SCCM Site Server In-Place Upgrade from Windows Server 2012 R2 to Windows Server 2019

I am rationalizing and updating my lab on a grey, Saturday afternoon and decided to blog the update process for getting my Server 2012 R2 Primary Site Server up to Server 2019.
SQL Server is not installed on the same VM in my lab. You should make other considerations if SQL is installed on your Site Server – these are not covered in this post.

My lab Primary Site Server on Server 2012 R2

This post will cover the following areas when upgrading the Site Server OS:-

  1. OS Prerequisites
  2. SCCM Prerequisites
  3. OS Upgrade
  4. Post Upgrade OS Tasks
  5. Post Upgrade SCCM Tasks

1. OS Prerequisites

I would recommend practicing an In-Place-Upgrade from Server 2012 R2 to Server 2019 in your lab, on a “normal” server, before attempting it on your Primary Site Server. More information on upgrading the OS can be found in the following doc:-

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/supported-upgrade-paths

The items below are some of the more common gotcha’s to check for:-

  1. Disable NIC Teaming before upgrading the OS and then re-enable it after the upgrade is complete https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server-2012-R2-and-2012/hh831648(v=ws.11)
  2. 32GB Minimum space on the OS drive
  3. It is recommended to install the latest Windows updates for Server 2012 R2 before beginning an In-Place-Upgrade
    https://www.microsoft.com/upgradecenter/scenario/WS2012R2-on-prem-to-WS2019
  4. Windows Servers configured to “Boot from VHD” cannot be upgraded using In-place Upgrade
    https://www.microsoft.com/upgradecenter/scenario/WS2012R2-on-prem-to-WS2019

2. SCCM Prerequisites

Here are the prerequisites required by SCCM before you attempt an In-Place-Upgrade on your Site Server:-

Source: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sccm/core/plan-design/configs/supported-operating-systems-for-site-system-servers

  1. This is a good time to re-evaluate the hardware requirements for your Site Server
    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sccm/core/plan-design/configs/supported-operating-systems-for-site-system-servers
  2. You must be on SCCM CB 1810
    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sccm/core/plan-design/configs/supported-operating-systems-for-site-system-servers#bkmk_2019
  3. Remove the SCEP client if you have it installed (Windows defender is built-in to Server 2019)
    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sccm/core/servers/manage/upgrade-on-premises-infrastructure#before-upgrade
  4. Remove – WSUS? Microsoft still say you need to do this. This was certainly necessary when upgrading from Server 2008 R2 to Server 2012 R2 (WSUS 3 > 4) – the upgrade wizard would hard block the upgrade if you didn’t. In my testing, WSUS 4 (Server 2012 R2) upgrades fine to WSUS 10 (Server 2016/2019) with no hard block. I have a pull request with Microsoft Docs to see if this statement is still true.
    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sccm/core/servers/manage/upgrade-on-premises-infrastructure#before-upgrade
  5. Ensure you have an up to date Site Backup (better to have one and not need it)
    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sccm/core/servers/manage/backup-and-recovery
  6. Ensure you have a healthy Site Server. Check the Component Status in Monitoring > System Status > Site Status / Component Status

3. OS Upgrade

1 . Insert your media

2 . Launch Setup.exe

3 . Select the following:-

Download updates, drivers and option feature (recommended)
I want to help make this installation of Windows better – We all want to help right!?

Click Next

Select the following options (option 2 at your discretion)

4 . Choose the Edition you wish to upgrade to and click Next

* Core editions are only supported for the Distribution Point role

Core installations are only supported for the Distribution Point role

5 . Accept the License Terms

6 . Choose to Keep personal files and apps and click Next

Choose what to keep and click Next

7 . Once the setup process has completed validation, click Install

Click Install

8 . Sit back and wait

Wait….

