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Step-By-Step Migration

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If you have multiple existing Exchange Servers, repeat the steps in this section for every Exchange Server that hosts mailboxes, offline address books, or public folders. All mailboxes, address books, and public folders will reside on the Messaging Server in Windows EBS after this migration.

To complete this migration, you will perform the following tasks:

  1. Ensure that all user accounts with a connected mailbox are enabled.

  2. Move mailboxes to the Messaging Server.

  3. Move offline address book generation to the Messaging Server.

  4. Replicate public folders to the Messaging Server.

  5. Verify that the migration succeeded.

After you have verified that the migration succeeded, and you have used Exchange Server in Windows EBS for several weeks, you can plan to decommission your legacy Exchange Servers. For detailed planning guidance, see Decommission Existing Exchange Servers later in this document.

Enable all user accounts

Mailboxes cannot be moved for accounts that are disabled. To ensure that all mailboxes are moved successfully, you must enable all of the user accounts that have a connected mailbox.

Note

You can disable the account after the mailbox has been moved.

To enable user accounts

  1. On the Messaging Server, open Active Directory Users and Computers.

  2. In the left pane, click Users

  3. In the right pane, right-click the user account that is disabled, and then click Enable Account.

  4. Repeat step 3 for all user accounts that are disabled.

Move mailboxes to the Windows Essential Business Server Messaging Server

If your existing mail server runs Exchange Server, use the following procedures to move the mailboxes to the Messaging Server in Windows EBS.

If you want to move mailbox data (as a .pst file) from a server that is running Exchange Server, see Move mailbox data to the Messaging Server later in this document.

To migrate recipient update policy settings from an existing Exchange Server environment to the Messaging Server, see Migrate recipient policies to e-mail address policies later in this document.

Important

When you move mailboxes to Windows EBS, Forefront Security for Exchange Server on the Messaging Server automatically scans the e-mail messages to quarantine suspicious file attachments (such as those with the .exe extension). Placing the suspicious file attachments in a quarantine database is a security measure that helps protect your network from e-mail based threats. After the mailbox migration, you can review the quarantined files in Forefront Security for Exchange Server. After verifying that the contents do not pose threats to your network, you can forward the files to their owners.

To move mailboxes

  1. Log on to the Messaging Server as domain administrator and start the Exchange Management Console.

    -or-

    From the Windows EBS Administration Console, click the Computers and Devices tab, click the name of the Messaging Server, and then in the tasks pane, click Exchange Management Console.

  2. In the console tree of the Exchange Management Console, expand Recipient Configuration, and then click Mailbox. In the results pane, you should see a list of mailboxes that are in your environment.

  3. Select all of the mailboxes that are listed in the results pane.

  4. In the actions pane, click Move Mailbox. The Move Mailbox Wizard starts.

  5. On the Introduction page, click Browse to open the Select Mailbox Database dialog box. Select the mailbox database on the Messaging Server as the destination. Click OK, and then click Next.

  6. On the Move Options page, select Skip the corrupted messages and set Maximum number of messages to skip to 5. Leave other options on this page at their defaults. Click Next.

  7. On the Move Schedule page, verify that Immediately is selected, and then click Next.

  8. On the Move Mailbox page, review the summary information to ensure that the parameters are correct, and then click Move.

  9. When the wizard finishes, verify that there are no failures, and then click Finish.

To access quarantined files in Forefront Security for Exchange Server

  1. Log on to the Messaging Server as a domain administrator and start the Forefront Server Security Administrator console.

    -or-

    From the Windows EBS Administration Console, click the Security tab, click E-mail anti-malware, and then in the tasks pane, click Start Forefront Server Security Administrator console.

  2. In the Shuttle Navigator, click REPORT, and then click Quarantine.

    The quarantine list reports information about each quarantined file, including the file name, subject field, sender address, and recipient names and addresses. From the quarantine list you can save or deliver quarantined content.

For information about file filtering in Forefront Security for Exchange Server, see the Forefront Security for Exchange Server Help: On the Messaging Server, in the Forefront Server Security Administrator, press F1.

