2. Creating an Answer File
An answer file is a
script containing responses to the prompts generated by the Windows SBS
2011 Setup program during the operating system installation. The use of
an answer file is optional in a clean Windows SBS 2011 installation,
but it is required for a migration.
Although the Migration Preparation Tool enables you to run the
Windows Small Business Server 2011 Answer File Tool right on your
source server, you do not have to run it there, nor do you have to run
it immediately after preparing the source server for migration. You can run the Answer File Tool from any computer running Windows at any time.
To create a migration answer file, use this procedure:
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Insert Windows SBS 2011 Disk 1 into the computer’s DVD-ROM drive. The Windows Small Business Server 2011 screen appears.
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Click Create an answer file. The Windows Small Business Server 2011 Answer File Tool appears.
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In the Installation type box, select the Migration from existing server (Join existing domain) check box.
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Fill out the fields in each of the following sections of the Answer File Tool:
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Installation settings
Specifies whether the new server should download the latest
installation updates from the Microsoft Updates website during the
setup process and whether the setup program should perform an
unattended installation. In an unattended installation, the setup
program does not display the options for which it finds settings in the
answer file; if you leave this check box cleared, all the options
appear during the installation, with the settings from the answer file
preloaded for the installer’s approval.
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Clock and time zone settings
Enables you to specify a time zone for the new server. You cannot
modify the actual system clock time using an answer file, so if you
select the Manually set the clock and the time zone for the server
option, you must set the clock in the system BIOS before beginning the
new server installation.
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Company information Contains the same name and address fields as the Company Information page in the Install Windows Wizard.
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Scroll down to see the rest of the dialog box, and fill out the fields in each of the remaining sections:
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Source (existing) server information
Contains fields in which you specify information about your existing
server running Windows SBS and your domain, including the server and
domain names, the computer’s IP Address and Default Gateway settings,
and the name and password for an administrative account.
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Destination (new) server information
Contains fields in which you specify the name and IP address values you
want to assign to the new server on which you will install Windows SBS
2011. When performing a migration, the name that you specify for your
new server must be unique on your network. You cannot use the same name
for your source server and your new one.
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Click Save as. The Save as combo box appears. Save the answer file to the root of a USB flash drive or floppy disk, using the file name SBSAnswerFile.xml, and click Save.
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Click Cancel to close the Windows Small Business Server 2011 Answer File Tool.
Note
The previous procedure covers the information fields you must fill out when creating an answer file for a migration to Windows SBS 2011. When you select the New installation option in the tool’s Installation type section, the program replaces the migration-specific sections—Source (existing) server informationDestination (new) server information—with three new sections: and
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Server information
Enables you to specify server name and internal domain name values for
the new server installation. There is also a Full DNS name text box, in
which you can specify a name for your AD DS domain with a suffix other
than local.
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Network administrator account
Contains the same fields as the Add A Network Administrator Account
page, which the setup program uses to create an administrative account
on the new server running Windows SBS 2011.
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Network settings for the server
Enables you to specify whether the setup program should detect a router
on the network and configure the server’s TCP/IP client using the
router information automatically or use the IP Address and Default
Gateway settings that you supply.
Apart from these field changes, the procedure for creating
an answer file for the installation of a new server running Windows SBS
2011 is exactly the same.
