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Well it is here it took some time but now you can start testing with the Xenapp Essentials. Is it any good and Can I use it for production. Well I was a little disappointed  I was charged upfront and the VM image I used was not usable because the Xenapp Essentials can’t handle Azure managed disks, As azure is pushing use managed disk. is Citrix Xenapp Essentials not capable of using managed disk. therefore I had to rebuild a new Image. The look and feel is the same as in Azure RemoteApp the nice thing is you can change sizing and scaling and to save money a time schedule. But for testing in a MSDN subscription I hate the upfront billing and Citrix did not tell this.

But why not build a RDS farm in Azure ? will show this in a the post below and using a Profile Cluster in Azure is also supported.

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server-docs/compute/remote-desktop-services/rds-storage-spaces-direct-deployment

For those who are unfamiliar with Azure Remote App check my blog post below.

https://robertsmit.wordpress.com/2014/06/20/microsoft-azure-hybrid-deployment-of-remoteapp-step-by-step-azure-microsoft-remoteapp-mvpbuzz-rds-hrdaas/

In this part I show you how to set things up. there are multiple ways and each has is own choices. Citrix is delivering a default Image and this is a Windows 2012 Image, well I’m not going for a default image but a custom. this need some work. This will be a log blog post and tons of pictures in it, As I tried to do step by step but some items you just need to know in Azure. Else it is gonna be a real long blog. But If you need more info on any item just ping me.

Well first I thought lets do this and writ a quick blog on hoe great this is. The amount off steps it took to get thing running is more than I expected. but it is not a bad thing. But be prepared it takes time!

The interesting part is should I use the Same Image or is there an easy migration path. Well it all depends as most things in IT.

The Deployment Xenapp Essentials workflow in just 7 tiles you are done. but some tiles takes several other little steps.

Do you want to stay on Windows server 2012R2 ? Well I don’t think so but there are good reasons to migrate as is but will this work. As this blog post is just on how to setup the Citrix Xenapp Essentials, the next post would be this integration and migration

As the Citrix Xenapp Essentials is in the Azure market place we also need a Citrix Account.

You can easily create a new Citrix Cloud by going to the following site: https://onboarding.cloud.com

there are a couple of questions and then you are ready to use the account.

In case you have an issue with your account just open a support ticket and the Citrix Support will fix your issue quickly.

So In the Azure portal you can add the Citrix to the menu and go from there.

You can only manage from here and not add any this, so go to the Azure Marketplace (click NEW or  +)  do a Citrix search.

Select the Citrix XenApp Essentials

Do Create. and pick a name for the resource and use or create a resource group.

Give it a name and create or use an existing Resource Group.

As things are default you can change it and read the Text. Default it creates 25 users  Cost Estimate : $456.25 per month

Well for my demo I don’t need 25 users In need just 1.

Oh the minimum usage is 25 Ok then I need 25 users.

Pricing

$12.00 per user per month for XenApp Essentials Service, including Citrix NetScaler Gateway Service for secure access and 1 GB data transfer per user per month.

Users added today will be charged at the a prorated rate of $11.60 for the remainder of the current month. This amount will be charged immediately.

$6.25 per user per month for Microsoft Remote Access fee to use XenApp Essentials Service without purchasing a separate RDS CAL for this workload. Contact your Microsoft representative to bring your own RDS CAL.

Users added today will be charged at the a prorated rate of $6.04 for the remainder of the current month. This amount will be charged immediately.

You can purchase additional 25 GB Data Transfer Add-on. The cost is $12.00 per add-on per month

When you add users and data transfer add-on to the service, the new charges apply immediately. You can change the number of users and data transfer add-on each month. Your subscription renews automatically at the end of each month unless canceled.

Well the deployment took 6 seconds. that is the Place holder and not the VM’s self An order may take up to 4 hours to provision your service.

Shown from the Azure Portal

Visit Citrix Cloud to simplify the provisioning, on-going management and monitoring of Windows apps hosted on Azure. Here in the Azure portal, purchase additional seats and data transfer add-ons on-demand to meet the needs of a dynamic workforce.

Manage through Citrix Cloud

An order may take up to 4 hours to provision your service, and you will receive an email from the Citrix Cloud when your service is ready. If you do not receive an email within this time, please contact Citrix Support

Log into the XA Essentials Portal https://essentials.apps.cloud.com/

If you need more users you can add them in Azure.

