2 Ways to Transfer Active Directory to a New Windows Server

How to transfer Active Directory to a new Server computer to keep your Server system secure and up to date? This page covers everything you need to know about Active Directory with a complete guide that you can follow to successfully transfer Active Directory to a new server computer.

"Does anyone know how to transfer Active Directory to another Windows Server computer? For example, I purchased a new Windows Server 2022 and want to move AD from my old Windows Server 2016 to 2022. How do I do it?"

Are you looking for a reliable way to migrate the Active Directory database from a Windows Server computer to a new Server machine? Relax, and don't worry if you are a new Server manager. EaseUS will show you the complete procedure for successfully migrating AD from server to server. First, let's see the details:

Method 1. Use Active Directory Migration Tool

• Tool: Active Directory Migration Tool
• Difficulty Level: Low

To quickly transfer Active Directory, you can try to apply an Active Directory migration tool. EaseUS Todo PCTrans Technician, with its PC-to-PC file Transfer feature, can fulfill this task for you. The tool simplifies the migration steps and can provide comprehensive migration content, including all data and settings.

We provide two ways in this tutorial. Both methods work to transfer Active Directory from one Server to another Server on Windows Server 2022/2019/2016/2012 r2/2012/2008 r2/2008/2003, etc. 

Here is the complete process you can follow to migrate and easily transfer the Active Directory database from one server to another:

Step 1. Set Up the Old Server Computer

• Install and launch EaseUS Todo PCTrans on the old server computer. Select "This is Old PC" and click "Next" in the Data Transfer tab.

• Choose "Transfer Directly" and click "Next" to move on. 

Step 2. Set Up the New Server PC

• Download and open EaseUS Todo PCTrans on the new server computer. Select "This is New PC" and click "Next".

• Choose "Transfer directly" and click "Next."
• In the next tab, select "Network" and click "Next" (Make sure the two PCs are connected to the same LAN.)

• Select the target PC and click "Connect" to scan all the data in old server PC.

Step 3. Select the Files to Transfer

• Switch to the "Files" tab, tick the files you need to transfer. Then, click "Transfer" to start.

Once done, you can reboot the target Windows Server computer and log in as administrator. 

If you need further guidance or online tech support for Server Active Directory Migration, click the chat button below to reach the EaseUS tech support team instantly:

Method 2. Backup Active Directory and Restore It to Another Server

• Tool: PowerShell
• Difficulty Level: high

Suppose you've got two Windows Server computers, and now you are about to transfer the active directory database from one Server to another Server computer. Here are the manual steps that you can follow:

Step 1. Introduce a new domain controller with the target Server to be the new FSMO role holder for the domain. 

To migrate the FSMO role, refer to this post in the Microsoft community for help: Transfer FSMO Roles in Active Directory. 

Step 2. Introduce new domain controllers to the forest root and domain tree levels.

Open PowerShell type the following two command lines, and hit Enter each time:

• hostname
• netdom query fsmo

Step 3. Log in to the target server computer as a member of the local administrator group. And add the Server to the existing domain as a member.

Step 4. Restart the Windows Server and logo into the Server as Enterprise Administrator.

And assign the static IP address to the Server.

Step 5. Right-click the Windows icon and select "Windows PowerShell (Admin)."

Step 6. Type Install-WindowsFeature –Name AD-Domain-Services -IncludeManagementTools in PowerShell and hit enter.

This will install the Active Directory Domain Service Role in the given Server.

Step 7. Type the following syntax command lines individually and hit Enter each time in PowerShell. This will configure the new Server as an additional domain controller:

• Install-ADDSDomainController
• -CreateDnsDelegation:$false
• -InstallDns:$true
• -DomainName "rebeladmin.net"
• -SiteName "Default-First-Site-Name"
• -ReplicationSourceDC "DC08.rebeladmin.net"
• -DatabasePath "C:\Windows\NTDS"
• -LogPath "C:\Windows\NTDS"
• -SysvolPath "C:\Windows\SYSVOL"
• -Force:$true

There are no line breaks for the command listed above. So, what are the meanings of this syntax? Check this out:

Step 8. Enter a new complex password if the command requests a SafeModeAdministrator Password.

After this, restart the Server system and login as administrator. 

Step 9. Open PowerShell again, type Get-Service ads,kdc,netlogon, DNS, and hit Enter to check the AD DS status.

Step 10. Type Get-ADDomainController -Filter * | Format-Table Name, IPv4Address, Site in PowerShell, and hit Enter. 

Step 11. Migrate all FSMO roles to the new domain controller by typing Move-ADDirectoryServerOperationMasterRole -Identity REBEL-DC2019 -OperationMasterRole SchemaMaster, DomainNamingMaster, PDCEmulator, RIDMaster, InfrastructureMaster in PowerShell and hit Enter.

