The following table outlines the supported upgrade paths that are available to upgrade to Windows Server 2008 storage keeping units (SKUs).
Notes- Unless otherwise specified, all SKUs that are included in this article are x86 and x64 versions.
- No upgrade paths are available for Windows Server Web Edition.
Current operating system | Supported path |
Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition
Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition that has Service Pack 1 (SP1) installed
Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition that has Service Pack 2 (SP2) installed
Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition Release Candidate 0 (RC0)
| Full installation of Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition
Full installation of Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition
|
Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition that has Service Pack 1 (SP1) installed
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition that has Service Pack 2 (SP2) installed
Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition Release Candidate 0 (RC0) | Full installation of Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition |
Windows Server 2003 R2 Datacenter Edition
Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition that has Service Pack 1 (SP1) installed
Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition that has Service Pack 2 (SP2) installed
Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Edition Release Candidate 0 (RC0) | Full installation of Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Edition |
Other Considerations for Upgrade Scenarios
This section discusses considerations for upgrading Active Directory domain controllers and server applications.
Upgrading Active Directory Domain Controllers
The upgrade process from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008 requires free disk space for the new operating system image, for the Setup process, and for any installed server roles.
For the domain controller role, the volume(s) hosting the following resources also have specific free disk space requirements:
- Application data (%AppData%)
- Program files (%ProgramFiles%)
- Users' data (%SystemDrive%\Documents and Settings
- Windows directory (%WinDir%)
The free space on the %WinDir% volume must be equal or greater than the current size of the resources that are listed and their subordinate folders when they are located on the %WinDir% volume. By default, dcpromo includes the Active Directory database and log files under %Windir%. In this scenario, their size would be included in the free disk space requirements for the %Windir% folder.
However, if the Active Directory database is hosted outside any of the folders here, the hosting volume(s) must only contain additional free space equal to at least 10% of the current Active Directory database size or 250 MB, whichever is larger.
The free space on the volume that hosts the log files must be at least 50 MB.
When you install Active Directory service in Windows Server 2003, the Active Directory database and log files are installed, by default, under the %WinDir%\NTDS folder. In this scenario, the NTDS.DIT database file and all the log files are temporarily copied to the quarantine location and then copied back to their original location. Therefore, additional free disk space is required for the resources. However, the SYSVOL directory that is also located under the %WinDir% directory is moved and not copied. Therefore, it requires no additional free space.
After the upgrade, the space that was reserved for the copied resources will be returned to the file system.
Upgrading Server applications
Because of fundamental changes that are implemented in Windows Server 2008, some server applications may require pre-upgrade and post-upgrade preparation. In some cases, the server applications must be removed before upgrading from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008 and reinstalled after the upgrade.
Exchange Server
You cannot install Exchange Server 2007 on Windows Server 2008. You can install Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1) on Windows Server 2008.
When you upgrade stand-alone servers, you cannot upgrade your operating system to Windows Server 2008 and then upgrade Exchange Server 2007 to Exchange Server 2007 SP1. You also cannot upgrade Exchange Server 2007 to Exchange Server 2007 SP1 and then upgrade your operating system to Windows Server 2008.
To deploy Exchange 2007 SP1 on Windows Server 2008, you must install Windows Server 2008 on a computer that does not have Exchange Server 2007 installed, and then install Exchange 2007 SP1.
SQL Server
No pre-upgrade or post-upgrade preparation is required to upgrade Windows Server 2003-based computers that are running Microsoft SQL Server.
SharePoint Server
You can upgrade a Windows Server 2003-based computer that is running Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services to Windows Server 2008. Typically, Windows Server 2003-based computer that is running SharePoint Server 2007 to Windows Server 2008 is a supported upgrade scenario.
Office Communications Server
Currently, upgrade of Windows Server 2003-basedcomputers that are running Office Communications Server 2007 to Windows Server 2008 is not supported. Later versions of Windows Server 2008 may support such upgrades.
Failover Clustering
Currently, upgrade of Windows Server 2003-based computers that are configured for failover clustering to Windows Server 2008 is not supported.
Other Applications
Application teams are currently testing their products to determine supportability for upgrade scenarios. This information will be provided when the information becomes available.