Log into the XA Essentials Portal https://essentials.apps.cloud.com/

An order may take up to 4 hours to provision your service, and you will receive an email from the Citrix Cloud when your service is ready. If you do not receive an email within this time, please contact Citrix Support

In almost 4 hours I got the email 

Your Citrix product has been shipped via electronic delivery on April 01, 2017, to the email specified on your
purchase order.
Your Citrix order is completely fulfilled. All items on your purchase order have been shipped to the requested
address.

 

Depending on your other Citrix product you choose the Xenapp Service.

There are 3 steps needed Linking the Subscription and upload a master Image and last create your catalog.

 

 

The Microsoft login dialog box us prompting for credentials . You mus use an account that has admin privileges to your Azure Subscription.

Remember : If your user account is not working. the Account MUST be an Azure AD Account.

Next step is creating the XA Essentials Catalog. In these steps the Image will be mounted ,AD connections ,Network,Applications.

A important step with full of options. To setup XA Essentials you need:

• Azure Subscription
• Resource Group’s for Cloud connector,Images,etc but you can also use just one Resource Group
• Domain Controller with Active Directory Domain Services and DNS
• Virtual Network configured for domain usage
• A Subnet with free IP addresses

Click Create Catalog.

   

Select the Network and the Resource group

 

As I need some extra resources for creating Image I’ll use Extra Storage accounts

Image Requirements

Use the following requirements to create a custom image:

• Create the image by using Azure Resource Manager.
• Configure the image to use standard (not premium) storage.
• Select Windows Server 2012 R2 or later.
• Install and configure your apps
• Install the Server OS VDA. You can download the VDA by using the Downloads link on the navigation bar.
• Shut down the virtual machine and note the VHD location. Do not Sysprep the image.

And DON’T use Managed Storage accounts for a Custom Image in Xenapp Essentials Can’t use this in the Citrix Images #Fail.

and a good thing there is a brake on my Azure credits. Not for the blog. Seems Citrix is charging upfront. another Failure #Fail but this is only on my MSDN subscription. at this point I can’t finish my blog post #GRRRRR

So but the nice thing are picking my machine type like an G5 just for fun or needed.

Using a default VM as a D2 and for a default of 25 users. Think again and see your Perf resources right now. the cost will be at least the double for 25 users.

Scale settings For my Current Costumers we had a custom script in place for Automatic Scaling of Remote Desktop Session Hosts in Azure Virtual Machines

https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/Automatic-Scaling-of-9b4f5e76/view/Discussions

but in Citrix it is all there Currently it is maximized to 200 users but If I build more collections I can scale up even in the test environment

yes there are flaws in it but it is a replacement for ARA. second building this could take up some time but as you already paid for a month that renewing every month! 

the pricing is as described on the citrix site

Requires 25 user minimum. Includes NetScaler Gateway Service with 1 GB Data transfer per user per month.  Additional NetScaler Gateway Service 25 GB Data transfer Add-on available for $12 per pack per month
Available from Azure Marketplace when purchasing XenApp Essentials. Please consult your Microsoft representative to bring your own RDS CAL.

 

So there are now a couple options build a RDS farm in Azure good for large Company’s  or who are in need of more flexibility or using Citrix XenApp essentials and will microsoft come with an replacement for Azure remote App, when checking my blog post I see a huge hit on Azure RDS. the Citrix solution isn’t that cheap and has a minimum of 25 users. but building it you self it could be done on 1 server but the price will be more than $486 but who wants to run >2 users on a D2. when using SaaS applications or other Webbase stuff the 3 Gb memory and 14% or more CPU usage is not uncommon

Cheap No use full yes and an Azure Remote App Replacement yes Perfect absolutely NOT

In my next post I will do a dive deep into some configuration issues. see this like Azure RDS vs CXE.

 

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When building complex network configurations with Server 2016 you will need to adjust sometimes configuration settings that are not that easily to change in the GUI.

