We are upgrading our Virtual Dedicated Server. The only difference between the two VDS is storage space and RAM as far as the server is concerned. I am wondering what is the best way to clone the server. Imaging is out of the question. The current server has multiple web applications, websites and a SQL server. I hope to avoid repeating all the things that were done to set up all the things. Any tip will be greatly appreciated. Hong

How will you use that new server? Will you connect it to the same active directory?With kind regards Krystian Zieja http://www.projectnenvision.com Follow me on twitter My Blog

Thanks a lot, Krystian, for your prompt response. The VDS is provided by a hosting service provider. AD is not involved.Hong

If imaging is out of the question, then a new install is the appropriate step required. A new installation, even in a VM should take less than 1 hour. Visit: anITKB.com, an IT Knowledge Base.

JM, WS2008R2 is installed by the hosting service provider. We just need to install the SP1. I think, in our case, it comes down to SQL server and websites, web apps. For web apps, we have not used Web deployment package yet. Maybe it is the time to use it. We have been publishing app files to the server then configure the server's IIS for each app and website. I am thinking about using backup & restore to take care of the SQL server, but we still need to install an app for virtual DVD, then download SQL ISO from MSDN and install it before restoring the backed up databases. These things can take quite some time.Hong

Hi, To clone the entire system, the only method is to use some imaging tools such as Ghost. Since imaging is out of the question for you, you have to install the system and all applications from scratch. Tim Quan