Windows Server AD Migration

I’m preparing to retire a Windows Server 2012 R2 VM that currently holds all Active Directory roles and bring a brand-new Windows Server 2025 Datacenter VM online in its place. Because I have full administrative rights on the source machine and the total data footprint is under 100 GB, the focus is squarely on a clean, well-documented migration rather than large-scale data transfer.

The core objective is to stand up the 2025 server as a fully functional domain controller, replicate Active Directory (including DNS and SYSVOL), transfer FSMO roles, and then gracefully demote and decommission the 2012 R2 server—all with minimal user disruption. No SQL Server or IIS workloads are involved; only the AD stack needs to move.

Deliverables I need from you:
• A step-by-step execution plan covering pre-migration health checks, promotion of the new DC, replication validation, FSMO transfer, and post-migration cleanup
• Execution of the migration remotely using standard tools such as AD DS Configuration Wizard, PowerShell, and repadmin, with real-time status updates
• Final verification that logons, Group Policy, and DNS resolution work flawlessly on the new server, followed by safe demotion of the legacy VM
• A concise rollback path in case something goes sideways and a short hand-over document summarising what was done

If you’ve moved domains between versions before and are comfortable working in a virtualised environment, let’s schedule this and get the new 2025 DC in production.