Suppose I have a big S2D cluster Or a NLB farm

In this configuration I have a Cluster that is using Storage spaces direct #S2D but On the SMB nic I don’t want to connect with RDP 

Or in the NLB farm I want to use a NLB nic that is used for RDP.

with the  Get-NetIPInterface we get a listing of the networks

Get-NetAdapter shows us the name and nic name

Our net step is list the current configuration and his settings for the Ports, in this case RDP

# list current settings
gwmi Win32_TSNetworkAdapterSetting -filter "TerminalName=’RDP-Tcp’" -namespace "root/cimv2/TerminalServices" | Select NetworkAdapterLanaID,NetworkAdapterName

ID 0 which is "All network adapters configured with this protocol"

More info about Win32_TSNetworkAdapterSetting can be found here :

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa383811(v=vs.85).aspx

when we combine this in a variable to get some more info

#show netadapter bindings for RDS

$MVPRDP = gwmi Win32_TSNetworkAdapterSetting -filter "TerminalName=’RDP-Tcp’" -namespace "root/cimv2/TerminalServices"

$MVPRDP | select -expand DeviceIDList

As this is the network name it is not that handy use this with the get-netadapter
$MVPRDP | select -expand NetworkAdapterList

Now we know what to set on which adapter

# ID 0 which is "All network adapters configured with this protocol". 0,1,2,3

SO ID 0 is all and start counting with 1 as I want RDP only on my MGT lan I set this on Adapter 2

$MVPRDP.SetNetworkAdapterLanaID(2)

gwmi Win32_TSNetworkAdapterSetting -filter "TerminalName=’RDP-Tcp’" -namespace "root/cimv2/TerminalServices" | Select NetworkAdapterLanaID,NetworkAdapterName

now a little reboot and just to make sure there are no old connections and your done.

 
Or use a register key to set this option but what fun is that.

set HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Terminal Server\Winstations\RDP-tcp\LanAdapter
 

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Don’t you love it when you are running Hyper-v and you can adjust the VM en reboot your cluster and everything is redundant.

Well except the VM after a reboot of the VM it has a Yellow exclamation on Microsoft Virtual Machine

 

So it seems the VM integration services is not there at all.  and the Update-VMVersion VMNAME –Force is not helping

 

So this seems like an old issue but it isn’t tried to delete the network keys in the register and no results.  BUT DON’T DO that !!

All my VM’s are running the latest patches could this be the issue ? recently there is KB3216755 which has some issues with DeDupe https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4011347/windows-10-update-kb3216755

Placed a snapshot back from before the updates and guess what Same issue eh.. so it is not the VM ? can it be the Hyper-v Server it self ? Patched this server before the VM’s a few days ago.  

Ok my hyper-v server is not sleeping

But checking the problem VM’s I see something unusual why is the VM sitting on his default memory. I use Dynamic memory and the startup memory is 512 MB yes it is low but still ?

Odd why <> well there is no network so basically the VM does nothing

changed it and this was working on 1 VM so still no solution.

the one that worked is delete the Network Adapter in the VM settings, Boot the VM <>shutdown.

Add the Nic’s and boot the VM and you are ready to go. 

Well you need to reconfig the network adapter again. but that are just a few Powershell Lines.

Hope this helps you solving your issue

 

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Building a Domain Controller is not that Difficult but what about building this with Powershell and use the 2016 Bits.

Well lets take a peek at the Technet site https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh974720(v=wps.630).aspx nothing about 2016.

-DomainMode<DomainMode>

Specifies the domain functional level of the first domain in the creation of a new forest. Supported values for this parameter can be either a valid integer or a corresponding enumerated string value. For example, to set the domain mode level to Windows Server 2008 R2, you can specify either a value of 4 or Win2008R2. So

The following are the supported values:
     — Windows Server 2003: 2 or Win2003
     — Windows Server 2008: 3 or Win2008
     — Windows Server 2008 R2: 4 or Win2008R2
     — Windows Server 2012: 5 or Win2012
     — Windows Server 2012 R2: 6 or Win2012R2

Well it makes sense that the Next line would be  — Windows Server 2016: 7 or Win2016

Le me try that in Azure.

First I deploy the windows feature Active Directory

Install-windowsfeature AD-domain-services -IncludeAllSubFeature –IncludeManagementTools

The next step would be Deploy Active Directory and at the end you will be asked for a recovery password.

Install-ADDSForest `
-CreateDnsDelegation:$false `
-DatabasePath "C:\Windows\NTDS" `
-DomainMode "7" `
-DomainName "mvpdemo01.local" `
-DomainNetbiosName "mvpdemo01" `
-ForestMode "7" `
-InstallDns:$true `
-LogPath "C:\Windows\NTDS" `
-NoRebootOnCompletion:$false `
-SysvolPath "C:\Windows\SYSVOL" `
-Force:$true

I did a Force:$true So a reboot is following so no time for a screenshot and wait for things.!