Move mailbox data to the Messaging Server

In some cases, instead of moving mailboxes, you may want to export mailbox data (as a .pst file) from an existing mail server that is running Exchange Server. Then you can import the .pst file into Exchange Server 2007 in Windows EBS.

To export a .pst file from a mailbox in Exchange Server 2003 or Exchange 2000 Server:

To export a .pst file from a mailbox in Exchange Server 2007:

  • On a computer where Exchange Management Tools (32-bit) is installed, run the Export-Mailbox cmdlet in the Exchange Management Shell.

To import the .pst file into Exchange Server 2007 in Windows EBS:

  • Create a target mailbox in Exchange Server 2007. To create the mailbox, you can use the New Mailbox Wizard in the Exchange Management Console, or you can run the New-Mailbox cmdlet in the Exchange Management Shell.

  • On a computer where Exchange Management Tools (32-bit) is installed, run the Import-Mailbox cmdlet in the Exchange Management Shell.

Note

The Export-Mailbox and Import-Mailbox cmdlets can be run only from a 32-bit computer where you have installed the Exchange Management Tools for Exchange Server 2007. Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 or Outlook 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) must be installed also. You cannot run the cmdlets on the Messaging Server or on another 64-bit computer.

For detailed procedures about how to export and import mailbox data in Exchange Server 2007, see the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink?LinkId=116493).

Migrate recipient policies to e-mail address policies

If you are migrating from an Exchange Server 2003 or Exchange 2000 Server environment, you may have defined recipient policies in your Exchange Server organization that you want to apply in Exchange Server on the Messaging Server. Recipient policies are used to create additional SMTP addresses for users or groups of users (for example, users who belong to a particular organizational unit). In Exchange Server 2007, recipient policies are replaced by e-mail address policies.

Your migration strategy depends on the number and complexity of your legacy recipient policies:

  • If you have a relatively small number of policies and their associated filtering rules, you can delete the legacy policies in Exchange Server 2003 or Exchange 2000 Server. Then you can re-create the policies as new e–mail address policies in Exchange Server.

  • If you need to edit an existing recipient policy (including the default policy) in the Exchange Server 2007 environment, you must upgrade the legacy policy. To do this, use the Set-EmailAddressPolicy cmdlet in the Exchange Management Shell.

To create an e-mail address policy in Exchange Server 2007

  1. Log on to the Messaging Server as a domain administrator and start the Exchange Management Console.

    -or-

    From the Windows EBS Administration Console, click the Computers and Devices tab, click the name of the Messaging Server, and then in the tasks pane, click Exchange Management Console.

  2. In the console tree, expand Organization Configuration, and then click Hub Transport.

  3. In the action pane, click New E-mail Address Policy. The New E-Mail Address Policy Wizard appears.

  4. Follow the steps in the wizard to create an e-mail address policy.

To upgrade a recipient policy by using the Set-EmailAddressPolicy cmdlet

  1. Log on to the Messaging Server as a domain administrator and start the Exchange Management Shell.

  2. Type the following cmdlet to upgrade a policy named PolicyName:

    set-emailaddresspolicy <PolicyName> -includedrecipients allrecipients

  3. To confirm that you want to upgrade the policy, type Y.

    Important

    You must run the cmdlet with the -includedrecipients allrecipients option. If you include the –ForceUpgrade parameter, the cmdlet runs without prompting you for confirmation.

For more information about creating and editing e-mail address policies in Exchange Server, see the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=116502).

Move offline address book generation to the Messaging Server

This section is only applicable if your existing mail server runs Exchange Server.

Note

If your existing mail servers do not run Exchange Server, use the links in the Additional References later in this document to learn about options for migrating to Exchange Server.

To move offline address book generation

  1. Log on to the Messaging Server as domain administrator and start the Exchange Management Console.

    -or-

    From the Windows EBS Administration Console, click the Computers and Devices tab, click the name of the Messaging Server, and then in the tasks pane, click Exchange Management Console.

