With System Center 2012 Configuration Manager, you can migrate data from a supported Configuration Manager source hierarchy to your destination hierarchy. When you migrate data from a source hierarchy, you access data from the site databases that you identify in the source infrastructure and then transfer that data to your current environment. Migration does not change the data in the source hierarchy, but instead discovers the data and stores a copy in the database of the destination hierarchy.

Consider the following when you plan your migration strategy:

Use the following sections to help you plan and implement your migration:

Migration Scenarios

Configuration Manager supports the following migration scenarios.

Note
The expansion of a hierarchy that contains a stand-alone site into a hierarchy that contains a central administration site is not categorized as a migration. For information about hierarchy expansion, see the Planning to Expand a Stand-Alone Primary Site section in the Planning for Sites and Hierarchies in Configuration Manager topic.

Migration from Configuration Manager 2007 Hierarchies

Migration from System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1 Hierarchies

Migration from System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager Hierarchies

The Migration Workflow

The following steps describe the basic migration workflow.

  1. Specify a supported source hierarchy.

  2. Configure data gathering. Data gathering enables Configuration Manager to collect information about data that can migrate from the source hierarchy.

    Configuration Manager automatically repeats the process to collect data on a simple schedule until you stop the data gathering process. By default, the data gathering process repeats every four hours so that Configuration Manager can identify changes to data in the source hierarchy that you might want to migrate. Data gathering is also necessary to share distribution points from the source hierarchy to the destination hierarchy.

  3. Create migration jobs to migrate data between the source and destination hierarchy.

  4. You can stop the data gathering process at any time by using the Stop Gathering Data command. When you stop data gathering, Configuration Manager no longer identifies changes to data in the source hierarchy, and can no longer share distribution points between the source and destination hierarchies. Typically, you use this action when you no longer plan to migrate data or share distribution points from the source hierarchy.

  5. Optionally, after data gathering has stopped at all sites for the source hierarchy, you can clean up the migration data by using the Clean Up Migration Data command. This command deletes the historical data about migration from a source hierarchy from the database of the destination hierarchy.

After you migrate data from a Configuration Manager source hierarchy that you will no longer use to manage your environment, you can plan to decommission that source hierarchy and infrastructure.

Migration Concepts in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager

Use the following information about the concepts and terms that you encounter when you migrate from a source hierarchy to System Center 2012 Configuration Manager or System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager.

Concept or term More information

Source hierarchy

A Configuration Manager 2007 SP2, System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1, or System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager hierarchy that contains data that you want to migrate. You specify a source hierarchy when you specify the top-level site of a source hierarchy. After you specify a source hierarchy, the top-level site of the destination hierarchy gathers data from the database of the designated source site to identify the data that you can migrate.

For more information, see the Migration Source Hierarchies section in the Planning a Source Hierarchy Strategy in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager topic.

Source sites

The sites in the source hierarchy that have data that you can migrate to your destination hierarchy.

For more information, see the Migration Source Sites section in the Planning a Source Hierarchy Strategy in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager topic.

Destination hierarchy

A System Center 2012 Configuration Manager, System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1, or System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager hierarchy where migration runs to import data from the site database of a source hierarchy.

Data gathering

The ongoing process of identifying the information in a source hierarchy that you can migrate to System Center 2012 Configuration Manager or System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager. Configuration Manager checks the source hierarchy on a schedule to identify any changes to information in the source hierarchy that you previously migrated and that you might want to update in the destination hierarchy.

For more information, see the Migration Data Gathering section in the Planning a Source Hierarchy Strategy in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager topic.

Migration jobs

The process of configuring the specific objects to migrate, and then managing the migration of those objects to the destination hierarchy.

For more information, see Planning a Migration Job Strategy in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager.

Client migration

The process of transferring information that clients use from the database of the source site to the database of the destination hierarchy. This migration of data is then followed by an upgrade of client software on devices to the client software version from the destination hierarchy.

For more information, see Planning a Client Migration Strategy in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager.

Shared distribution points

The distribution points from the source hierarchy that are shared with the destination hierarchy during the migration period.

During the migration period, clients assigned to sites in the destination hierarchy can obtain content from shared distribution points.

For more information, see the Share Distribution Points Between Source and Destination Hierarchies section in the About Shared Distribution Points in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager Migration topic

Monitoring migration

The process of monitoring migration activities. You monitor the migration progress and success from the Migration node in the Administration workspace.

For more information, see Planning to Monitor Migration Activity in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager.

Stop gathering data

The process of stopping data gathering from source sites. When you no longer have data to migrate from a source hierarchy, or if you want to temporarily suspend migration-related activities, you can configure the destination hierarchy to stop gathering data from the source hierarchy.

For more information, see the Migration Data Gathering section in the Planning a Source Hierarchy Strategy in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager topic.

Clean up migration data

The process of finishing migration from a source hierarchy by removing information about the migration from the destination hierarchies database.

For more information, see Planning to Complete Migration in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager.

What’s New in Configuration Manager SP1

What’s New in System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager

See Also