Windows Server

Windows Server 2016 Print Server Migration: Printbrm Steps and Pitfalls

Windows Server 2016 print server migration: no in-place upgrade, so move queues and drivers with Printbrm. Steps, driver mapping, rollback and mistakes.

Published 06 November 2026

A print server is a role where the work is mostly in the details you forgot you configured: a driver someone patched in 2019, a port monitor for one old device, a shared name that a login script maps. If your print server runs Windows Server 2016, Microsoft's answer is a side-by-side move with Printbrm. This guide shows the steps, the switches that matter, the rollback point and the mistakes that leave a floor of people unable to print. Sources checked 6 November 2026 against Microsoft Learn and Microsoft Lifecycle; they are listed at the end.

Verdict

Verdict: Migrate.

Microsoft's role matrix says Print and Fax Services cannot be upgraded in place and supports migration using Printbrm.exe.

The matrix also says a print migration is not downtime-free. Plan a short window for the cutover, and keep the old server available as the fallback until people have printed from the new one.

Who this is for and what changes on the end-of-support date

This is for anyone sharing printers from a Windows Server 2016 machine: a dedicated print server, or a file server, domain controller or application server that also hosts queues.

Microsoft Lifecycle lists Windows Server 2016 under the Fixed Lifecycle Policy. The Lifecycle table shows the extended support end as 1/13/2027 6:59:59 AM, while Microsoft's extended security updates page names 12 January 2027. Plan to finish before 12 January 2027.

Printing keeps working on the day. What stops is security updates, unless you buy Extended Security Updates, on a server that accepts connections and driver installs from every desktop in the organisation. On ESU, Microsoft's Azure Arc documentation says Windows Server 2016 reaches end of support on January 12, 2027, and that Extended Security Updates provide Critical and Important security updates for up to three years, through 2030, without new features, customer-requested nonsecurity hotfixes or design change requests. Arc-enabled ESU can be configured in the Azure portal from August 3, 2026, and its billing begins January 13, 2027. Standard and Datacenter editions are supported; physical-core licences need at least 16 cores per machine, and virtual-core licences need at least 8 per VM and use Standard. You must attest to Software Assurance or an equivalent server subscription, or license through SPLA. The pages I read show no price, so get a quote. Microsoft describes ESU generally as a last resort paid option and a temporary bridge, so treat it as a way to finish a migration, not as the plan.

Decision table

Option	What Microsoft documents	Fit for a print server
Stay and buy ESU	Azure Arc ESU: Critical and Important updates for up to three years, through 2030, billed from 13 January 2027; needs Software Assurance or an equivalent subscription	A temporary bridge, not a plan; no price is published on those pages, so get a quote
In-place upgrade	The role matrix lists Print and Fax Services as not upgradeable in place	Not available
Side-by-side migration	Back up queues, drivers and settings with Printbrm.exe or the Print Management migration wizard and restore on a new server	The documented route
Move to the cloud	Universal Print is a Microsoft cloud print service that Microsoft describes as eliminating print servers and print drivers; it works with existing printers and uses Microsoft Entra ID	A redesign rather than a migration; assess your printers and licensing before relying on it

