You may have heard about the Move Server Wizard and how easy it makes moving a server into another site. While it is true that this work can be easy, it can just as easily cause problems. In fact, later in this article, you’ll see a list of things you should expect to lose. The good news I bring is that there are a number of things you will not have to lose—for example: Public Folder information can be ported from one org to another as long as the names of the owners do not change. I’ll also show you how to automatically reset client profiles to connect to the newly moved server.
There are no tools available to retain all of the information and settings during the move. I know this because I have done MANY reorgs for which I developed tools to compensate for the things that the Move Server wizard does not maintain. These reorgs have also helped me fine-tune a pretty detailed process, which the remainder of this article discusses. Take these instructions, change names and some of the graphics, and you will have “written” a project plan for your very own reorg!
The timeline is based on a per site migration. Coordination of this schedule is critical. Two days for discovery work ? days for coordination One-two days to migrate
Overview of the Process
| Pre-migration Readiness
Discover environment: Delegate, and OST usage
Verify/Apply Service Packs on Machine
Verify Current Backup- A full recovery is the Backout Procedure
Document Connector Settings and overall Exchange configuration
Populate and set your directory to existing standards |
|
2 Days
2 Days
30 Minutes
30 Minutes
30 Minutes
30-60 minutes |
| Export Global Address List |
| 5 Minutes |
| Run EXMERGE to create an additional PST backup |
| 1-2 Hours |
| Export Public Folders to PST |
| 10-60 Minutes |
| Run PFAdmin to create Public Folder ACL list |
| 2 Minutes |
| Remove Connectors |
| 10 Minutes |
| Run Move Server Wizard |
| 1- 4 Hours |
| Recreate Connectors and Double-check overall Exchange Settings |
| 1 Hour |
| Import Public Folders and manually rebuild ACLs |
| 30-90 Minutes |
| Modify profile on each Exchange client workstation |
| 2 minutes each client |
| Test Client Connectivity |
| 5 minutes each client |
| Configure Site and Directory Replication |
| 1-2 Hours |
| Synchronize Directory |
| Overnight |
Items that will be lost
A short memo should be sent to your users warning them of the upcoming process and the items listed below that will be reset. You should also warn them that the appearance of the directory will change. Their default view will be the Global Address List? (with ALL the addresses). They may want to change their views to reduce the volume of addresses.
| Server |
| Clients |
| Folder Agents |
| Folder Assistants and rules
Delegate Rights and Settings (both client and host)
Password may need to be reset for adequate testing>br>Outlook Bar Settings
Offline Folders (OST)
Directory appearance and navigation will change |
Preliminary Procedures
Directory Changes
Before the redeployment and as soon as possible, make changes to your directory in order to become a good “directory citizen.” - Display names for mailboxes must be matched from site. Use the Exchange Administrator program or custom script to change the display names of each mailbox to the standard format
- Populate the Company and department fields with consistent names for every site
- Populate the Business Phone Number, Business Fax, Assistant’s Name and Number (if applicable)
- Populate the Business Street Address, City, State, Zip for each Mailbox
- Populate the Organizational information such as Direct Reports and Managers (optional)
End User Notification
I have found that a series of messages to the user population works best. One message should be sent to alert them of the changes and the reasons. This notice should go out a week or two prior to the migration. The second message should go out just prior to the redeployment and should warn the users of the settings that will be lost. The Outlook profiles will be reset and the default directory view will be the Global Address list with many more names. You may want to tell the users how to change the default addressing to the local recipients container and how to show their Contacts as an address book. After you have identified the new name of the site, send a message with instructions on how to use the Services menu and the Addressing tab to change the “Show Address List first” setting to the Recipients container of the local site.
The third message should go to Notebook users, as they will be affected the most. The message should let them know that after they successfully execute the script to reset their profile, they will need to reset their OST file. After the OST is deleted, they will need to “connect” to the Exchange server in order to populate the contents of their newly created OST file. Use the mailbox report to determine the amount of time the remote user will need for remote synchronization. Expect this process to take eight minutes per megabyte. A download of the Global Address List will then be required as well as a reset of the “Show Address List First” setting as mentioned above. An aggressive approach to reconfiguring the notebooks seems to work best, with the helpdesk contacting each individual the Friday before and the Monday after.
For all Outlook clients, any customization the user may have made on the Local Outlook Bar will be lost as the Outlook bar must be reset. Delegate settings will need to be manually rebuilt as well as any inbox rules.
Server Preparation
The following procedures and requirements should be followed the week prior to the migration. These procedures are required and non-invasive.
1. Create a Public Folder report for structure, contents and rights
Use the Exchange Administrator program to select the Public Folder Resources for each Exchange Servers. Use the View, Columns menu item to select the following items for the display. Click OK to accept the choices.
Select any item from the right pane. Use the menu bar to select File, Save Window contents. Save the file as a CSV. This file can later be used to verify public folder contents after the redeployment.
2. Create a Mailbox activity report. Number of items, last use, etc.
Use the Exchange Administrator program to select the Mailbox Resources for each of the Exchange servers. Use the View, Columns menu item to select the following items for the display. Click OK to accept the choices. Select any item from the right pane. Use the menu bar to select File, Save Window contents.
Save the file as a CSV. This file can later be used to verify the accuracy of the mailbox migration process.
3. Determine the specific order in which the servers in each site should be migrated. Bridgehead should be moved first.
4. Prepare Client Testing worksheet. List the items to be tested on a form that can be printed for use as a check-off sheet for every machine.
- Access to Server
- Send and Receive Internet Mail
- Access to Public Folders
- Access to Local Address Book
- Etc.
5. Ensure that there is enough storage space on the Exchange Server so that the PRIV.EDB and PUB.EDB could be doubled. Search the Exchange Server’s hard drive for *.EDB and total the size of the files. Make sure that there is enough drive space to accommodate a copy of those files.
6. Update the Exchange Server to version 5.5 and SP2. SP3 has not been tested with this process.
7. Document in detail the server configurations. Screen snapshots of each page can be saved as 16-color bitmaps. This process is quick and provides a fast way to compare settings during the rebuild. Server Discovery and Documentation
- Mail connectors: cc:Mail, MSmail, Notes, IMS, etc.
- Site connectors: STMP, X.400, Site, etc.
- Key Certificate configuration and service accounts
- VPN or additional security applications on Server
- Gateways: FAX, SNADS, Notes applications, etc.
- Site Addressing Format
- Address Book Views
- Exchange Service accounts
- Installed Exchange components (Books, Admin, OWA, ADO, CDO, etc.
- Offline Address book settings
- Local mail profiles on the server (Outlook)
Client Discovery and Documentation. Identify and document the following: - Client Configurations: Number of users configured for PST, OST, Server
- Identify and list those who use Delegates
Determine how many people have altered their Outlook Bar.
8. Verify/Install Windows NT Service Pack 4 or better onto the Exchange Server(s).
9. Verify/Install Exchange Server Service Pack 2 or better onto the Exchange Server(s).
10. Verify backups and recovery procedures for each Exchange Server. Perform a test recovery. If the migration process fails, the back out procedure is to recover the server from tape.
11. Manually reboot each server two days prior to the re-deploy. Create an Emergency Recovery Disk.
12. Before the reorg, check the existing organization for custom recipients that will exist as mailboxes in the new server. Likewise, remove custom recipients on the target server for mailboxes that exist within the existing organization.
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