Windows Server upgrade and migration, planned and tested
CTEKS assesses your servers, plans the upgrade or migration, protects you with backup and rollback planning, and cuts over after hours so your team keeps working.
Free remote IT & security assessment
Know where your risks are before they become outages.
- Network, backup and security review
- Plain-English report, prioritized fixes
- Target response within one business day
Server upgrades and migrations, handled end to end
Old servers carry risk. We replace or upgrade them with a plan that accounts for the applications and identity services that depend on them.
Server assessment
We inventory roles, applications, licensing, backups and dependencies so nothing is missed.
Upgrades and migrations
In place upgrades where they make sense, and clean migrations to new servers where they do not.
Hyper-V and virtualization
Consolidate physical servers onto Hyper-V hosts, or move virtual machines to new hardware.
Active Directory dependencies
Domain controllers, DNS, DHCP and Group Policy are reviewed and moved safely.
Azure options
We compare keeping servers on premises, running hybrid and moving workloads to Azure.
Security hardening
New servers are built to a security baseline with current patching and restricted access.
What a server project can cover
- Server and application assessments
- Upgrade and migration planning
- Hyper-V host and virtual machine builds
- Active Directory, DNS and DHCP migration
- File and print service moves
- Application compatibility review
- Backup verification and rollback planning
- After hours cutovers
- Security hardening and baselines
- Azure migration and hybrid options
- Decommissioning old servers
- Server lifecycle planning
How the work runs
A predictable process with written scope and a plan before any change.
Assess
We inventory servers, roles, applications, dependencies and backups, and note anything near end of support.
Plan
You get a written plan with options, timeline, rollback steps and a quote before any work starts.
Build and test
New servers are built and tested alongside the old ones so we can validate before cutover.
Cut over
Cutovers are scheduled after hours, with a rollback path ready if something does not behave.
Support
We verify, document, decommission the old servers and add the new ones to monitoring and patching.
Plan the lifecycle, not just the upgrade
Microsoft sets end of support dates for each Windows Server version, so we recommend checking the dates for the versions you run and planning replacements before support ends. Whether to upgrade in place, migrate to new servers or move to Azure depends on your applications, budget and risk. We lay out the options before you decide.
Related services and the Microsoft hub
We keep each page focused. These pages cover the neighboring topics in more depth.
Why businesses choose CTEKS
Practical IT help from a team that has served Chicagoland and beyond since 2002.
Security-first
Secure defaults, least-privilege access and documented configuration on everything we manage.
One team to call
Planning, deployment and support come from the same team, so nothing falls between vendors.
Built around you
Sized for your users, locations and budget, not a generic template.
Proactive, not reactive
Monitoring, patching and regular reviews catch issues before they become outages.
Common questions
How do I know if my server needs to be upgraded?
Check the Windows Server version and its end of support date, then review performance, hardware age and the applications it runs. We can do this as part of a short assessment.
Can you upgrade a server without downtime?
We plan to keep downtime short and schedule cutovers after hours. Some changes need a brief outage, and we explain that in the plan.
Should we move our servers to Azure?
Not always. We compare on premises, hybrid and Azure options against your applications, budget and risk.
What happens if the cutover goes wrong?
We prepare backups and a rollback plan before cutover, so we can return to the previous state if needed.
Do you handle Active Directory during a server migration?
Yes. Domain controllers, DNS, DHCP and Group Policy are part of the plan, since many applications depend on them.
Get your free remote IT & security assessment
Find out where your risks are before they become outages.
- Network, backup and security health check
- Plain-English report with a priority list
- Written quote if you want our help
Prefer to talk? (847) 200-3666
Request your free remote assessment
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