9 . Your Server will restart several times

Your Server will restart several times

10 . Login to the server post OS upgrade

4. Post Upgrade OS Tasks

The operating system has upgraded successfully – here is what we need to do/check next

1 . Check IIS is running

Check IIS is running

2 . Check the WSUS Service is running

Check the WSUS Service is running

3 . Complete the WSUS Configuration Wizard

i . Launch the WSUS Console
ii . Click Run

Click Run

iii . Click Close

Click Close

4 . Activate Windows with a valid Product Key

5 . Check the Windows Defender Antivirus Service/s have started

Check the Windows Defender Antivirus Service/s have started

TIP: Some prerequisites configured above may have prevented some SCCM services from starting. It is recommended to reboot before proceeding to the next section

5. Post Upgrade SCCM Tasks

The operating system has been upgraded and the Windows Services required by SCCM have been checked/configured. Here is what we need to check/configure in SCCM as per:-

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sccm/core/servers/manage/upgrade-on-premises-infrastructure#after-upgrade

1 . Make sure the following Configuration Manager services are running:-

  • SMS_EXECUTIVE
  • SMS_SITE_COMPONENT_MANAGER
Make sure the following Configuration Manager services are running

2 . Make sure the Windows Process Activation and WWW/W3svc services are enabled and set for automatic start. The upgrade process can disable these services (not observed in my lab)

Make sure the Windows Process Activation and WWW Services are running

3 . Perform a Site Reset if this is a Primary Site Server. The site reset will:-

  • Reapply the default Configuration Manager file and registry permissions
  • Re-install all site components and all site system roles at the site

For more information on performing a Site Reset, visit:-

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sccm/core/servers/manage/modify-your-infrastructure#bkmk_reset

i . Run Configuration Manager Setup from <Configuration Manager site installation folder>\BIN\X64\setup.exe *

* You must be logged on as a Full Administrator to perform a site reset

Run setup.exe from the installation folder

ii . Click Next

Click Next

iii . Ensure Perform site maintenance or reset this site is selected and click Next

Select Perform site maintenance or reset this site and click Next

iv . Ensure Reset site with no configuration changes is selected and click Next

Ensure Reset site with no configuration changes is selected and click Next

v . Click Yes

Click Yes

vi . Review ConfigMgrSetup.log for a successful/ site reset

Site Reset Successful
ConfigMgrSetup.log

4 . Officially, you should review the following Microsoft Document to ensure all your Prerequisites are still met. “For example, you might need to reinstall BITS, WSUS, or configure specific settings for IIS”. I didn’t need to do this in my lab.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sccm/core/plan-design/configs/site-and-site-system-prerequisites

5. Reboot the server

TIP: Don’t be tempted to “fix” components too soon. Let the Component Service do its thing and settle down before panic mode sets in.

Summary

So the upgrade was fairly painless in my lab.

For Known Issues when performing an In-Place-Upgrade on a Site Server, refer to the following Microsoft Document:-

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sccm/core/servers/manage/upgrade-on-premises-infrastructure#known-issue-for-remote-configuration-manager-consoles

The In-Place-Upgrade is supported in Production for SCCM 1810 but I would strongly urge you to test this in your lab first. All things considered, it was a fairly simple process.

I am now off to switch on and test LEDBAT 🙂

Successful Upgrade 🙂
4/5 - (3 votes)

2 thoughts on “SCCM Site Server In-Place Upgrade from Windows Server 2012 R2 to Windows Server 2019”

  1. Pingback: Co-management Series “Merging the Perimeter” – Part 5: Enabling Co-management

  2. Thanks Ben for the great article!
    I did in-place upgrade from 2012 R2 to 2019 server.
    I just wanted to share that after I run site reset and rebooted server, server wouldn’t come up.
    I was struggling some time with this problem, even contacted MS support to help me.
    At the end I found solution. Problem was with WindowsInstaller, “Failed to connect to server. Error: 0x800401F0”
    1. net stop wuauserv, 2 remove content of SoftwareDistribution\DataStore, 3. net start wuauserv, fixed the issue.

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