1) and the network connections will look like this ( notice the word shared beside the wireless network adapter ) Your virtual machine is now connected to the internet !! Give it a try and check for your self. Summary Many times you find yourself in a situation where you need internet connection for your virtual machines. For example I use my personal laptop daily which has Windows Server 2008 on it, and I use this laptop for presentations and demos. So for providing my virtual machines with internet connection, I simply share my wireless connection with my virtual machines using the steps shown in this article. Related Links Enabling Wireless Networking In Windows Server 2008