I have a customer which is in the process of ordering a new SBS 2011 server which will replace an 8 year old SBS 2003. I am trying to decide whether to use the "official" Microsoft migration process or to do everything manually. I have read quite a few horror stories from people who have had a lot of trouble with the migration process. This will be my first SBS 2011 installation.
Their current setup consists of 2 servers. One is SBS 2003 and the other is Server 2003 Enterprise, which hosts their accounting/manufacturing software. There are about 15 internal users and 5 outside sales people who access email through a VPN connection. Both servers are domain controllers. They do not use most of the SBS 2003 features other than Exchange. There are no Public Folders, no Sharepoint sites, no companyweb, etc. It is a pretty basic setup. The email store is about 30 GB, with 4 mailboxes accounting for over half of that. And the network is a class B 172.31.x.x.
First question - does SBS 2011 support class B networks at all? In reading over the documentation for the migration, it says you have to use a class C subnet. Can you stay with class B if you do not use the official migration procedure? I would hate to have to re-number the whole network as there are quite a few IP printers, WAPs, etc. And DHCP quit working on the SBS 2003 a while back. I had to move it to the Netgear router.
Would this be a reasonable procedure for manually moving to 2011?
1. Move all DC functions to the Enterprise 2003 server.
2. Remove SBS 2003 from domain completely.
3. Install SBS 2011 box in standard mode rather than migration mode.
4. Use PST files to export/import users' email from old server to new. We have a backup program called Backup Assist that automatically archives all mailboxes to PST every night. This would take quite a while, but I know that it works.
Obviously, these are not all the steps needed, but a just an outline.
Thanks for any suggestions!