But After the reboot you will have a DC

and Joining a DC Member : Add-WindowsFeature AD-Domain-Services

Install-windowsfeature AD-domain-services -IncludeAllSubFeature –IncludeManagementTools

Add-WindowsFeature AD-Domain-Services `
-CreateDnsDelegation:$false `
-DatabasePath "C:\Windows\NTDS" `
-DomainMode "7" `
-DomainName "mvpdemo01.local" `
-DomainNetbiosName "mvpdemo01" `
-ForestMode "7" `
-InstallDns:$true `
-LogPath "C:\Windows\NTDS" `
-NoGlobalCatalog:$false `
-NoRebootOnCompletion:$false `
-SysvolPath "C:\Windows\SYSVOL" `
-Force:$true

 

Joining a Member server

I created a noob account that is only allowed to join a server to the domain

 

Write-Host "Hostname / Node Names" -ForegroundColor yellow
$domain = "mvpdemo01.local"
$password = "Password01" | ConvertTo-SecureString -asPlainText -Force
$username = "$domain\noob"
$credential = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential($username,$password)
Add-Computer -DomainName $domain -Credential $credential
restart-computer -force

See how easy things can be.

 

 

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So you have done a rolling Upgrade – see Cluster operating system rolling upgrade To all your Hyper-V servers but other than a different logon screen you see no difference. Where are all the options ? Well you will need to do some extra steps. To get the full Hyper-v 2016 Server.

All the VM options are the Same Did I miss something or is there another configuration option as I created a new VM it has all the new options.

Do I need to recreate all the VM’s ?, where is the hidden option to change this ? a while a go I created a blog post on

Windows Server 2016 with Hyper-v Upgrading Configurations —Windows Server 2016 with Hyper-v Integrations tools & configuration versions

Well this was still on a TP version so the numbers has changed but not the methods. But there is no gui option in the Hyper-v Server that can flip the bit to the new Configuration version. It is done only by Powershell. with that Let us see how this is changed.

 

Old VM settings vs the New VM Settings.

Do I need to recreate all the VM ? NO are you nuts. this would be odd. Lets dive in a little bit deeper.

In the Hyper-v Manager you can see the configuration and generation version in the 2012R2 this is version 5.0

In windows server 2016 the Hyper-v configuration version is now 8.0

With the get-VM we can see the Configuration version of the VM

Get-VM | ft Name, IntegrationServicesVersion,version 

as you can see I have a version 5.0 and a 8.0 just as in the screen shots above.

Now changing this is a ONEWAY thing and If you have an OLD none 2016 version in your Cluster then the VM would fail if it runs on this node. Version 8.0 runs only on Hyper-V 2016 !

To list all the Supported Configurations On this Server we can do a “ Get-VMHostSupportedVersion “

 

So there are Currently seven different versions. With all the options why should I care setting this.

Well there are a couple of reasons why you should set this option. Make the latest Hyper-V features available on your virtual machines by upgrading the configuration version. Don’t do this until:

• You upgrade your Hyper-V hosts to the latest version of Windows or Windows Server.
• You upgrade the cluster functional level.
• You’re sure that you won’t need to move the virtual machine back to a Hyper-V host that runs a previous version of Windows or Windows Server.

And you you replicate from a Hyper-v 2016 Server to a Hyper-v 2012 Server for DR then make sure you don’t run in a higher version than 5.0

When you move or import a virtual machine to a computer that runs Hyper-V on Windows Server 2016 or Windows 10, the virtual machine’s configuration isn’t automatically updated. This means that you can move the virtual machine back to a Hyper-V host that runs a previous version of Windows or Windows Server. But, this also means that you can’t use some of the new virtual machine features until you manually update the configuration version. You can’t downgrade the virtual machine configuration version after you’ve upgraded it.

The virtual machine configuration version represents the compatibility of the virtual machine’s configuration, saved state, and snapshot files with the version of Hyper-V. When you update the configuration version, you change the file structure that is used to store the virtual machines configuration and the checkpoint files. You also update the configuration version to the latest version supported by that Hyper-V host. Upgraded virtual machines use a new configuration file format, which is designed to increase the efficiency of reading and writing virtual machine configuration data. The upgrade also reduces the potential for data corruption in the event of a storage failure

Building a VM based on Windows 2012R2 configuration You should use this PowerShell command as you could see the 8.0 Configuration is default.

