I am after a bit of advice. We have a WSS 3.0 server used for document control, currently operating in a W2k3 domain with a trust to another domain. The document library inside it is large with lots of version history. We are wanting to move to sharepoint 2013, does anyone have any advice as to what the best migration method may be?
The way I see it we could either take a backup of the content DB and re-create the WSS 3.0 instance and sharepoint setup on a new server ( I really cant stress how flimsy the existing box is, we just cannot query it really) and then perform an upgrade to 2010 and then to 2013.
OR
Use one of the very many migration tools that are out there such as sharegate (although that one is very expensive it seems).
Just after what peoples experiences of this are and whether or not the two approaches above are the correct way to go, there seems to be extensive and very good Microsoft documentation on the upgrade path. Just a bit dubious about re-creating an instance of our current WSS 3.0 setup.
Cheers
UPDATE:
So I think I may have to rule sharegate out as an option after looking at prices. The below may seem like a decent approach for me to take, can anyone spot any problems:
1) Backup WSS 3.0 Content database 2) Transfer to a server 2008 box with sql installed and restore DB 3) Install WSS 3.0 on new server 4) Perform a database upgrade to SharePoint 2010 on the server 2008 box. 5) Transfer the upgraded database to my new server 2012 box and restore to SQL. 6) Install sharepoint 2013 and perform the upgrade of the 2010 database to the 2013 version 7) Verification check and then I can finally begin re-designing the solution but this time with all the documents I need in place.
I realise there are lots of if's and but's and im sure there will be many hurdles but is this approach even feasible? Googling about and looking at MSDN it seems possible, I don't think the current WSS 3.0 even has any service packs on, hence the need for server 2008 and not server 2008 R2.
stsamn might be a way to go.
You already mentioned Sharegate, which requires no server side installation (as you mentioned your server has limited resources) and it allows to skip versions, hence skipping the 2010 install. http://help.share-gate.com/article/399-supported-sharepoint-versions