Hosted Exchange to live Exchange migration

1. Pre migration activities for Hosted Exchange Migration

   • Step 1: Check that your system meets the Exchange 2019 setup requirements.

     Below links will help you to know about the network, hardware and operating system requirements for installing Exchange server 2019.

     1. Network and directory requirement for Exchange 2019
     2. Hardware Requirements for Exchange 2019
     3. Supported operating systems for Exchange 2019
   • Step 2: Prepare your system with the following prerequisites for Exchange 2019

     Complete the following prerequisites for Active Directory, Windows 2019 Mailbox server, and Windows 2019 Edge Transport servers before installing Exchange server 2019.

     1. Prerequisites for preparing Active Directory (AD)
     2. Windows Server prerequisites for Exchange 2019
   • Step 3: Setup the target Exchange Server 2019 for migration

     Given below is a list of key points for installing and preparing the Exchange 2019 server for migration.

     1. Prepare the AD and domains
        1. Before installing Exchange Server 2019, you need to prepare your Active Directory forest and its domains for the new version of Exchange.
        2. If you have a separate team to manage the Active Directory schema, you need to first extend the active directory schema, else proceed to the next step to prepare the Active Directory.
        3. If you have multiple domains you need to additionally prepare the Active Directory domains.
     2. Install Exchange server 2019

        Before installing the Exchange server 2019, ensure that you meet the server system requirements and prerequisites as outlined above. Next, install Exchange 2019 using the setup wizard.

     3. Prepare a clean Exchange 2019 target environment
        1. Create and configure a Send connector to send mail outside the Exchange organization.
        2. By default, Exchange automatically creates receive connectors for inbound mail flow when the mailbox server is installed. If you need to configure receive connectors, follow the steps in the link.
        3. Add accepted domains to allow recipients to send and receive email from another domain.
        4. Configure the default email address policy to add the accepted domain to every recipient in the organization.
        5. Configure external URLs (domains) on the virtual directories in the Client Access (frontend) services on the Mailbox server to allow clients to connect to your server from the internet (outside the organization’s network).
        6. Configure internal URLs on the virtual directories in the Client Access (frontend) services on the Mailbox server to allow clients to connect to your server from the internal network.
        7. Configure SSL certificates from a third-party certificate authority for services such as Outlook Anywhere and Exchange ActiveSync.
        8. Verify the Exchange server installation by running the command Get-ExchangeServer on the Exchange Management Shell (EMS)
     4. Create trust relationship between forests (Optional)

        A forest trust is an authentication between two domains within the same Active Directory forest which creates a trust between two root domains for exchanging information. By creating a trust in advance, it is possible to address the trust issues during or after the migration.

     5. Assign management roles to the admin account

        Ensure that you have set the following permissions to the admin account on the Hosted Exchange and target server (2019)

        1. On the source
           1. ApplicationImpersonation
        2. On the target
           1. ApplicationImpersonation
           2. View-Only Recipients
           3. View-Only Configuration
     6. Verify the mailbox of the admin account

        Check to see if the admin account that has been assigned management roles has a valid and non-hidden mailbox.

     7. Configure the throttling and message-size limits

        You can manually change the EWS throttling and message size limits on the target Exchange 2019 server by following the steps outlined in the links below.

        1. Change the EWS throttling settings on Exchange server
        2. Change message size limits on target Exchange 2019

2. Hosted Exchange to Live Exchange migration using EdbMails

   Steps to migrate Hosted Exchange to Exchange 2019

   • Step 1: Download and install EdbMails Exchange server migration software setup
     1. Download EdbMails and install the application on any computer that is connected to the source and target environment. You can also perform the migration operation by installing EdbMails on a non-Exchange server computer.
     2. Launch the application and click 'Login' or 'Start Your Free Trial'.

        

     3. Select the migration method as Live Exchange migration

        

      Refer to the link for a detailed list of EdbMails system requirements for Exchange migration.

     Note: If the Standard folders (such as Inbox, Calendar, Contacts) on your source Exchange server mailboxes are initialized with a different language, follow the below details to migrate these folders to the respective system folders on the target (destination) server.

     For Instance: If your source Inbox folder is named 'Boîte de réception', which is in French language and you migrate this folder directly to the destination server, then by default it will not be mapped to the 'Inbox' folder on the target server. In order to map the folder with the french name to the respective folder, change the regional settings on the target server to match that of your source mailbox folder language (in this case, it is French).

      Click here to know the steps to change the language and regional settings on Exchange server

   • Step 2: Set the impersonation rights for the Global Admin

     Login as a global admin if you are migrating mailboxes on behalf of other users in your organization. If you do not have the necessary permissions, set the impersonation rights for the admin user account on the source and target Exchange.

   • Step 3: Connect to the Hosted Exchange as Global Admin User

     In the Connect to Exchange server (Source) window, select 'Connect using Global Admin User'. Refer to the link for instructions on how to use the different Exchange server connection methods supported by EdbMails.

      With EdbMails, you can migrate mailboxes, public folders, and archive mailboxes from Hosted Exchange to Exchange 2016 and 2019.

     

   • Step 4: Select the mailboxes and connect to the target Exchange
     1. Select the mailboxes and folders from the Hosted Exchange that you wish to migrate to the target Exchange server (2019/2016)
     2. Click 'Migrate to Live Exchange to setup the connection with the target server

     

     If this is the first time you’re migrating with EdbMails, the migration is a full migration. On subsequent migrations from the same source to the target, the migration is incremental.

   • Step 5: Customize the Hosted Exchange migration operation

     EdbMails provides the following additional options to help you customize the migration task.

     1. Additional Include and Exclude Filter Options
     2. Filter emails by Date: Migrate to Exchange 2019 by applying the Date filter
     3. Filter emails by Size: Exclude emails from migration larger than a specified size.

     

   • Step 6: Map the mailboxes between the source and the target

     The mapping activity in EdbMails can automatically match and map the mailboxes and folders between the two Exchange servers and saves time when you’re migrating a large number of mailboxes.

     

   • Step 7: Start the migration from Hosted Exchange to Live Exchange server

     Start and monitor the migration operation after you complete the mailbox mapping. Finally, verify the count of migrated emails, folders and mailbox items with EdbMails text-based log report.

     

3. Post Migration Tasks for Hosted Exchange to Exchange 2019 migration

   • Step 1: Update the MX records to point to Exchange 2019/2016 server

     To receive messages on the Exchange server 2019, change the DNS records known as MX records to enable email to work with the new server you have migrated to. In addition, configure the Autodiscover record to allow Outlook to connect to the migrated mailboxes.

   • Step 2: Create a new Outlook profile for users in the new domain

     Configure the Outlook profile for each user in your domain if Outlook has problems connecting to the new Exchange server.

Exchange migration troubleshooting

 Refer to the Exchange migration troubleshooting guide for possible solutions related to migration errors. For more information on EdbMails Exchange migration refer to the frequently asked questions (FAQs)

 See the prerequisites and migration steps if you want to migrate from Hosted Exchange to Office 365.