Upgrade TFS 2008 to 2010 on different server

Question

Hi,

I have been looking for a way to migrate and upgrade our TFS 2008 server to 2010 server preferably without losing any data.

I have been looking at the TFS Integration Platform http://tfsintegration.codeplex.com/

and also Visual Studio 2010 TFS Upgrade Guide vs2010upgradeguide.codeplex.com

Looking at the document TFS Integration Platform - Migration Guidance.xps using the first link, it seems to suggest that I could preserve all the data by first migrating the TFS 2008 from one server to the other and then upgrade the TFS 2008 to 2010.

Is this true?

Thank you,

Chen

Answer 1

It should be. Migration of 2008 from one server to another is primarily a database exercise, but it can get tricky when you are initializing the Application Tier.

To be honest, I thought the TFS Integration Platform migration was providing guidance around moving from TFS 2005 to TFS 2008. My understanding was that TFS 2010 has an upgrade feature included in the wizard that should take care of most things for you. Thus far, I've only installed TFS 2008 from scratch and TFS 2010 from scratch-- I haven't yet tried that part of the wizard.

Another consideration is the database platform for your TFS 2008 instance. In our case, our 2008 is installed on MS SQL Server 2005, and TFS 2010 requires SQL Server 2008, so that's going to make our upgrade potentially a bit trickier.

Answer 2

If the database is on its own box then you first need to upgrade to SQL 2008. Once that is done you can install TFS 2010 on a new server, select upgrade during the install and point it to the database server.

If the database is on the same box as TFS 2008 then you first need to backup all the databases and restore them on to the new box with SQL 2008. Then install TFS 2010, choose upgrade during the install and point it to the database server.

Answer 3

Chen - We just went through this process a few weeks ago. While it's not a trivial matter it can be done. There is actually specific guidance for an upgrade with migration to new hardware in the TFS Install Guide. Take a look at the Scenario: Upgrading Team Foundation Server section and the sub-section named Checklist: In-Place or Migration Upgrade on One or More Servers.

The most challenging part of the exercise for us was the SharePoint setup/configuration, but if you follow the guide closely it should go fairly smoothly. This post may help with the SharePoint piece.