  2. In the console tree of the Exchange Management Console, expand Organization Configuration, and then click Mailbox.

  3. In the results pane, click the Offline Address Book tab, and then click the Default Offline Address Book entry in the list control. If there are other address lists present, you should click them too.

  4. In the actions pane, click Move. The Move Offline Address Book Wizard starts.

  5. On the Move Offline Address Book page, click Browse to open the Select Mailbox Server dialog box. Click the name of the Messaging Server, and then click OK.

  6. Click Move to move offline address book (OAB) generation to the new server.

  7. On the Completion page, confirm whether OAB generation moved successfully (status of Completed) or failed (status of Failed). If the task failed, review the summary for an explanation and click Back to make any configuration changes.

  8. Click Finish to close the Move Offline Address Book Wizard.

Replicate public folders to the Messaging Server

To replicate public folder content to the Messaging Server, you move the existing public folder instances in your legacy Exchange Server environment to the new public folder database in Exchange Server 2007. The following instructions are applicable if your existing public folders are in Exchange Server 2003. If you are using Exchange 2000 Server, follow step 1, and then complete the equivalent operations from the Exchange 2000 Server console.

Important

Before you replicate public folder content, make sure that all of the existing public folders that you want to move are configured to replicate. Public folders that are replicating appear as public folder instances in the Exchange System Manager.

Note

These instructions assume that a public folder database exists on the Messaging Server. If the Messaging Server is the first server in your organization to run Exchange Server 2007, a public folder database is created there by default. However, if your legacy Exchange Server environment includes a server that is running Exchange Server 2007, you must first create a new public folder database on the Messaging Server. For procedures about how to create a public folder database and to move public folder content in Exchange Server 2007, see the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=91171).

To replicate public folders

  1. Log on to your existing Exchange Server as domain administrator.

  2. Open Exchange System Manager.

  3. In the left pane, expand Administrative Groups.

  4. Expand Servers under each administrative group until you find the group that contains your existing Exchange Server (not the Messaging Server).

  5. Under your existing Exchange Server name, expand First Storage Group, expand Public Folder Store, and then click Public Folder Instances. In the right pane, confirm that there are public folder instances for all the public folders that you want to move.

    Warning

    If there are public folders that you want to move, but they are not listed as public folder instances, you must configure them to replicate before proceeding to the next step. To configure public folders to replicate, see the TechNet article at the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkID=123193).

  6. In the left pane, right-click Public Folder Store, and then click Move All Replicas. In the Move All Replicas dialog box, select the name of your Messaging Server, and then click OK.

  7. Read the warning dialog box that appears, and then click OK.

  8. Expand the Public Folder Store, and then click Public Folder Instances. A list of instances should appear in the right pane.

At this point, the replication process is taking place. The length of this process depends on how much public folder data you have. Even if you have only a small amount of data stored in public folders, it is likely that this process will take several hours to complete.

To determine if the process is finished, refresh the right pane. When all public folder instances are gone, the replication process is finished.

Verify that the migration succeeded

To verify that you migrated your Exchange Server data successfully, follow these steps:

  1. Verify that the Messaging Server is the only server in your Exchange organization that hosts any mailboxes, offline address books, or public folders. To do this, open Exchange System Manager locally on each existing Exchange Server and verify that no mailboxes, offline address book generation processes, or public folders remain.

  2. Before using Microsoft Outlook on a client computer to access a migrated mailbox, restart the computer. This ensures that the IP address and other network settings are renewed on the client computer.

  3. Verify that mail is flowing inside the organization by sending e-mail from one non-administrator user to another non-administrator user. Verify that the e-mail arrives where intended.

  4. Verify that mail is flowing out of the organization by sending e-mail from one non-administrator user to an e-mail account outside your organization (for example, to a Windows Live Mail account). Verify that the e-mail arrives where intended.

  5. Verify that mail is flowing into the organization by sending e-mail from an e-mail account outside your organization (for example, from a Windows Live Mail account) to a non-administrator user in your organization. Verify that the e-mail arrives where intended.

  6. Verify that public folders are functioning correctly by posting a message to a public folder as one non-administrator user, and then ensuring that the message can be read by another non-administrator user.