New-VM -Name “DemoVM17” -Version 5.0

When listing the VM Configurations you can see the difference. and easily see the 5.0 Version VM’s  config.XML

Virtual machine configuration information that is stored in binary file format. File name extension: .vmcx

But what if I want to upgrade the VM’s ? yes you can but only to the default level and PowerShell Only

Update-VMVersion “VM Name”

as you can see the DemoVm06 is already at the max level but when updating the DemoVM01 which has Version 5.0 it will be upgraded to Version 8.0 and the Config file will be transferred this can’t be undone!

Virtual machine configuration information that is stored in binary file format. File name extension: .vmcx

you can automate this and do all upgrades in onetime or have a pick list to do this. But the VM needs to be OFF no running VM can be upgraded.

TO upgrade all VM’s   Update-VMVersion * -force

Or pick the VM by yourself with a before and after version.

#Select a VM to upgrade
$vm2016= (Get-VM | select Name, Status, version | Out-GridView -Title "Select VM for update the configuration version" -PassThru).Name
#list VM configuration Version
Get-VM $vm2016 | ft Name, IntegrationServicesVersion,version 
#Convert the Config TO the default Configuration
Update-VMVersion $vm2016 -Force -Verbose
#list VM configuration Version
Get-VM $vm2016 | ft Name, IntegrationServicesVersion,version 

 

 

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Network Load Balancing (NLB) for non-SDN

Windows Server 2016 Network Load Balancing. You can use Network Load Balancing to manage two or more servers as a single virtual cluster. Network Load Balancing enhances the availability and scalability of Internet server applications such as those used on web, FTP, firewall, proxy, virtual private network (VPN), and other mission-critical servers.

New in Windows Server 2016 is it includes a new Azure-inspired Software Load Balancer (SLB) as a component of the Software Defined Networking (SDN) infrastructure. Use SLB instead of NLB if you are using SDN, are using non-Windows workloads, need outbound network address translation (NAT), or need Layer 3 (L3) or non-TCP based load balancing. You can continue to use NLB with Windows Server 2016 for non-SDN deployments.

So We got now two Load Balancing features :

Software Load Balancing (SLB) for SDN

Software Defined Networking (SDN) provides a method to centrally configure and manage physical and virtual network devices such as routers, switches, and gateways in your datacenter. Virtual network elements such as Hyper-V Virtual Switch, Hyper-V Network Virtualization, and Windows Server Gateway are designed to be integral elements of your software defined networking infrastructure. While you can still use your existing physical switches, routers, and other hardware devices, you can achieve deeper integration between the virtual network and the physical network if these devices are designed for compatibility with software defined networking.

Network Load Balancing (NLB) for non-SDN

For this demo I created a NLB script that can be found here Create a Windows Server 2016 NLB Network Load Balancing farm https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Create-a-Windows-Server-05a13f14

I use a couple of Windows Server 2016 server for the Load Balancing each node has two network adapters and runs IIS with a default website

 

Network Load Balancing is not nic teaming as nic teaming is on the same host and Network Load Balancing is combining all nodes to one VIP Virtual IP address.

First we install the NLB feature on each node.

Install-WindowsFeature NLB –IncludeManagementTools

To view a complete list of NLB CMDlets type the following CMDlet, Get-command -module NetworkLoadBalancingClusters

To Create a New NLB Cluster you can do this in the GUI or in Powershell

First I rename the Network Adapter to get a better overview

#Rename NIC
Rename-NetAdapter -Name "Ethernet" -NewName "NLB"

#Create NLB
New-NLBCluster –Interface “NLB” -OperationMode Unicast -ClusterPrimaryIP  -ClusterName WS2016NLB –verbose

Showing the NLB cluster info

Get-NLBClusterNode | Format-List *

then I removed all the default rules why would you NLB all the ports ?

