How to Clone Server 2012 Enterprise

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riscatto

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We have Dell T320 Poweredge with Server 2012 Enterprise Disk is Patitioned (RAID 1) 2 x 1TB
C: O/S 60GB 40GB used
E: DATA 867 GB
Have IDENTICAL SERVER T320 POWEREDGE (RAID 10) 8 x 1TB
C: O/S 253 GB
E: DATA 2.47 TB
The problem we had was something was eating into operating system disk we were upto 57GB used showing RED for ctritical free space
So we wanted to Clone Server to New T 320 giving us over 250GB for O/S
Didn't know how to do this we have copy of Clonezilla but not sure how to use
Tried Backup and Restore but as Servers have different Names wouldn't accept restore?
Contacted Freelancer and took on agent to clone, but what he has done is copied Active Directory over changed Server Name on new Server but no programs?
Doing this he has somehow released 20GB space on original Server
But increased O/S useage on new Server by 30GB.
By releasing space on original Server we are out of danger, but would like to move everything to New Server giving lots more space on O/S and Data H/Drive also Raid 10.
Or would it be possible to have the two servers side by side
Any help appreciated as not sure "Freelancer" understands what we require?
Thanks
 
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The post before that told you exactly what to do outside of telling you specifically which cloning software to get (and how to use it).
It also gave several suggestions to overall make your setup better.
No free application is going to work for windows server across 2 different disk sizes, you need to invest in a commercial license cloning software, I believe I stated earlier in the thread that I really like Macrium Reflect for PC so I would suggest the commercial version of that which is reasonably priced.

Again, simply cloning the drive to a larger partition is a short term fix to a long term problem. You need to figure out what is filling your drive with data otherwise you will just be back in the same situation with the 250gb...
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boosted1g

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First off clonezilla will not handle different hard drive sizes.
Since this is being one on windows server 2012 you will need commercial software.

Now are you trying to have the 2 servers running different tasks, or both sharing the load of 1 task?
To have both running you will need to have all the extra OS and program licenses to make it legit.
 
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riscatto

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Ideally I would like to Clone Server 1 to Server 2 by using Raid 10 we have 250GB O/S Partition with 2.47TB for Data Storage.
Although Server 2 has O/S installed it does not have Programs, Domain information for Clients to Log in, so it is not in use
Can you suggest anyway to go forward?
 
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boosted1g

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You dont want to put your OS drive for server on your RAID array. That is just begging for problems.
It is one thing to have virtual servers on the RAID array, but the OS for the server itself should be on a separate drive, with that drive being backed up to the raid array.

Why do you need the programs on both Server 1 and 2, do you have licenses for those programs to be on both servers?
If the programs are providing a shared/network function, then will having 2 instances of them running provide load balancing or any gain over 1?

I am just trying to get a feel for if you really need BOTH systems to have the programs or just 1 with programs and both handling AD

You can use commercial cloning software (not really any free utilities that will work with server OS and be able to clone to different disk sizes).
I really like macrium relfect for PCs, so I would suggest getting a commercial license of that, which will then work on server OS as well.
 
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riscatto

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Many thanks for reply, we have licences for both Programs that we use, not sure they would cover two machines but do not see any reason why not as it would be as a fail safe and no third party using them.
really just need the best server to use in our domain yes just 1 as domain controller with programs and storage of Data for those programs.
This was all caused by Something shrinking O/S space getting near critical, we colud now leave well alone as we have 20GB spare
But thought as I purchased Server 2 with more Ram and H/Disks it might be better if they reversed roles?
Would you leave well alone or move to Server 2?
 
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boosted1g

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Software licenses are not for as many PCs as you feel like putting them on, even as a failsafe. Some licenses will allow this, but most don't, it is certainly not something you can just assume. Unless otherwise stated, a license is for ONE computer only.

If your Server OS is increasing size at a fairly fast rate, putting it on a larger disk is simply a short term fix to a long term problem. Eventually the OS is going to fill up the second server as well.
You need to find the true root of the problem, which is most likely log files pilling up that are not being purged.

If you have many users (60+) then having multiple servers sharing the load of AD is not a bad idea at all.
I would evaluate what server functions are requiring the largest load.

Also server 2 should have following configuraiton:
2x1tb drive in Raid 1 - this is for your OS/Programs
6x1tb drive in either Raid 10 or Raid 6. You should then have OS of BOTH servers do full disk image backup to this raid array.

Clone drive to bigger/better server.
Wipe drive on original server and reinstall windows server on it.
Find true issue to storage problem, and fix it
Have original server be for AD only, if you have 60+ users than have second server be secondary AD server.
Possibly add memory to original server if necessary.
 
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riscatto

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Thank you for your reply, we understand that the Server needs more than 60GB that is why we have setup Server 2 with 250GB O/S 2.4TB Data Storage.
But what we are asking is how to clone from Server 1 to Sever 2 with new setup?
Can you advise on this please?
Regards
 
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boosted1g

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Jun 12, 2013
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The post before that told you exactly what to do outside of telling you specifically which cloning software to get (and how to use it).
It also gave several suggestions to overall make your setup better.
No free application is going to work for windows server across 2 different disk sizes, you need to invest in a commercial license cloning software, I believe I stated earlier in the thread that I really like Macrium Reflect for PC so I would suggest the commercial version of that which is reasonably priced.

Again, simply cloning the drive to a larger partition is a short term fix to a long term problem. You need to figure out what is filling your drive with data otherwise you will just be back in the same situation with the 250gb drive being near full.

To be blunt here, you have too advanced of a setup to not have a dedicated IT guy that knows what they are doing, you might not need a full time employee but certainly a reliable IT contractor. The simple fact that this thread was made and the inefficient configuration of your setup shows that nobody in-house has the experience necessary and thus you need to find someone who does. Cost and Risk Management is not just about what it costs to do something today, its about how much cost/damage can happen in the future if you don't.
 
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