The process of moving to Windows Server might vary greatly depending on which operating system you are starting with and the pathway you take. We use the following terms to distinguish among different actions, any of which could be involved in a new Windows Server deployment. Installation is the basic concept of getting the new operating system on your hardware.
Specifically, a clean installation requires deleting the previous operating system. Migration means moving from your existing operating system to Windows Server by transferring to a different set of hardware or virtual machine. Migration, which might vary considerably depending on the server roles you have installed, is discussed in detail at Windows Server Installation, Upgrade, and Migration. This feature allows you to avoid downtime which could impact Service Level Agreements.
This new feature is discussed in more detail at Cluster operating system rolling upgrade. License conversion In some operating system releases, you can convert a particular edition of the release to another edition of the same release in a single step with a simple command and the appropriate license key.
We call this license conversion. Upgrade means moving from your existing operating system release to a more recent release while staying on the same hardware. This is sometimes called in-place upgrade. You can upgrade from an evaluation version of the operating system to a retail version, from an older retail version to a newer version, or, in some cases, from a volume-licensed edition of the operating system to an ordinary retail edition.
Upgrade works best in virtual machines where specific OEM hardware drivers are not needed for a successful upgrade. For releases of Windows Server prior to Starting with version The table below briefly summarizes which already licensed that is, not evaluation Windows operating systems can be upgraded to which editions of Windows Server If you do not see your current version in the left column, upgrading to this release of Windows Server is not supported. If you see more than one edition in the right column, upgrading to either edition from the same starting version is supported.
Even in supported upgrade paths from previous retail versions to Windows Server , certain server roles that are already installed might require additional preparation or actions for the role to continue functioning after the upgrade.
Consult the specific TechNet Library topics for each server role you intend to upgrade for details of additional steps that might be required. You can convert the evaluation version of Windows Server Standard to either Windows Server Standard retail or Datacenter retail.
Similarly, you can convert the evaluation version of Windows Server Datacenter to the retail version. Before you attempt to convert from evaluation to retail, verify that your server is actually running an evaluation version.
To do this, do either of the following:. From an elevated command prompt, run slmgr. From the Start screen, open Control Panel. Open System and Security , and then System. View Windows activation status in the Windows activation area of the System page.
Click View details in Windows activation for more information about your Windows activation status. If you have already activated Windows, the Desktop shows the time remaining in the evaluation period. If the server is running a retail version instead of an evaluation version, see the Upgrading previous retail versions of Windows Server to Windows Server section of this topic for instructions to upgrade to Windows Server For Windows Server Essentials : You can convert to the full retail version by entering a retail, volume license, or OEM key in the command slmgr.
If the server is running an evaluation version of Windows Server Standard or Windows Server Datacenter, you can convert it to a retail version as follows:. For the evaluation version of Windows Server Standard, you can also convert to the retail version of Windows Server Datacenter in one step using this same command and the appropriate product key. For more information about Dism. At any time after installing Windows Server , you can run Setup to repair the installation sometimes called repair in place or, in certain cases, to convert to a different edition.
You can run Setup to perform a repair in place on any edition of Windows Server ; the result will be the same edition you started with. Make note of this edition ID, an abbreviated form of the edition name. The server will restart twice. At any time after installing Windows Server , you can freely convert it between a retail version, a volume-licensed version, or an OEM version. The edition remains the same during this conversion. If you are starting with an evaluation version, convert it to the retail version first, and then you can inter-convert as described here.
Feedback will be sent to Microsoft: By pressing the submit button, your feedback will be used to improve Microsoft products and services. Privacy policy. Skip to main content. Contents Exit focus mode. Important Upgrade works best in virtual machines where specific OEM hardware drivers are not needed for a successful upgrade. Important For releases of Windows Server prior to Tip For more information about Dism.
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How to upgrade Windows Server Evaluation to Full Version – Upgrading previous retail versions of Windows Server to Windows Server 2016
Explains how to upgrade or convert Windows Server to newer versions, different editions, or switch between licensing options. Windows Server is the cloud-ready operating system that delivers new layers of This ISO evaluation is for the Datacenter and Standard editions.
Downgrade server from datacenter to standard.Windows Server | Eval Center
If you use trial ISO, the first save option will be always greyed out. That key is datacentdr used with a key management system, a special server in your network. Ok, I run setup. Note: 1. I have to enter a license key to continue. The officially recommended method is a clean OS installation. Upgrade Options Overview of Windows Server upgrades.
