Preparing for Windows Server 2012 R2

Successful execution of any task always begins with planning. If your job involves the migration of your organization’s IT infrastructure to Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2, you need to prepare both your environment and yourself for this task.

This chapter describes common deployment scenarios and outlines the steps involved in a typical server deployment or migration process. The chapter also examines some approaches and tools you can use for assessing the readiness of your environment for migrating to Windows Server 2012 R2.

Lessons in this chapter:

• Lesson 1: Planning for Windows Server 2012 R2
• Lesson 2: Assessing the readiness of your environment

Before you begin

To complete the practice exercises in this chapter

• You should have some familiarity with the new features and capabilities found in Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2. If you are not, see the sidebar titled “Additional Learning Resources” below.
• You need to download an evaluation version (.iso file) of Windows Server 2012 R2 from the TechNet Evaluation Center at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/evalcenter/dn205286. The evaluation version provided is Datacenter edition, but you can choose to install it as Standard edition during setup if you prefer. You will need to burn this .iso file to recordable DVD media by using a DVD writer. If your computer’s BIOS supports booting from a USB device, you could also copy the downloaded .iso file to a USB flash drive or USB external hard drive and use these media for installation purposes.
• You need to download the Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit version 9.0. You can download MAP 9.0 from the TechNet Library at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb977556.aspx.
• You need a minimum of one physical server system available for testing purposes. At least one of these servers should meet the minimum hardware requirements for installing Windows Server 2012 R2, as described at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn303418.aspx. The system hardware should also meet the minimum requirements for installing MAP 9.0.
• You need a client computer that has Microsoft Excel 2013 or Microsoft Excel 2010 installed for viewing the reports generated by MAP. If you have an Office 365 subscription, you can also use the Excel Web App for this purpose.