Hello,

I have a question about the compatibility between these two systems.
My office has been looking into upgrading our clients to Windows 8.1 systems as this is what will be coming with our new hardware.

We currently run a Windows 2008 R2 active directory. I am wondering if there are any issues with this Client/Server combination? The servers will eventually be updated to 2012 later this year but the new hardware will be here before then and I want to make sure that there will not be any major issues with running the domain like this for a while.

I've worked with this combination for some time and did not encounter any problems at all. You might want to look at GPO's which target specific software, like Office - you'll probably need to import the ADMX templates for the new Office version, if you use the ADMX templates. Also, please be aware that Windows 8.1 has a delay for GPO scripts:

http://blogs.technet.com/b/platformspfe/archive/2014/03/08/windows-8-1-logon-script-delay-group-policy-setting.aspx

• Marked as answer by ITSaxon 16 hours 45 minutes ago

Hey excellent answer, thank you.
Does Server 2008 R2 have the GPO to set that script delay or am I going to have to configure that locally on the 8.1 machines until we get 2012 running?

Hi ITSaxon,

By default, the Group Policy client waits five minutes before running logon scripts

And there is a way to either disable this feature altogether, or reduce the delay between user logon and when scripts run: the policy at Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\System\Group Policy\Configure Logon Script Delay. Enter 0 to disable it.

You could refer to the article.

https://www.petri.com/group-policy-in-windows-8-1-new-features

Best Regards,

Mary Dong