Migrating Windows 2012 to Windows 2019 using Storage Migration Service

Following this :
Storage Migration Service overview | Microsoft Docs

Why we want to do this:
End of life for Windows 2008 and older. Better to upgrade in toto by MIGRATING. Storage Migration Server will do just that!

Warning! Migration does not work with DOMAIN controllers!

Storage Migration Service is designed to help by doing the following:

• Inventory multiple servers and their data
• Rapidly transfer files, file shares, and security configuration from the source servers
• Optionally take over the identity of the source servers (also known as cutting over) so that users and apps don’t have to change anything to access existing data
• Manage one or multiple migrations from the Windows Admin Center user interface

The source and destination computers must have the following firewall rules enabled inbound (though you might already have them enabled):

• File and Printer Sharing (SMB-In)
• Netlogon Service (NP-In)
• Windows Management Instrumentation (DCOM-In)
• Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI-In)

Update: Feb 24, 2021
I’ve hit a snag. Windows Admin Center can’t connect to the windows 2003 PDC server. It seems to also involve SMB v1.0 (which Windows 2003 supports) and higher versions of SMB (which windows 2019 supports)

So I’m going to try with windows 2012 to upgrade / migrate to 2019.

Note:

And I’m going to create shares, and special users and special groups and see if these are all migrated to the new 2019.

And this is the DESTINATION server:

Storage Migration Service Proxy, and then select Install.

Installing the Storage Migration Service Proxy service on a Windows Server 2019 computer automatically opens the necessary firewall ports on that computer. (Not true. I had to manually ENABLE the file and print services using port 139 and 445!!

Also make sure that the Remote Registry Service is running in both the source and destination servers.

And then back on the Orchestration server ( in my case, the HyperV Mothernode) we run the Storage Migration Service.

This credential will be used to access the source computer.

Then hit the ‘Start Scan’

Now, we click the NEXT button to configure and specify the DESTINATION server

Then we configure the transfer settings:

Then we validate the source and destination settings:

Weclicked on the VAlidate to start the error checking:

After the file transfer is completed. We can then do the cutover.

And after several windows, Success!

HOwever, 7 hours on and the process seem to have hanged:

My conclusion at this point:
INplace upgrade is easier.