callisto's questions

We have a Dell R620 (256GB RAM, 2x3 SSD RAID 10) which has an older tower server as it's manual failover machine. Both are running Server 2016 DataCentre.

Budget for a 2nd Dell R620 with matching specs to the first has been approved.

Paying for a 3rd license of Server 2016 DataCentre is not approved.

I've read conflicting statements on the viability of using a bare metal recovery to move the os with it's license to the new hardware.

Links stating it can be done:

https://www.ubackup.com/windows-server/windows-server-backup-bare-metal-recovery-4348.html https://docs.microsoft.com/en-US/troubleshoot/windows-server/backup-and-storage/how-to-restore-windows-installation

Is it at all possible?

We are a small outfit, and I am running 4 webservers, 2 SQL servers, and a Reporting Server as VM's in Hyper-V on WinServer2016 (datacentre edition). I want to be able to have a failover from this machine (Dell R620) to a copy of it. The servers are not on AD - I'm a dev wearing a Admin hat badly.

Is there something out there that can do this?

Already have replication running from [live] machine to [backup/failover] machine.
However, if stuff goes down, all info that was committed to sql databases since last replication would be lost, and this is the main problem.

I have no AD training at all, and the current setup is a mongrel that started as a BusinessServer2003, migrated to 2008 then to hybrid cloud based by previous employee that has left. I employed a tech thereafter for a period but fired him after he proved incompetent and in process of stealing source code. Sigh.

Not sure if this is do-able, but I want to attack the biggest headaches first.

I have a very limited budget, and little knowledge of this, so please bear with me.

We have a primary, and backup Hyper-V server. Replication is running from the primary to the secondary. I need to failover one of the VMs on Primary to secondary without interrupting the services provided by that VM.

This VM is a webserver, with a public website.

No data changes are written in this VM's storage - There is another VM where the databases are hosted. The webserver VM needs to restart after windows updates, while the Secondary Hyper-V runs the most recent replication image.
After the VM has restarted on Primary, the VM on Primary should again be the active one, and then the WindowsUpdates Replicated down to the (dormant again) Secondary Hyper-V.

So in short - Having 2 Hyper-V servers (not clustered - no Active Directory), How to I get a VM to run on the secondary (without downtime of the service provided), and reboot the VM on primary, and switch all users' sessions back to the VM on primary?