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We are in the process of specing out a project for a client to upgrade their cluster hardware and host OS. They are currently using a server 2012 R2 cluster. We are going to take them to a server 2016 cluster. However I found 2 server 2003R2 VMs. Turns out server 2003R2 is supported by 2012R2, but is not listed as a supported guest OS in a 2016 hyper-v cluster.

Either my google-fu isn't what it once was, or no one has written anything about it.

I am fairly sure it shouldn't be a problem, but I figured I'd ask first.

Has anyone got a 2003 guest OS running in a server 2016 hyper-v cluster and if so, have you had any issues?

Gummby8
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2 Answers2

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Indeed, Windows Server 2003R2 is not supported on Hyper-V 2016 but it doesn't mean that it won't work at all. You can create VM with first (legacy) generation and install integrated services from 2012R2 manually (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/virtualization/hyper-v/manage/manage-hyper-v-integration-services#install-or-update-integration-services). Please be aware that since Windows Server 2003R2 is not supported there may be some unexpected errors.
I believe it's a good time to migrate OS to Windows Server 2008R2 which is still supported (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/search/?p1=14134&wa=wsignin1.0) or to Windows Server 2012R2 and run legacy applications in compatibility mode.

batistuta09
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Windows Server 2003R2 is past end of life. Microsoft will no longer support it, but it will certainly run (as a Generation 1 virtual machine only) on Hyper-V 2016.

Of course, this is a good time to plan your migration off of the obsolete server platform.

Michael Hampton
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