SBS2003 R2 to SBS 2003 - to swing or not to swing....

"Jeff Middleton [SBS-MVP]" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Jim,
>
> This is a far more complex project than most people realize until they
> have not only down a lab test run-through, but also actually put a
> production domain through to completion at which point you actually
> comprehend how much is going on.
>
> Jim, I also want to make an initial response on a comment you made
> earlier.
.....>
> To a great degree, to appreciate the full value of doing a Swing Migration
> it becomes necessary to get your head around what the Microsoft whitepaper
> migration really encompasses. I generally tell people who want a
> comparison that they should first go print the MS Whitepaper, then follow
> all the links in it to print those references as well. Print the Release
> Notes, and then go find all the updated details from the SBSblog. Still
> not done, go run the SBS BPA and start looking at everything it says to
> do, and then don't forget to ask around a bit more. The Swing It!! Kit is
> intended to replace that experience with one that is compiled, organized
> and optimized for the first time SBS migration project or the consultant
> doing it repeatedly.

This resonates well for me. I didn't do a full-scale test migration. I did
build an SBS 2008 install on my new hardware and bring it fully up to
date--and that time paid off in the final migration when the initial install
blue-screened several times. I knew there was nothing wrong with the
hardware and that it was fully compatible with the OS, so I was able to
concentrate on vendor-specific driver updates, and that cured the
blue-screen crash issue swiftly.

Indeed, the Microsoft document is far deeper than the 80+ pages or so you
start with--to complete the migration and get clean BPA results there are KB
articles (and comments to the KB articles!) that you must read and follow to
clean things up--steps that look like a simple bullet point have hours of
depth involved with live data. It is a complex project, and you have to
read carefully and sometimes "between the lines."

I was intrigued the other day to see that Microsoft appeared to be
publishing a revised version of the migration document. However, at that
time the revised document wasn't, in fact posted. I'll have to go back and
see if that's changed--I'll be interested to see what changes they've made
from what I worked with.

Thanks again for the useful posts.

Thanks, guys. I work 28 hours a week for the outfit I migrated, and I did
the work within that 28 hour time frame--maybe there was some comp time
earned...

(30 users, new hardware, but no extras!)

I'll forward these to my immediate boss, he'll be pleased.


"Gavin" <> wrote in message
news:heu44u$t27$...
> On 2009-11-29 15:14:01 +0000, Leythos <> said:
>
>> In article <>,
>> says...
>>> $200, as Susan pointed out, is ridiculously low for a migration, even
>>> for a
>>> friend.
>>>
>>
>> That's almost funny, $200 for a migration. We charge between $2,000 and
>> $3,000 for migrations from 03 to 08 and most consider that cheap.
>
> *ding*
>
> We rolled over a 30 user site with new hardware, and charged it out at £80
> per hour, per engineer.
>
> They were happy with that. Although we also provided 4 virtual servers, a
> new TS, a new mail archiver and a Blackberry Server.
>
> --
> Gavin. MCSE, MCITP, MSTS  ACSP 10.5
> http://www.stoof.co.uk
> http://www.twitter.com/gavin_wilby
>