Tips and Tricks for Migrating to Exchange

OnlineSteve Goodman12th February 2014

Who am I?

• Dad and Husband• Infrastructure Consultant at Ciber UK• Exchange VTSP at Microsoft• Exchange Server MVP• Host of The UC Architects Podcast• Blogger, PowerShell Scripter, Author

What am I talking about this evening?•What to think about before you think about migrating email•Options for migrating email to Office 365• Top tips for each method of migration

Before you begin!

What to consider before you set things up• Is your Active Directory structure an easy fit for Office 365?•Are you prepared (or able) to update User details?•Do you have an understanding of your Exchange environment and patch levels?

What to consider before you set things up•Do you know what clients and apps are in use, and can you update them?•What resource do you have available to support your migration?•What are your deadlines to migrate?

Migration Approaches

Cutover Migration

•Migrates ALL mailboxes in one go•Suitable for Exchange 2003, 2007, 2010 and 2013•Limited to a maximum of 2000 mailboxes•Uses Outlook Anywhere to copy mailboxes

Staged Migrations

•Migrates mailboxes in batches•Suitable for Exchange 2003 and 2007•Uses Outlook Anywhere to copy mailboxes

What is a Hybrid Migration?

•Link Exchange to Exchange Online•Requires Exchange 2010 or 2013•Move mailboxes, not copy them - highest fidelity of moves•Move to or from the Cloud

Other Migration Methods?

• IMAP Migration• Wide range of source systems, low fidelity

• PST Migration• Export as PST, Import using PST Capture Tool, flexible

but crude

• Third-Party Tools fill the gaps• Cloud-based tools (e.g. BitTitan MigrationWiz)• On-Premise tools (Quest, BinaryTree)

Top Tips and Tricks

Cutover and Staged Migration Tips

• Make sure Outlook Anywhere is enabled, available externally and you have a valid third party certificate • Test using the Remote Connectivity Analyser

• The Mailbox is copied so needs profile reconfiguration• Can involve visiting desktops

• Do you have mailboxes hidden from the GAL?• Ensure mailboxes you are migrating are visible.

Cutover and Staged Migration Tips

• Mailbox permissions aren’t copied and need to be re-applied• New Collect-MailboxPermissions.ps1 on it’s way to

www.stevieg.org

• After migration is completed switch off Internal AutoDiscover• Set-ClientAccessServer <ServerName> -

AutoDiscoverInternalURI:$null

Cutover Migration Tips

• Get Active Directory and DirSync ready for after your migration• You can sync user details and passwords as you cutover

• If you use DirSync think about how you’ll manage Exchange• Are you leaving DirSync in place?

• Lower DNS TTLs to enable a quick switchover

Staged Migration Tips

• Perform adequate testing before moving real users• Failed migrations can leave users in a half-migrated state

• Move People and Shared Mailboxes together where you can• If you struggle to do this, a Staged Migration might not be for

you

• Convert Mailboxes to MailUsers after each migration batch• http://community.office365.com/en-us/wikis/exchange/

845.aspx

Hybrid Migration Tips

• Make sure Exchange is published to the Internet optimally• Correct Certs, AutoDiscover, No Pre-Auth for Hybrid-related

URL Paths

• Exchange 2010 includes all you need for a hybrid migration• You don’t need a “Hybrid Server”, but you do need a minimum

of SP3

• Exchange 2013 is the best choice for a long coexistence• Easier setup, free hybrid license and target for new Hybrid

features

Hybrid Migration Tips

• Clean up any cross-forest sidHistory issues before migrating• sidHistory isn’t migrated and can break permissions

• If you can, remove Public Folders rather than migrate them• No compelling co-existence story and added hassle

• Use “Suspend When Ready to Complete” to perform quick switches of mailboxes• Performs a full sync of mailboxes, allowing you to perform a

final sync then switch in minutes

Tips for any migration method

• Export oversize messages first• Export messages over 34MB to PST and / or encourage users

to clean up mailboxes

• Third Party tools can make complex migrations easy• Cloud-based tools like MigrationWiz save a lot of time and can

provide flexibility Microsoft tools cannot

• Think about the user experience• A simple server-side setup might mean a complex desk-side

migration

Summary

Summary

• Understanding your environment before you begin is critical to success• Microsoft provide Cutover, Staged, Hybrid and IMAP

migration methods• Additional options include PST and 3rd party tools• Hybrid migrations require a little more setup, but are

worth the effort

Any questions?