I'm retiring single CPU, 8GB server and moving to a new Dell single CPU server. The original machine is running 2016 Essentials. The new machine is running 2019 STD with Hyper-V. The plan is to move to a Server 2016 STD VM with Essentials role installed.
Would it be best to convert the physical server to 2016 with Essentials role or to migrate it to the VM and convert it there?
This is basically a migration scenario. We have written a guide for Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials but you can use this also for Windows Server 2016 Essentials, see https://server-essentials.com/support/migrate-windows-server-2012-r2-essentials-to-new-hardware