On the 19th October 2016, Microsoft have clarified what can and cannot be upgraded in-place from Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 to Windows Server 2016.
The applications/services which cannot be directly upgraded are:
- Active Directory Federation Services
- Hyper-V
- Print and Fax Services
More details can be found Server Role Upgrades and migration matrix for Windows Server 2016.
| Server Role | Upgradeable from Windows Server 2012 R2? | Upgradeable from Windows Server 2012? | Migration Supported? | Can migration be completed without downtime? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active Directory Certificate Services | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Active Directory Domain Services | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Active Directory Federation Services | No | No | Yes | No (new nodes need to be added to the farm) |
| Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Active Directory Rights Management Services | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| DHCP Server | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| DNS Server | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Failover Cluster | Yes with Cluster OS Rolling Upgrade process which includes node Pause-Drain, Evict, upgrade to Windows Server 2016 and rejoin the original cluster. Yes, when the server is removed by the cluster for upgrade and then added to a different cluster. | Not while the server is part of a cluster. Yes, when the server is removed by the cluster for upgrade and then added to a different cluster. | Yes | No for Windows Server 2012 Failover Clusters. Yes for Windows Server 2012 R2 Failover Clusters with Hyper-V VMs or Windows Server 2012 R2 Failover Clusters running the Scale-out File Server role. See Cluster OS Rolling Upgrade. |
| File and Storage Services | Yes | Yes | Varies by sub-feature | No |
| Hyper-V | Yes. (When the host is part of a cluster with Cluster OS Rolling Upgrade process which includes node Pause-Drain, Evict, upgrade to Windows Server 2016 and rejoin the original cluster.) | No | Yes | No for Windows Server 2012 Failover Clusters. Yes for Windows Server 2012 R2 Failover Clusters with Hyper-V VMs or Windows Server 2012 R2 Failover Clusters running the Scale-out File Server role. See Cluster OS Rolling Upgrade. |
| Print and Fax Services | No | No | Yes (Printbrm.exe) | No |
| Remote Desktop Services | Yes, for all sub-roles, but mixed mode farm is not supported | Yes, for all sub-roles, but mixed mode farm is not supported | Yes | No |
| Web Server (IIS) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Windows Server Essentials Experience | Yes | N/A – new feature | Yes | No |
| Windows Server Update Services | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Work Folders | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes from WS 2012 R2 cluster when usingCluster OS Rolling Upgrade. |
Credit to Mike Brannigan for bringing this to my attention.
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