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From: Grant Taylor on 2 Jul 2010 00:10
Dusko Savatovic wrote:
> If it's an older server, chances are that disks are much smaller
> capacity than what is usual today.

Agreed.

> Anyway I would clone both system disk and data disks (RAID) and then
> proceed with cloned disks. I wouldn't touch the old equipment to avoid
> damaging something.

I'm not sure if this is what Dusko was getting at or not, but here's
what I had in mind when I started reading his post, which is close.

1) Clone the old system to a single drive.
2) Swap the motherboard with one as close as you can realistically get.
3) Remove the RAID controller / disconnect the old drives.
4) Try booting the system off of the cloned drive using the new
motherboard and see what happens.

If it turns out that you only need to update a few drivers (never
touching the HAL) you might be good to go.

If everything goes well enough, simply hook up the old RAID and repeat
the driver touching process.

Remember to make plenty of backups along the way. The more the better.
You can always find uses for the extra temporary drives.

> Another option is to go virtual. Get yourself a modern powerfull server
> and get a virtualization product of your choice. Both Hyper-V and VMWare
> have very good P2V (physical-to-virtual) solutions. The transition can
> be very fast with right tools. If you're uncomfortable, perhaps you can
> hire someone for the job.

Another good option.

Chances are very good that the system will perform better as a virtual
machine running on new hardware than simply repairing the old hardware.
Plus, you will have new features for the future.

> Good luck

I second that.

Oh ya, make sure that you have plenty of time and safety nets that you
can back out. Nothing is worse than having a server that is running,
even if it is limping along, and turning it in to one that has fallen
flat on it's face. :-(



Grant. . . .
From: Dusko Savatovic on 2 Jul 2010 05:16
I kinda forgot about a title "Changing a motherboard..." and switched to my
line of thinking "Replacing a server..."

I would definitely recommend replacing a server with a new one.
I would use all possible excuses to avoid repairing the old one.

I would buy a new server with Windows Server 2008 R2 and go to Hyper-V.
Depending on your budget you can buy:
Standard Edition which allows one physical + one virtual instance of Windows
Server 2008 R2.
Enterprise Edition which allows running one physical + four virtual
instances of Windows Server 2008 R2.

P2V is included in System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM). If you
don't want to buy that, you may ask (hire) someone who has it, to do the P2V
conversion for you.
http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/en/us/virtual-machine-manager/vmm-features.aspx

If you don't want to buy Windows Server 2008 R2, you can download a free
product Hyper-V Server 2008 R2.
http://www.microsoft.com/hyper-v-server/en/us/default.aspx

However, this freebie works only with a text mode console, so you should be
comfortable with command line tools and some scripting (there are few
interesting downloads (scripts) that make command line management easier).

And yeah, Grants last advice is mine too.
Beware, you may be turned into a scapegoat.


"Grant Taylor" <gtaylor(a)riverviewtech.net> wrote in message
news:i0jos1$8re$1(a)tncsrv01.tnetconsulting.net...
> Dusko Savatovic wrote:
>> If it's an older server, chances are that disks are much smaller capacity
>> than what is usual today.
>
> Agreed.
>
>> Anyway I would clone both system disk and data disks (RAID) and then
>> proceed with cloned disks. I wouldn't touch the old equipment to avoid
>> damaging something.
>
> I'm not sure if this is what Dusko was getting at or not, but here's what
> I had in mind when I started reading his post, which is close.
>
> 1) Clone the old system to a single drive.
> 2) Swap the motherboard with one as close as you can realistically get.
> 3) Remove the RAID controller / disconnect the old drives.
> 4) Try booting the system off of the cloned drive using the new
> motherboard and see what happens.
>
> If it turns out that you only need to update a few drivers (never touching
> the HAL) you might be good to go.
>
> If everything goes well enough, simply hook up the old RAID and repeat the
> driver touching process.
>
> Remember to make plenty of backups along the way. The more the better.
> You can always find uses for the extra temporary drives.
>
>> Another option is to go virtual. Get yourself a modern powerfull server
>> and get a virtualization product of your choice. Both Hyper-V and VMWare
>> have very good P2V (physical-to-virtual) solutions. The transition can be
>> very fast with right tools. If you're uncomfortable, perhaps you can hire
>> someone for the job.
>
> Another good option.
>
> Chances are very good that the system will perform better as a virtual
> machine running on new hardware than simply repairing the old hardware.
> Plus, you will have new features for the future.
>
>> Good luck
>
> I second that.
>
> Oh ya, make sure that you have plenty of time and safety nets that you can
> back out. Nothing is worse than having a server that is running, even if
> it is limping along, and turning it in to one that has fallen flat on it's
> face. :-(
>
>
>
> Grant. . . .

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