#Removing default port rule for the NLB Cluster
Write-Host "Removing default port rule…" -ForegroundColor yellow
Get-NlbClusterPortRule -HostName . | Remove-NlbClusterPortRule -Force

#Adding port rules 80
Write-Host "Added port rule for http (tcp 80)" -ForegroundColor yellow
Add-NlbClusterPortRule -Protocol Tcp -Mode Multiple -Affinity Single -StartPort 80 -EndPort 80 -InterfaceName $InterfaceName -IP $ClusterPrimaryIP| Out-Null
#Adding port rules 443
Write-Host "Added port rule for https (tcp 443)" -ForegroundColor yellow
Add-NlbClusterPortRule -Protocol Tcp -Mode Multiple -Affinity Single -StartPort 443 -EndPort 443 -InterfaceName $InterfaceName -IP $ClusterPrimaryIP| Out-Null

Now that Port 80 and 443 are in the NLB we can add some nodes

As I added the -Affinity Single option keep in mind that your application support this option. Running websites parts from different servers is sometimes a pain for the developer.

The Affinity parameter is applicable only for the Multiple hosts filtering mode.

• The None option specifies that multiple connections from the same client IP address can be handled by different cluster hosts (there is no client affinity). To allow Network Load Balancing to properly handle IP fragments, you should avoid using None when selecting UDP or Both for your protocol setting.
• The Single option specifies that NLB should direct multiple requests from the same client IP address to the same cluster host. This is the default setting for affinity. You can optionally modify the NLB client affinity to direct all client requests from a TCP/IP Class C address range (instead of a single IP address) to a single cluster host by enabling the Network option instead of the Single option. This feature ensures that clients that use multiple proxy servers to access the cluster can have their TCP connections directed to the same cluster host.
• The Network option specifies that NLB direct multiple requests from the same TCP/IP Class C address range to the same cluster host. Enabling Network affinity instead of Single affinity ensures that clients that use multiple proxy servers to access the cluster have their TCP connections directed to the same cluster host.
  The use of multiple proxy servers at the client’s site causes requests from a single client to appear to originate from different computers. Assuming that all of the client’s proxy servers are located within the same address range, Network affinity ensures that client sessions are properly handled. If you do not need this capability, use Single affinity to maximize scaled performance.

 

adding a second node is easy in Powershell or do this in the GUI add node and follow the steps.

$InterfaceName = “NLB”
$Node2Fqdn=”MVPNLB502.mvp.local”

Get-NlbCluster -HostName $env:COMPUTERNAME | Add-NlbClusterNode -NewNodeName $Node2Fqdn -NewNodeInterface $InterfaceName –Verbose

and as you can see if you don’t rename all the nic adapters it looks a bit messy. If you ever need to troubleshoot then it is easy to get NLB traffic and or other network traffic.

Now that the NLB cluster is ready we can use it for say a webserver. make sure the DNS Record is created in the DNS and If you are using multiple Cluster Virtual IP’s make sure they are also in the DNS. I always use an IP for the cluster and for the websites I use separate IP’s and all sites running on different IP’s / NLB VIP If I need to change some thing on the webserver it has no impact on all the other servers. I also Added a few more NLB nodes. that has already a configured website.

 

Now to get this to work with IIS

That is right page not found. Check the DNS see if the record is created. and make sure the website IIS is running on this IP

Go to the IIS manager and check the website bindings, default it is listening on all IP but this is not the behavior that I want I want a NLB. So we need to set the website on the NLB IP configured earlier.  When Having multiple IP on the NLB pick the right IP!

Remember this you need to do this on all the Webservers!

For creating a NLB farm you can use my script that is posted in the TechNet gallery.

 Create a Windows Server 2016 NLB Network Load Balancing farm https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Create-a-Windows-Server-05a13f14

 

 

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Quick reference table of supported upgrade paths from older Windows Server retail editions to Windows Server 2016 retail editions:

How ever Windows Server 2016 is supporting Rolling Upgrades Upgrading to Windows Server 2016 but this is only for a Cluster.

For other Servers you can upgrade your server or better reinstall. Bet you all choose for the Clean install.

Installation is the basic concept of getting the new operating system on your hardware. Specifically, a clean installation requires deleting the previous operating system. For information about installing Windows Server 2016, see System Requirements and Installation Information for Windows Server 2016. For information about installing other versions of Windows Server, see Windows Server Installation and Upgrade.

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server-docs/get-started/supported-upgrade-paths

Well in this case I try a sample Domain controller. This has several roles and is migrated from 2008<>2012<>2012R2 and now to 2016 so is this the best option ? Well this DC has ADFS,CA,had Identity Management for UNIX. So a not so typical DC.

