Exchange to Exchange migration guide

1. Exchange Server Migration Planning

   Migrating Exchange server mailboxes and mail data to another server can be challenging without a proper plan. Here is a checklist of the most important factors to consider for the migration.

   1. Prepare a complete inventory of items that you want to migrate.
   2. Communicate any changes to your end users and inform the stakeholders.
   3. Take a backup and remove unused and unwanted mailboxes from the source server.
   4. Determine the size of the mailbox data and number of mailboxes to migrate.
   5. Prepare the domains and required Active Directory services on the target.
   6. Determine if you want to migrate mailboxes along with Public folder and Shared mailboxes.
   7. Ensure you have enough network capacity and bandwidth to migrate.
   8. Consider the throttling and message size limits on Exchange server.
   9. Take a complete backup of all your mailbox items and folders.
   10. Create mailboxes and Public folders on the target Exchange server
   11. Assign suitable licenses to the mailboxes.
   12. Perform a test (pilot) migration before you start the actual migration.
   13. Start the migration and verify the migration endpoint.
   14. Create new Outlook profiles and check if you are receiving mails correctly.
   15. Decommission the source Exchange server (optional)

2. Pre migration activities for Exchange server migration

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

     The following links will help you set up your target Exchange server. Learn more about the network, hardware, coexistence scenarios, and operating system requirements for installing Exchange.

     1. Exchange 2013 Server setup
     2. Network and directory requirement for Exchange 2016
     3. Network and directory requirement for Exchange 2019
     4. Hardware Requirements for Exchange 2016
     5. Hardware Requirements for Exchange 2019
     6. Supported operating systems for Exchange 2016
     7. Supported operating systems for Exchange 2019

     Target Exchange server version	Coexistence with the source Exchange	Requirement	Migration
     Exchange 2019	Possible. Can coexist with Exchange 2013 Can coexist with Exchange 2016	Install Cumulative Update 21 (CU21) or later on Exchange 2013 Install Cumulative Update 11 (CU11) or later on Exchange 2016	With EdbMails Exchange migration software, you can migrate to any Exchange server version regardless of the coexistence issue

   • Step 2: Prepare your system with the following prerequisites for Exchange

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

     1. Exchange 2019 prerequisites for preparing Active Directory (AD)
     2. Windows Server prerequisites for Exchange 2019
     3. Exchange 2016 prerequisites for preparing Active Directory (AD)
     4. Windows Server prerequisites for Exchange 2016

     Install cumulative updates (CU) on the source Exchange serverFor migrating Exchange on-premises to Exchange, it is required that you have the latest cumulative updates (CU) installed on the source server.

     1. Install for Exchange server 2013
     2. Install for Exchange server 2016
     3. Install for Exchange server 2019

     Assign the Organization Management role group in Exchange to the admin user. It is an elevated permission that is required if you want to migrate Public folders.

   • Step 3: Set up the target Exchange server for migration

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

     1. Prepare the AD and domains
        1. Before installing Exchange Server, 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 on your computer

        Before installing the Exchange server, ensure that you meet the server system requirements and prerequisites as outlined previously. Next, follow the link to install Exchange 2016 or install Exchange 2019 from the setup wizard based on which server you want to migrate to.

     3. Prepare a clean Exchange 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. Create mailboxes and Public folders on the Exchange server

        Before you migrate, ensure that you create mailboxes on the target and assign suitable licenses to them.

        •  See how to create mailboxes in Exchange server
        •  Steps to create Public folder in Exchange server
     6. Assign management roles to the admin account

        Set the following permissions to the admin account on the source and target Exchange server to migrate mailboxes on behalf of other users in your organization.

        1. On the source
           1. ApplicationImpersonation
           2. View-Only Configuration - Run the cmdlet New-ManagementRoleAssignment using the Exchange Management Shell to assign the View-Only Configuration role to the admin.
        2. On the target
           1. ApplicationImpersonation
           2. View-Only Recipients
           3. View-Only Configuration
     7. 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 on the Exchange server.

     8. Configure the throttling and message-size limits

        You can manually change the EWS throttling and message size limits on the Exchange server by following the steps in the link.

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

      Determine if you want to follow the cutover, staged or hybrid migration method.

     Current environment and requirement	Ideal migration approach	How does the migration take place?
     You want to perform a complete migration to the Exchange server in a single event and in a limited time frame.	Cutover migration	In this approach, you set up your target Exchange server and migrate everything in a single sitting. Suited for large mailbox migration
     You want to perform the migration in phases	Staged migration	In this approach, you migrate your mailboxes and mail data in stages and transfer the most recent/required data first followed by the others.
     You want to migrate Exchange server data to Office 365 within the same Active directory environment	Hybrid migration	In this approach, you migrate between Exchange and Office 365 in a hybrid environment.

     • See steps for Cutover migration with EdbMails
     • See steps for Staged migration with EdbMails
     • See steps for Hybrid migration with EdbMails

3. Exchange to Exchange Migration using EdbMails

   • Step 1: Download and install EdbMails Exchange server migration software setup
     1. Download EdbMails and install the application on the source Exchange server or any other computer. 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

     

      See 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: Connect to the Exchange server as Global Administrator

     In the Connect to Exchange server (Source) window, select 'Connect using Global Admin User'. You can also load the mailboxes using a CSV file. See the 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 the source Exchange to the target server.

   • Step 3: Select the mailboxes and connect to the target Exchange
     • Select the mailboxes and folders from the source Exchange that you want to migrate to another Exchange.
     • Click 'Migrate to Live Exchange' to set up 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 4: Customize the Exchange migration operation (Optional)

     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 5: Connect to target Exchange server as Global Admin

     Connect to the target server by selecting the option 'Connect using Global Admin User' and the migration scenario as Mailboxes, Public folder or Archive Mailbox.

     

   • Step 6: Map the folders 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 Exchange to Exchange migration

     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.

     

4. Post Migration Tasks

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

     To receive messages on the target Exchange server, 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.

   • Step 3: Decommission and uninstall Exchange server

     Uninstall and decommission the source Exchange server after you finish the migration.

      Steps to uninstall Exchange server 2013

      Steps to uninstall Exchange server 2010

Exchange migration troubleshooting

 See Exchange migration troubleshooting guide for possible solutions related to migration errors. For more information on EdbMails Exchange migration tool see frequently asked questions ( FAQs ).

Advantages of using EdbMails for Exchange migration

1. Provision for granular brick level migration of specific items
2. Incremental migration to prevent migrating duplicate items
3. Advanced include and exclude filter options for mailbox items and folders
4. Facility to migrate Exchange Public folders and Shared Mailbox
5. Data consistency with no downtime and data loss.
6. Direct mapping of mailboxes between the source and the target
7. Direct migration from any Exchange version (2007-2019) without coexistence issues.
8. Compatible with Windows operating systems and Windows server.