I had a series of posts on the topic of migrating from SBS to Office 365 and Windows Server a while back, and I’ve been getting a number of requests for a “summary” post with links to all the articles. I get a few people each week emailing me about a single post with comments like, “But what about moving FSMO roles?” etc. Ah, that’s because you haven’t read the other posts in this series. So here it is:
Alex, Thanks for all the great articles you’ve posted. Am planning a migration of SBS2011 to M365 + on-prem DC for file&print, LoB app. (tried to convince full cloud but got shot down) Any issue going directly from SBS2011 to 2019 (instead of 2016)? Thnx!
Honestly I am not sure–I have not once installed a 2019 server. I guess I have never been shot down for pushing 100% cloud… usually customer is the one begging to go serverless, anyway, and I am one of the only folks who consistently says “No problem, we can do it.” If you can go from 2008R2 to 2019 then it would be the same for SBS 2011. I am not sure if that is true.
With a traditional MDM solution, the goal is typically to impose management controls at the device level--enforcing policies like pass code with automatic screen lock, encryption, and remote device wipe. It can also be helpful in tracking inventory of mobile devices. All of these "MDM"... read more
Device management is not a straightforward thing in Azure AD. I think that one major point of confusion for people is understanding the difference between various device states--for example, what is the difference between a device which is merely registered with Azure AD, versus one... read more
Advanced Threat Analytics (ATA) is a security product from Microsoft that is included with the Enterprise Mobility Suite (EMS) subscription. Unlike most of the other EMS components that tend to be a bit more cloud-centric, ATA is an on-premises-based security solution that helps identify Advanced Persistent Threats (APT's) and insider... read more
So many small businesses adopted Microsoft's Windows Small Business Server (SBS) product--now that the product has been discontinued, these organizations tend to need a little more guidance regarding the migration path forward from SBS 2003, 2008 or 2011.
Do I still need an On-premises Windows Server?
With the option to... read more
In some past blogs I have highlighted the importance of devices in your security, management and compliance journey. Why do I harp on that? Because it is the starting point.
The mantra takes various forms, but basically you cannot protect what you cannot see. This applies... read more
To copy files from a legacy file server to a new file server, whether 2012 R2 or 2016, the process would be the same.
Note: Some files shares might be better off in SharePoint, and users' personal Documents Libraries can probably go to OneDrive. This could greatly... read more
In Microsoft 365 plans it is possible to configure application protection policies for Android, iOS and Windows 10, right from the 365 Admin center under Devices > Policies.
Once built, these correspond to policies that you can find within the Intune / Device management portal... read more
I have performed server migrations for a lot of clients over the years, and honestly I don't see this issue come up all that often. But when it does strike, so-called "phantom" printers, or removing printers whose drivers have "gone bad" can be one of the more annoying... read more
So this is a very common task when provisioning new Office 365 accounts. You can obtain a free trial here. I recommend the E3 trial, even if you only plan to buy the Exchange Online plan ultimately. The licensing can be changed out seamlessly, and in... read more
Update: Please refer to this newer article. Some of the details here are very dated--like there is no hybrid key anymore--and the activation only works on 2016, not 2019, plus we have minimal hybrid now, etc., etc. A "minimal hybrid" approach is preferred if you're... read more
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Comments (2)
Alex, Thanks for all the great articles you’ve posted. Am planning a migration of SBS2011 to M365 + on-prem DC for file&print, LoB app. (tried to convince full cloud but got shot down) Any issue going directly from SBS2011 to 2019 (instead of 2016)? Thnx!
Honestly I am not sure–I have not once installed a 2019 server. I guess I have never been shot down for pushing 100% cloud… usually customer is the one begging to go serverless, anyway, and I am one of the only folks who consistently says “No problem, we can do it.” If you can go from 2008R2 to 2019 then it would be the same for SBS 2011. I am not sure if that is true.