I currently have one Windows Server 2003 DHCP server and would like to upgrade to Windows Server 2012 DHCP.  Are there steps or a path to move from a Windows Server 2003 DHCP to Windows Server 2012 DHCP?  Can i just export the 2003 DHCP database and import it into the new 2012 server?  Should i update to server 2008 and then to server 2012?  Any insight is grealty appreciated.  Thanks.

Hi,

Thanks for your question.

Since the netsh DHCP command-line was replaced by PowerShell in Windows Server 2012, we cannot use it to export the DHCP database and import it to Server 2012. We can use PowerShell to migrate Windows 2008 or R2 DHCP server to Windows 2012. For more information, you may refer to the following article.

Migrating existing DHCP Server deployment to Windows Server 2012 DHCP Failover

http://blogs.technet.com/b/teamdhcp/archive/2012/09/11/migrating-existing-dhcp-server-deployment-to-windows-server-2012-dhcp-failover.aspx

However, this new module is not compatible with all earlier versions, such as Windows 2003. So currently, we cannot directly migrate Windows 2003 DHCP server to Windows Server 2012.

Best Regards,

Aiden

Aiden,  Thanks for getting back to me.  Basically it sounds like i will need to go from 2003 to 2008 and then to 2012.  Is that correct? 

Yes, your understanding is correct. You need migrate to Server 2008 R2, then you can migrate from 2008 R2 to 2012.

Best Regards,

Aiden

Please refer to the article below.

http://blogs.technet.com/b/canitpro/archive/2013/04/29/step-by-step-migration-of-dhcp-from-windows-server-2003-to-windows-server-2012.aspx