Note: Replace REBEL_DC2019 with your new running Windows Server.

Step 12. Type Netdom query fsmo in PowerShell to verify the new FSMO role holder.

Step 13. Type Uninstall-ADDSDomainController -DemoteOperationMasterRole -RemoveApplicationPartition to decommission the old Windows domain controller.

Step 14. Type Set-ADDomainMode –identity therebeladmin.com -DomainMode Windows2016Domain in PowerShell and hit Enter to upgrade the functional domain levels.

Step 15. Type Set-ADForestMode -Identity therebeladmin.com -ForestMode Windows2016Forest in PowerShell and hit Enter to upgrade forest functional levels.

Wait for the process to complete. After this, the Server AD migration process completes. You can then verify if it completes successfully by typing the following two command lines in PowerShell and hitting Enter each time:

• Get-ADDomain | fl Name, DomainMode
• Get-ADForest | fl Name, ForestMode

As shown above, if you see the result, you've successfully transferred Active Directory to a new Server machine. If you think this guide is complete and valuable, don't forget to share it with others in need.

What Is Active Directory and Why Need to Move It to a New Server

                     - By Microsoft Active Directory Overview

According to the above description, an Active Directory can be regarded as a database called AD, which connects users to network resources to accomplish their tasks. So what does Active Directory include? Check this out:

• Information objects - shared resources such as servers, volumes, printers, network users, and computer accounts.
• A set of rules - schema defines the classes of objects and attributes in the Directory.
• A global catalog - information about every object in the Directory.
• A query and index mechanism - ensure objects and their properties can be published and found by network users or applications.
• A replication service - distributes directory data across a network.

While switching Server computers, one key step is transferring Active Directory to a New Server. Above the page, we've collected two methods that you can follow to successfully migrate the AD database to a new server on your own. 

Bonus Tips for Server-to-Server Migration

Aside from transferring Active Directory from one Server to another Server, you may still have much other content that needs to be moved, for example, user data, user accounts, domain accounts and settings, applications, etc.,

How do you completely transfer Sever data to another Server? Check this out:

#1. Transfer User Data and Accounts to the New Server

EaseUS Todo PCTrans, with its account settings transfer feature, can help you fully migrate user data and accounts to a new Server with simple clicks.

Step 1. Install and launch EaseUS Todo PCTrans on both two devices. On the source PC, select "PC to PC" to continue.

Step 2. Select the transfer direction - as an Old PC or a New PC.

Then, on the new PC, select "Transfer directly" and click "Next" to continue. 

Select "Network" and click Next to continue. This will automatically scan the old PC. (Make sure the two PCs are connected to the same LAN.)

Select the target PC and click Connect. Then, it will take some time to scan and analyze the data in old PC.

Step 3. Click at the "Accounts" section to specify User Accounts and Settings for transferring.

Step 4. Enter the user account and password of the source computer, select the User Account Settings, User Data and other settings that you want to transfer. 

Step 5. After selection, click "Transfer" to start to transfer user accounts and settings.

#2. Migrate Essential Applications to the New Server

Aside from server data, files, and accounts, you may also want to move some essential applications to a new server, such as the Windows Server Manager, SQL installer, Exchange, Quickbooks, Office, Adobe, etc.

You can simply manage this task and accomplish it independently with the help of reliable Windows Server file transfer software. Here is how to do so:

Step 1. Set Up the Old PC

• First, install and launch EaseUS Todo PCTrans and select Data Transfer on the left panel of the main interface.

• Select "Transfer Directly" and click "Next" to continue. 

Step 2. Set Up the New PC

• Download and launch EaseUS Todo PCTrans on the new computer; select "This is New PC" and click "Next".

• Select "Transfer directly" and click "Next" to continue. 
• Select "Network" and click Next to continue. This will automatically scan the old PC. (Make sure the two PCs are connected to the same LAN.)

• Select the target PC and click Connect. Then, it will take some time to scan and analyze the data in old PC.

Step 3. Select the Apps to Transfer

• On the new PC, select the applications you want to transfer. Then, click "Transfer" to start.

Conclusion

This tutorial page describes what Active Directory is and why it is important for server administrators to migrate AD to a new server. We also introduced two methods that help to successfully migrate Active Directory to a new Server on Windows Server 2022/2019/2016/2012/2008/2003, etc. Note that the procedure is a bit complex. So be careful and patient while typing the command lines in PowerShell to execute the task. Otherwise, choose another professional AD migration tool - EaseUS Todo PCTrans.