Migrating to Windows Server 2012

Sorry, if you're still there you need to learn something before you learn Server 2012:

Virtualise those damn things. Sure, it's a huge job, but just get it done. Then your migration is on your own schedule (which you obviously seem to enjoy if you're still on 2003 - only 11-year-old tech).

Plus it'll save you a ton of migration hassle as you don't have to "switch" anything off - just virtualise it onto your first 2012 server (and, please, 2012R2 if you're going to make the leap), then carry on running it and - over time - slowly strip off those functions and put a 2012R2 VM on the same machine that takes them over. When you realise that the 2003 VM has been on 0% CPU for a month, switch it off and see who complains.

I'm certainly not one of those first-day guineau pigs, but 2003 was dead when I did my last 2003 migration two years ago (and we knew we were taking the mick running so long, even then). The transition to 2012R2 is pretty easy, for the vast majority of things, and gives you an awful lot of new features. At the time, I didn't even bother to virtualise (but wish I'd been able to - licensing problems mainly) - just slapped 2012R2 servers in, joined them to the old domain as a DC, pulled the DC roles over, rasied the DC level to something this-decade, migrated user data, began pulling over roles/features. After a while, the 2003 machines were obsolete, so they got formatted and brought online as 2012R2 until I found a use for them (mostly secondaries for various functions). There was nothing so drastic that it wouldn't survive the change, and actually I spent most of the time converting crusty old batch scripts to GPO's that handled print-management and drive mappings (yes, in 2012R2, that all works properly).

If I'd been able to virtualise, it would have been even easier, and without downtime. Put 2012R2 machine in. Join to domain as client. Install Hyper-V role. Run Sysinternals Disk2VHD on the 2003 servers. Grab the VHDs and copy to the 2012R2 servers. Create new virtual machine (isolated from the network), and test operation. Schedule 30 minutes of downtime. Turn off 2003 server. Bring its VM onto the network (two clicks). Test. Listen out for people shouting. When nobody does, start preparing a 2012R2 VM and take over the functions and data one by one. With DFS etc., a good team, and proper planning, it can be done in a day.

Quite why we need a livestream event to do that, I don't know.