Overview

Article
12/19/2007

This guide is intended to be used as part of the Microsoft® Deployment Solution Accelerator, which is the next version of Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007. This guide describes key decisions and concepts about migrating desktop configurations to a new platform. Migration is not just a change from one client computer to another: It requires a considerable amount of work and people from different areas in the organization with varying skills. These changes must take place in a very organized environment, building step-by-step plans with a full view of the goal. To accomplish this change successfully, the organization must plan the migration as a full project. To create a successful migration, teams should seek advice from experts in the environment.

Note In this document, Windows applies to the Windows Vista®, Windows® XP Professional, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, Windows Server® 2008, and Windows Server 2003 operating systems unless otherwise noted.

Figure 1 provides an overview of the migration process. This document begins with the Planning Phase.

Figure 1. Overview of the migration process

Figure 1. Overview of the migration process

Prerequisites

Using this process for migrating Windows operating systems requires personnel who understand and meet certain prerequisites. Those who execute this migration process should be familiar with the following tools and concepts:

Windows User State Migration Tool (USMT) version 3.0.1
Compatible operating systems:
- Source computers running the Windows operating system
- Destination computers running the Windows operating system
Available space for temporary storage of files and sufficient space on the destination computer
Appropriate privileges to migrate user state
Appropriate privileges to install applications
Appropriate privileges to access the necessary network shares
Appropriate software licenses
Appropriate source files or install binaries for applications to migrate
Microsoft Deployment

Lab Setup

Effective testing requires a full lab, which is assembled to allow for migration of user state and applications. For the Migration feature team to fully test the migration process, the lab must resemble as closely as possible the production environment, including hardware, software, and the Active Directory® directory services environment.

For success in the lab and migration process, Migration feature team members must meet the following knowledge and experience requirements:

Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) certification
Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) certification in Windows Vista
MCP certification in Windows XP
Windows Server 2008 experience
Windows Server 2003 running in a Windows Server domain
Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 Release 2 (R2) or Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 (if the team intends to use a virtual environment to reduce hardware costs)
Understanding of the interaction issues between Windows Server and Windows client computers
Understanding of the interaction issues between computers running Windows Server and their network components
Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 experience
Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 experience
Testing methodologies, processes, and practices (including creating test plans; test cases; and white box, black box, and gray box testing)
Deployment technologies used with current Windows operating systems

Create the Lab

An effective lab environment requires an isolated, secure environment in which data can be assembled, stored, analyzed, tested, and manipulated. Creating a lab environment early in the process is a key feature to the migration plan’s success.

Include the following elements in the lab environment:

Permanent, dedicated space
Isolation from the production corporate network and the Internet by firewalls
Internet access
A common, 100-megabits-per-second (Mbps) switched Ethernet infrastructure
Common service components, such as:
- Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
- Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS)
- Domain Name System (DNS)
- Windows Deployment Services
- File share services
- CD-ROM or DVD drive
System Center Configuration Manager
Systems Management Server 2003
Microsoft Deployment
USMT version 3.0.1
Microsoft Virtual Server Migration Tool (VSMT), which requires Windows Server 2003, Automated Deployment Services (ADS) version 1.0, and does not support x64 or Itanium-based platforms

Build the Lab

The lab should be a dedicated workspace for Migration feature team members. The environment should realistically simulate the services and hardware found in the production environment either in a virtual machine (VM) environment or on hardware limited to the hardware targeted for deployment. The lab must be isolated from the production network by network switch virtual local area network (VLAN) technology, use of a firewall, or a completely separate network environment (recommended). Isolating the team prevents cross-pollination of data into the production network environment, which can create catastrophic problems such as data loss.

Storage Requirements

Storage requirements are subject to the needs of the individual organization. When planning the storage needs for the lab environment, the Migration feature team should allow space for:

Storing the Microsoft Deployment component files.
The volume-licensed media.
Source files for various application software media.
The images built during testing.
Backing up virtual hard disks. (At a minimum, space for three sets of virtual server environment backups must be available: one for the baseline, or “golden,” image, one for temporary backup files, and one for a fully configured environment.)

Allow a minimum of 200 gigabytes (GB) on the deployment server.

Virtual Machine Recommendations

Be aware that memory and storage requirements can become scarce when running large numbers of VMs. Large numbers of VMs also use a considerable amount of resources:

Allow 512 megabytes (MB) of RAM per VM unless the simulated computer requires more (especially server VMs).
Allow enough storage space on the virtual hard disk to hold the operating system, applications, and user state.
Allow enough memory for the number of VMs used.
Consider putting the VMs on a separate storage spindle—even a storage area network (SAN), if one is available.

To simulate server hardware from know to unknown, use VSMT. Using this tool, team members can create a VM with the same hardware and drivers used in the production environment. VMs can provide considerable cost savings when the team is trying to simulate the migration of heavily used applications, such as e-mail services or highly available database services.

If the team is considering using VSMT in the environment, additional resources and services are required to create the images. For more information on using VSMT, see Virtual Server 2005 Migration Toolkit at https://www.microsoft.com/technet/virtualserver/downloads/vsmt.mspx#ERC.

Staging Requirements

Create a staging area that houses all the source files required for the VMs; this area should reside where all the VMs can reach it for the required files on the shares. Also consider making the environment simulate all the different bandwidth requirements of the production environment. For example, if the team is testing migration on a 100 Mbps Ethernet network but a T1 or Fractional T1 network link exists in the testing environment, the deployment test and production deployment will not match.

Education and References

The following educational and reference resources—all of which are available in Microsoft Deployment—can assist in training Migration feature team members:

Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Imaging Guide
Preparing for Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007
Toolkit Reference
Image Customization Guide
Image Customization Desktop Samples
Image Customization Server Samples (for later releases)
User State Migration Guide