Public folder to Office 365 migration in a Hybrid environment

Public folder Migration in Hybrid Environment

During the Public folder Migration in Exchange and Office 365 hybrid environment, you will receive 'HoldForMigration' error when you try to create Public folder mailboxes on the target server. This is because in your target server the Public folder is configured as ‘Remote’ to enable users' to access the source server Public folder.

Error: An existing Public Folder deployment has been detected. To migrate existing Public Folder data, create new Public Folder mailbox using -HoldForMigration switch

Follow the below steps to resolve the above error:

Set the users on Office 365 to access on-premises Public Folders. If you are migrating the on-premises Public Folders to Office 365, configure the admin account to look at Office 365 folders by default while rest all other users access the On-Premises Public Folders.

1. Unrestricted Execution Policy
   Command: Copy & Paste it on PowerShell

   Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted

   Result:
   

1. Enter the User Name (SMTP) and Password of Office 365 account having Global Admin credentials.
   Command: Copy & Paste it on PowerShell
   

   $LiveCred = Get-Credential

   Result:
   

1. Create Session
   Command: Copy & Paste it on PowerShell

   $Session = New-PSSession -ConfigurationName Microsoft.Exchange -ConnectionUri https://ps.outlook.com/powershell/ -Credential $LiveCred -Authentication Basic -AllowRedirection

   Result:
   

1. Import Session
   Command: Copy & Paste it on PowerShell

   Import-PSSession $Session

   Result:
   

   Result:
   

1. Look at the root Public Folder mailbox
   Command: Copy & Paste it on PowerShell

   (Get-OrganizationConfig).rootpublicfoldermailbox |fl

   Result:
   

   Root Public Folder mailbox is locked for migration. All other Public Folders will also be unavailable.

1. Look at the Organization Configuration
   Command: Copy & Paste it on PowerShell

   Get-OrganizationConfig |fl *public*

   Result:
   

   PublicFoldersEnabled attribute is set to remote confirms that the Office 365 users are set to use the On-Premises Public Folders.
   Note: Make a note of the RemotePublicFolderMailboxes value. You will need this later to allow access to the On-Premise Public Folders.

1. Steps to create the Public Folders on Office 365

   Remove all the existing Public Folder mailboxes on Office 365

   Get-Mailbox -PublicFolder |Remove-Mailbox -PublicFolder

   Note: Run the cmdlet twice because when there is more than one Public Folder mailbox, it is not possible to delete the primary mailbox before deleting the others.
   Warning: In a Hybrid scenario, where Public Folders are being used On-Premises, the Public Folder mailboxes on Office 365 should be empty and not have any data. Ensure that Public Folder mailboxes are empty, verify that they are empty before deleting them.

   Change the Organization Configuration to use Public Folders on Office 365

   Set-OrganizationConfig -PublicFoldersEnabled Local -RemotePublicFolderMailboxes $null

   Warning: This will break the connectivity to the On-Premises Public Folders for all users with a mailbox on Office 365. Plan a maintenance and update users.

   Now create a Public Folder mailbox, and assign root permissions to this Public Folder mailbox to the admin account being used for the migration. Click here to know how to create Public folder and assign users.

   Note: You do not need to create all the Public Folders on Office 365. Just create the top-level folders, EdbMails will create the rest, and migrate the permissions, during migration.

   Now revert the Organization Configuration, and restore the access to the On-Premises Public Folders

   Set-OrganizationConfig -PublicFoldersEnabled Remote -RemotePublicFolderMailboxes

   Make sure that the changes are applied

   Get-Mailbox |fl *public*

Public folder Migration steps in Hybrid Environment

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