Microsoft ended its mainstream support for Windows server 2003 on July 13, 2010 and now after 5 years (July 14, 2015), extended support has also ended. Though Microsoft proposed server migration plans for servers running Windows server 2003, upgrading servers is not an easy task to accomplish. It requires time and most importantly requires cost to be expended for hardware upgrades.
If you are a SMB running Windows server 2003, the end of support is definitely a big threat to your business. Not only will upgrading hardware be a big task to take on, but remaining with the same OS is also a threat (your business data will be open to security threats and flaws).
SMBs should be in serious thought on how to adapt to this sudden change. Many backup solutions have already started campaigning on how to get started with server migrations in the complex ways.
Vembu wanted to overcome this issue in the easiest way possible and has a plan that not only cuts time being spent on migration, but also saves more on cost expense while constantly improving security measures and server manageability.
Vembu plan for server migration:
- Migrating Windows 2003 servers to physical machines not only consumes time but also offers threats to lose data in case of a hardware or software failure during migration. Having constant backups of your server data should be your first priority which assures security to business data.
- Install Vembu BDR on your Windows server 2003 servers and initiate physical image backups. With the help of Vembu BDR, backups can be done completely free of cost for unlimited physical servers with no hidden charges.
- Once done backing up all your physical servers, let’s get started with migration process. Since migrating to a physical environment takes weeks of your precious time and costs more on hardware upgrade, migrating your servers to a virtual environment is a wise decision to make.
- A virtual server environment not only cut costs, but improves performance of machines with less hardware requirements and requires less human resources for managing servers. It also supports green computing with reducing heat generation caused by physical environments.
- Vembu BDR, being a universal backup product, also supports agentless backup for both VMware and Hyper-V which ensures security to business data while improving resource utilization. Vembu BDR also provides instant boot options in which you can get your VMs booted in minutes after a backup is completed.
- Restoring multiple file formats is also possible – VHD, VHDX, VMDK-Flat and IMG; Using which booting a backup across multiple virtual platforms (VMware, Hyper-V and KVM) is simplified.
Want to get started with server migration today? Try Vembu BDR for free: https://www.bdrsuite.com/try/
Have questions? Email us at vembu-support@vembu.com for answers.
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