Forum Discussion
Copying AD Users and Computers from Windows Server 2012 and Adding it to Windows Server 2016
Will this need to be installed on the old server to copy all that data?
Thanks a lot for your help!
You can follow along here with step-by-step;
Thanks. Are these the same steps for windows server 2016 ? I'm trying to create a new forest domain for the windows server 2016 so i don't mess around with the 2012 server, they are on the same network with different static ip addresses.
Yes, basically the same steps.
so i don't mess around with the 2012 server
Wow, you're creating a ton of unnecessary work. If it were me I'd use dcdiag / repadmin tools to verify health correcting all errors found before starting. Then I'd stand up the new 2016, patch it fully, license it, join existing domain, add active directory domain services, promote it also making it a GC (recommended), transfer FSMO roles over (optional), transfer pdc emulator role (optional), use dcdiag / repadmin tools to verify health, when all is good you can decommission / demote old one.
Worst-case you don't move any roles right away. Then if for some odd reason the 2016 server went south you would simply power it off and do cleanup to be exactly where you are right now.