Steps, with the rollback point

Inventory. On the old server run Get-Printer | Select Name, DriverName, PortName, Shared, ShareName, Get-PrinterDriver | Select Name, Manufacturer and Get-PrinterPort. Note the permissions on key queues, default preferences, and which devices need special language or port monitors. Find which login scripts, Group Policy printer settings or deployed-printer entries reference the server name.
Prepare the new server. Install Windows Server, the Print and Document Services role, and confirm the Print Management console works. Microsoft says the newest Printbrm should be used for a migration, so run it on the newest operating system. Remote operation needs the Print$ share to exist on both servers and the Remote Registry service running.
Plan the drivers. Printbrm supports both version 3 and version 4 drivers. If you want to replace old drivers on the way over, Microsoft's method is to back up with -nobin, install the new drivers on the new server by hand, then restore with a configuration file that maps old driver names to new ones.
Back up the queues. From the new server run, in the Spool\Tools folder or with the full path, Printbrm -s \\oldprintserver -b -f D:\printers.printerExport. You can also use Print Management: right-click Print Management, choose Migrate Printers, and export queues and drivers to a file. Microsoft advises against the older Printer Migration Wizard (PrintMig.exe) and notes the two tools do not exchange .cab backups. Rollback point: the exported file and the unchanged old server.
Use a configuration file if drivers change. Back up with Printbrm -b -nobin -s \\oldprintserver -f printers.printerExport, install new drivers, write a BrmConfig.xml with a DriverMap section giving each old and new driver name, then restore with Printbrm -r -c BrmConfig.xml -f printers.printerExport -o force.
Restore the queues. Run Printbrm -s \\newprintserver -r -f D:\printers.printerExport. Useful switches from Microsoft's reference: -o force overwrites existing objects, -lpr2tcp converts LPR ports to standard TCP/IP ports on restore, -p all:org publishes printers to Active Directory, -q queries a server or file, and -noacl removes access control lists, which Microsoft says to use if you move printers to a different domain.
Check the logs. Review the Application event log for the PrintBRM source and the Printer Migration Events custom view; Microsoft notes restored printers are shared as they were before.
Test with a pilot group. Print a test page from each queue as a pilot user, and check finishing options, trays, duplex and secure-print features. Compare Get-Printer output on both servers.
Cut over. Decide how users find the new queues: change the server name in login scripts, Group Policy printer deployment or deployed printers; or, if you are renaming the new server to the old name, do that only after the old server is shut down. Reconnect clients in waves.
Retire. Keep the old server powered off but intact for a business cycle, then uninstall the role and remove the DNS name.

What is inside the export

A Printbrm backup is a compressed file that holds XML descriptions of the installed drivers (BrmDrivers), forms (BrmForms), port monitors (BrmLMons), ports (BrmPorts) and printers (BrmPrinters), plus spooler attributes such as the spool directory path (BrmSpoolerAttrib). Microsoft's reference describes a selective restore: unpack the file to a temporary folder with -d, edit the files you want to change, repack with -d, and import the edited file. Use it when you want to leave out retired queues rather than carry them to the new server.

Mistakes that cause outages

Assuming in-place works. The matrix says it does not.
Migrating with the old Printer Migration Wizard. Microsoft advises against it, and the two backup formats are not interchangeable.
Driver mismatch. Old drivers can fail on a newer operating system, and a restore can overwrite or conflict with drivers already there; use the driver map and test.
Forgetting ports and monitors. Standard TCP/IP ports restore well; LPR ports and third-party language monitors need -lpr2tcp or a plugin entry.
Cutting over before the permissions are checked. Use -noacl only when you mean to drop ACLs, such as a domain move.
Leaving the old server name in scripts. Every login script and Group Policy printer entry that names the old server needs updating.
Print$ or Remote Registry not available. Remote backup and restore fail without them.
Shutting down the old server too soon. Keep it until real jobs have printed from the new one.

Checklist

Queues, drivers, ports, permissions and every reference to the server name recorded
New server ready with the role; newest Printbrm in use
Export taken and kept; driver map prepared if drivers change
Queues restored; event logs reviewed
Pilot group printed from every queue
Scripts and Group Policy updated; clients reconnected in waves
Old server kept offline for a business cycle
Finish before 12 January 2027

Sources

Checked 6 November 2026.

Windows Server 2016 on Microsoft Lifecycle
Extended Security Updates for SQL Server and Windows Server
Prepare to deliver Extended Security Updates for Windows Server through Azure Arc (2016 dates, coverage, Software Assurance)
License provisioning guidelines for Extended Security Updates for Windows Server (editions, core minimums)
Billing service for Extended Security Updates for Windows Server through Azure Arc (billing start)
Product Lifecycle FAQ: Extended Security Updates
Upgrade and migrate roles and features (Print and Fax Services: no in-place upgrade, migration with Printbrm.exe)
Appendix A: Printbrm.exe command-line tool details (archived, Windows Server 2012; switches, driver map)
Back up and restore printers when upgrading (Print Management, Printbrm usage)
Discover Universal Print

General planning information, not a design for your environment. The Printbrm reference is archived and written for Windows Server 2012, so test each step.