I am looking for a tool that will help me create an image of a Windows Server 2008 R2 with SQL Server 2008 so that I can use it to upgrade a server that is running Windows 2003 32 bit. Will SCCM be able to do this for me and if not, can anyone recommend a good tool? I haven't done much of this so I'm not sure if this is even possible. I would like to basically take an existing server, create a partition with say 100GB of space, install the Server 2008 OS on it, and then boot it to it. Eventually, if all goes well, then I would take the old Windows 2003 partition and merge it into the new one. Not even sure if that is possible. Any suggestions would be great! Thanks, Greg

ConfigMgr is not a generic imaging "tool". ConfigMgr a platform designed to manage Windows systems in enterprise environment (small and large). ConfigMgr makes use of an imaging tool for its Operating System Deployment functionality; specifically it uses imagex which is freely distributed by Microsoft as part of the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK). ConfigMgr is not specifically designed for what you have described above. What is your end goal? What do you mean by merge the old partition into the new one -- that doesn't really make sense for Windows.Jason | http://myitforum.com/cs2/blogs/jsandys | http://blogs.catapultsystems.com/jsandys/default.aspx | Twitter @JasonSandys

I have been assigned the task to come up with a plan for the following: Take an existing server running Windows 2003 32 bit and SQL Server 2005 and come up with a "as much as possible" way to automate shutting it down and bringing it back up as a Windows Server 2008 R2 64 bit with SQL Server 2008. Of course the database files (and other files) would be backed up so that they could be reattached to the new SQL Server instance. There will be some manual intervention. This is assumming that the server is capable of running a 64 bit OS, which I have been told isn't an issue. This would provide a in place migration for the customer withouth them having to buy a new server, which would be a better idea IMO. So, I am looking for software that can help me create a Windows 2008 R2 image that I can (guessing) SYSPREP and have the customer boot from the DVD and let it take care of the rest. I was thinking the SCCM with the WAIK might be the right solution but I'm guessing not. Does that help?

Kind of. I'm still not sure where the imaging solution comes in. If the DBs are all backed up, why not just flatten the box and reinstall it with 2008 R2 and SQL 2008 (both 64-bit) then restore the DBs? Installing 208 R2 literally takes about 15 minutes (less if you install from a USB key/drive) with little to no intervention. Jason | http://myitforum.com/cs2/blogs/jsandys | http://blogs.catapultsystems.com/jsandys/default.aspx | Twitter @JasonSandys