Mailbox moves in Exchange server

Moving Exchange mailboxes from one database to another is required for reasons such as mailbox migration, when a user moves to a different location with a separate Exchange server or when the database disk space runs out. You can move mailboxes from one Exchange database to another from the Exchange admin center (EAC), by using PowerShell cmdlets or by using an Exchange migration tool. The steps listed in this article are relevant for Exchange 2019, 2016, 2013 and 2010.

An Exchange move request is the process of moving a mailbox from one mailbox database to another. The following are the three common types of mailbox moves.

• Local mailbox move: It is a mailbox move that occurs within a single Active Directory forest.
• Cross Forest mailbox move: A mailbox move that occurs between different Active directory forests.
• Remote mailbox move: It is a mailbox move that occurs in a hybrid deployment of on-premises Exchange and Office 365.

 Learn more about the types of mailbox moves in an Exchange server

1. How to move an Exchange mailbox to another database?

   • Method 1: Move mailboxes from the Exchange admin center (EAC)

     Note: The method to move mailboxes from the EAC is applicable to Exchange servers 2019, 2016 and 2013.

     • Step 1: Login to the EAC and go to the 'recipients > migration' tab.
     • Step 2: Click on the + sign and select 'Move to a different database'.
     • Step 3: Select the users you want to move and click 'Next'.
     • Step 4: In the move configuration page select the target database.
     • Step 5: In the start batch page, configure the settings and click 'new'.

      See the detailed steps to create a local move request from the EAC

   • Method 2: Move Exchange Mailboxes to another database with PowerShell

     • Step 1: Open the Exchange management shell (EMS) as administrator.
     • Step 2: Get the name of the mailbox database that contains the user mailbox.

       Run the Get-Mailbox cmdlet and the command prompt shows the database name where the user mailbox is located.

       Get-Mailbox johndoe | Format-List Database

     • Step 3: Create a local mailbox move request

       The New-MoveRequest PowerShell cmdlet creates a local mailbox move request

       New-MoveRequest -Identity johndoe -TargetDatabase "DB01" –BadItemLimit 10

       • TargetDatabase – ‘DB01’ is the name of a target database you want to move the mailbox to.
       • BadItemLimit – It is the limit of the number of damaged items in the mailbox that are skipped during the database move.

       To move all the mailboxes from one database to another at once, run the following cmdlet:

       Get-Mailbox -Database DB02 -ResultSize Unlimited | New-MoveRequest -TargetDatabase DB01

        See steps to create a local move from the EMS for individual and multiple mailboxes

       If you want to move multiple mailboxes in a batch, run the following cmdlet:

       Get-Mailbox -Database "DB02" | New-MoveRequest -BatchName "DB02 to DB01" -TargetDatabase "DB01" -Priority High -BadItemLimit 51 -AcceptLargeDataLoss

        See steps to create a local move request in EMS from a CSV file

       To migrate Public folder mailbox to a different database, run the following cmdlet:

       New-MoveRequest -Identity "PF_Sigcorp" -TargetDatabase DB01

       Here, PF_Sigcorp is the public folder mailbox and DB01 is the target database

     • Step 4: Check the status of the mailbox move request

       Run the following cmdlet to get the mailbox migration status

       Get-MoveRequestStatistics -Identity johndoe

     Limitations of the PowerShell method:

     1. Downtime is evident if you plan to move mailboxes and Public folders to another Exchange database.
     2. This method requires technical expertise and complete knowledge on the PowerShell cmdlets.
     3. It is not a very user-friendly method and improper use of the commands might result in data loss.
     4. Moving the mailboxes will not be possible if the Exchange database is corrupted.

   • Method 3: Move Exchange Mailboxes to another database with EdbMails

     EdbMails is a graphical interface Exchange migration tool that can move mailboxes from an EDB file to Exchange server. It is a Microsoft partnered software that can recover damaged and corrupted EDB files and enables you to directly migrate mailboxes to Live Exchange and Microsoft 365. With EdbMails, you can not only migrate the primary mailboxes, but you can also migrate Archive mailboxes, Shared mailboxes and Public folder to Exchange without requiring PowerShell cmdlets. It supports Exchange 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010 and 2007 and works on all Windows and Windows Server operating systems. Let us look at the steps to move the Exchange mailbox to another database by using EdbMails.

     1. Download EdbMails Exchange recovery tool and install the application on any computer that is connected to the source and target environment. You can also perform the recovery and migration operation by installing EdbMails on any non-Exchange server computer.
     2. Launch the application and click 'Login' or 'Start Your Free Trial'
     3. Select the recovery technique as EDB to PST. EDB to Office 365. EDB to Exchange.

      See a detailed list of EdbMails system requirements and make sure you have Outlook installed if you want to recover and convert the EDB to PST file. If you want to directly migrate the EDB file to an Exchange server, you do not require Outlook. Take a copy of the EDB file before you proceed with the operation.

     • Step 1: Select the Exchange database which contains the user mailboxes

       Select the EDB file which contains the mailboxes you want to move. EdbMails thoroughly recovers the file and displays all your mailboxes and folders where you can preview individual mail items. The application can convert mailbox.edb, pub.edb, priv.edb and STM files and also supports EDB from Exchange 2003 and 2007.

       Tip: EdbMails can also repair and resolve Dirty Shutdown errors of Exchange databases.

       

     • Step 2: Select the mailboxes to move to another Exchange server

       Select the mailboxes, folders, Public folder and mailbox items and click 'Migrate to Live Exchange' to connect to the target Exchange server. If you want to export the recovered mailboxes to PST files, click 'Export to Outlook PST'.

       

       You can apply the advanced filter settings to export or migrate Exchange emails based on Date, Subject, Attachment and so on.

       1. The 'Exclude Standard / Custom folders' option enables you to exclude the folders such as Inbox, Sent, Drafts, Custom folders, Junk, Conversation History from the export operation.
       2. EdbMails comes with other additional settings during the export such as splitting a PST file and excluding emails whose size is greater than a specified limit.

       

     • Step 3: Connect to the target Exchange server and map the mailboxes

       Select 'Connect using Global admin User' and select 'Connect to Mailbox(es)'. You can also connect to a specific user mailbox or load a list of user mailboxes by 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.

       

       

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

     • Step 4: Start moving the Exchange mailboxes to another server

       After you finish the mapping, start and monitor the move. Finally, verify the count of migrated emails, folders and mailbox items with EdbMails text-based log report. With this method, you can directly move Exchange mailboxes to another Exchange server.

       

        If you require further assistance with the mailbox move operation, contact EdbMails free 24x7 support. Try the free trial version today to start migrating your Exchange server data. See steps to migrate mailboxes from Exchange server to Live Exchange

Benefits of EdbMails Exchange mailbox migration

1. Directly import mailboxes from EDB to Office 365 and Exchange.
2. EdbMails also supports mailbox move from Exchange to Exchange.
3. You do not require PowerShell scripts or technical knowledge to perform the move.
4. You can recover the Exchange server from Jet Engine errors and restore your mailbox data.
5. Safely move all the mailboxes to another Exchange without data loss.
6. The application can recover virus infected, damaged and corrupted EDB files.
7. EdbMails EDB to PST converter can help you export all your Exchange emails to PST.
8. EdbMails enables you to open an EDB file and preview mailbox items from before you perform the migration.
9. You can migrate Public folder, Archive mailbox and Shared mailboxes.