So I removed all unneeded components like ADFS and the Identity Management for UNIX was not available on my DC. ( did not make a screenshot )

no mater what I did I need to deinstall the components the following article was a help https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc731178(v=ws.11).aspx

Well not totally the message was still there reboot / showdown nothing. Was there anything stuck on this DC ?

Well this the DC is getting replaced the fastest way Clean install. I build a new DC with Windows Server 2016 installed the AD role on the server. Important is moving the FSMO roles.

After I did a Forest prep and Domain prep I joined the Server to the domain.

Finding the FSMO roles

netdom query fsmo

Moving the Roles can done in the old way but also in powershell

Move-ADDirectoryServerOperationMasterRole -Identity “Your-DC” -OperationMasterRole SchemaMaster,RIDMaster,InfrastructureMaster,DomainNamingMaster,PDCEmulator

After I moved the FSMO roles and rebooted and Updated both DC’s I thought lets find why the upgrade won’t work on the original Domain controller.

After I started the upgrade I was shocked that the Upgrade had no Issues anymore. Leasons learned In case of Upgrading the Domain controller and you have some Issues : create a new DC and Join move the FSMO roles reboot the DC’s and try again if you really need this DC. but a Clean OS install is much faster and better but you will need to install some apps again or tools. maybe this is a good time to automate this. 

Installing or removing Identity Management for UNIX by using a command line

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/activedirectoryua/2016/02/09/identity-management-for-unix-idmu-is-deprecated-in-windows-server/

If you are running these versions and editions:	You can upgrade to these versions and editions:
Windows Server 2012 Standard	Windows Server 2016 Standard or Datacenter
Windows Server 2012 Datacenter	Windows Server 2016 Datacenter
Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard	Windows Server 2016 Standard or Datacenter
Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter	Windows Server 2016 Datacenter
Hyper-V Server 2012 R2	Hyper-V Server 2016 (using Cluster OS Rolling Upgrade feature)
Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials	Windows Server 2016 Essentials
Windows Storage Server 2012 Standard	Windows Storage Server 2016 Standard
Windows Storage Server 2012 Workgroup	Windows Storage Server 2016 Workgroup
Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Standard	Windows Storage Server 2016 Standard
Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Workgroup	Windows Storage Server 2016 Workgroup

 

License conversion

You can convert Windows Server 2016 Standard (retail) to Windows Server 2016 Datacenter (retail).

You can convert Windows Server 2016 Essentials (retail) to Windows Server 2016 Standard (retail).

You can convert the evaluation version of Windows Server 2016 Standard to either Windows Server 2016 Standard (retail) or Datacenter (retail).

You can convert the evaluation version of Windows Server 2016 Datacenter to Windows Server 2016 Datacenter (retail).

 

Upgrading to Windows Server 2012 R2

For details, including important caveats and limitations on upgrade, license conversion between editions of Windows Server 2012 R2, and conversion of evaluation editions to retail, see Upgrade Options for Windows Server 2012 R2.

Quick reference table of supported upgrade paths from older Windows Server retail editions to Windows Server 2012 R2 retail editions:

If you are running:	You can upgrade to these editions:
Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter with SP1	Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter
Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise with SP1	Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard or Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter
Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard with SP1	Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard or Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter
Windows Web Server 2008 R2 with SP1	Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard
Windows Server 2012 Datacenter	Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter
Windows Server 2012 Standard	Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard or Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter
Hyper-V Server 2012	Hyper-V Server 2012 R2

License conversion

You can convert Windows Server 2012 Standard (retail) to Windows Server 2012 Datacenter (retail).

You can convert Windows Server 2012 Essentials (retail) to Windows Server 2012 Standard (retail).

You can convert the evaluation version of Windows Server 2012 Standard to either Windows Server 2012 Standard (retail) or Datacenter (retail).

Use Full Links :

Upgrade and conversion options for Windows Server 2016 https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server-docs/get-started/supported-upgrade-paths

Release Notes: Important Issues in Windows Server 2016 https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server-docs/get-started/windows-server-2016-ga-release-notes

What’s New in Windows Server 2016 https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server-docs/get-started/what-s-new-in-windows-server-2016-technical-preview-5

Server role upgrade and migration matrix for Windows Server 2016 https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server-docs/get-started/server-role-upgradeability-table?f=255&MSPPError=-2147217396

Cluster operating system rolling upgrade https://technet.microsoft.com/windows-server-docs/failover-clustering/cluster-operating-system-rolling-upgrade

 

 

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