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ConversationalPublicFolderMigrationtoOffice365

(MiniEdition)byJ.PeterBruzzese

©2017ConversationalGeek

ConversationalPublicFolderMigrationtoOffice365(MiniEdition)PublishedbyConversationalGeekInc.www.conversationalgeek.com

Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookshallbereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmittedbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwise,withoutwrittenpermissionfromthepublisher.Nopatentliabilityisassumedwithrespecttotheuseoftheinformationcontainedherein.Althougheveryprecautionhasbeentakeninthepreparationofthisbook,thepublisherandauthorassumenoresponsibilityforerrorsoromissions.Norisanyliabilityassumedfordamagesresultingfromtheuseoftheinformationcontainedherein.

TrademarksConversationalGeek,theConversationalGeeklogoandJ.theGeekaretrademarksofConversationalGeek®.Alltermsmentionedinthisbookthatareknowntobetrademarksorservicemarkshavebeenappropriatelycapitalized.Wecannotattesttotheaccuracyofthisinformation.Useofaterminthisbookshouldnotberegardedasaffectingthevalidityofanytrademarkorservicemark.

WarningandDisclaimerEveryefforthasbeenmadetomakethisbookascompleteandasaccurateaspossible,butnowarrantyorfitnessisimplied.Theinformationprovidedisonan“asis”basis.Theauthorandthepublishershallhaveneitherliabilitynorresponsibilitytoanypersonorentitywithrespecttoanylossordamagesarisingfromtheinformationcontainedinthisbookorprogramsaccompanyingit.

AdditionalInformationForgeneralinformationonourotherproductsandservices,orhowtocreateacustomConversationalGeekbookforyourbusinessororganization,pleasevisitourwebsiteatConversationalGeek.com

PublisherAcknowledgmentsAllofthefolksresponsibleforthecreationofthisbook:

Author: J.PeterBruzzeseProjectEditor: StevenZimmermanCopyEditor: JohnRughContentReviewer(s): KarlaReina

The“Conversational”Method

Wehavetwoobjectiveswhenwecreatea“Conversational”book:First,tomakesureit’swritteninaconversationaltonesothatit’sfunandeasytoread.Second,tomakesureyou,thereader,canimmediatelytakewhatyoureadandincludeitintoyourownconversations(personalorbusiness-focused)withconfidence.

“GeekintheMirror”Boxes

Weinfusehumorandinsightintoourbooksthroughbothcartoonsandlightbanterfromtheauthor.Whenyouseeoneoftheseboxesit’stheauthorsteppingoutsidethedialogtospeakdirectlytoyou.Itmightbeananecdote;itmightbeapersonalexperience.

WithintheseboxesIcansharejustaboutanythingonthesubjectathand.Read’em!

TheChallengeofMigratingPublicFolderstoOffice365

WhenthinkingaboutmigratingtoOffice365(specifically,ExchangeOnline),it’sprettylikelyyouarehyper-focusedonmailboxmigration.Afterall,mailboxesaretheprimaryfocusofyourExchangeenvironment.

But,formanyofyou,publicfoldersarestillakeypartofhowyourorganizationoperates–andyetit’s

usuallythecasethatverylittlethoughthasbeenputintomigratingpublicfoldersspecifically.ThismaybebecausemigrationstoOffice365aregenerallyhyper-focusedwiththemailboxmigrationfirst,causingpublicfolderstotakeabackseatinthemigration‘to-do’list.YoumightalsobeexcitedaboutthebettercollaborationtoolsinOffice365(likeSharePointOnline)thataregoingtoreplacepublicfolders.Butyoustillneedtodeterminewhatyou’regoingtodowithyourexistingpublicfolderdata.

Therewasatimewhenpublicfoldersweretheanswertoa

collaborationprayer(andstillareformany).Buttheyquickly

becamethedumpinggroundfordatathatgrewstalequickly.

Let’sfaceit,whetheryoucullthedataornot,migrationcanbeanightmare.Butit’sworthdoingitrightratherthancontinuingtojustmoveitfromoneflavorof

Exchangetoanotherinperpetuity.

Youhavedecisionsbeforeyou.Willyouanalyzeyourpublicfolderhierarchiestodeterminewhichdatacanbeprunedasopposedtomigrated?Wherewillyoumovethepublicfolderdata?Youcanmoveittoa“modern”publicfolderinOffice365,ortoOffice365Groups,ortoasharedmailbox.WillyouusethefreetoolsMicrosoftprovidesorgowithathird-partysolutiontoassist?

Ifyouhaveaverysmallpublicfolderinfrastructure(sub30GB)youcanconsiderusingOutlookPSTexportasanotheroption.Butthereareissueswith

permissions,dataintegrity(likeappointmentownership)andauto-splitwhenyouusethisapproachwithlargerpublic

folderdata.Microsoftdoesn’trecommenditandneitherdoI.

Asitturnsout,despiteMicrosoftprovidingPowerShellscripts(inMarchof2017)tomoveyourpublicfoldersaspartofabatchmigration,thestepsinvolvedleaveagreatdealofroomforerror.As

MicrosoftMVPTonyRedmondcalledtheprocess“manualandtiresome”withCSVfilemanipulationandsuch.

Assumingyourorganizationstronglyreliesonpublicfolders,shouldyougetthemigrationwrong,theimplicationscanbesubstantial.Fromverytacticalandtechnicalissues–likefailurestotransferdataproperly–tostrategicandbusiness-impactingissueslikeaninabilitytocollectrevenueoradegradationinprovidingsupporttoacustomer.

Theotherfactorhereistime.ThelongeryourmigrationtakestotransitionfromanolderversionofExchangetoExchangeOnline,thereareramificationsaroundend-userproductivity,andtheperceptionofIT.

So,thequestionbecomes,howshouldyouapproachpublicfoldermigrations?

BeginwithasurveyofyourexistingenvironmentbyreviewingtheExchangeflavorsyou’reworkingwith,theextentofyourpublicfolderuseandsizeofthosefolders.GetabetterunderstandingofthenewarchitectureinExchangeOnline,lookingatwhatyou

plantomigratethere,andthenbuildingamigrationplanthatusestherightprocessandtoolsetstoensureusabilityandvisibilitythroughoutthemigration,whilemaintainingtheavailabilityandproductivityofpublicfolderdataitself.

Mygoalfortheremainderofthisbookistoeducateyouonthespecificchallengesthatexistwithpublicfoldermigration.I’lllookathowthechangesinpublicfolderarchitecture,aswellasthemigrationitself,allcancreatealess-than-desirablemigrationexperience.

I’llalsoprovidesomedirectiononwhatstepstotaketomakeyourmigrationasseamlessandpainlessaspossible.

PublicFolderArchitecturalChallengesinMigratingtoOffice365

I’mguessingmostofyouhadnoideathepublicfolderarchitecturechangedunderthehoodinthelastfewyears.You’veprobablyjustthoughtpublicfoldersarepublicfolders.

Buttherehavebeensomechangestothearchitecturethatimpactmigrationsofpublicfoldersthatyouneedtobeawareof.Microsoftintroduced“modern”publicfoldersinExchange2013.

Publicfoldersarenowpartofamailboxdatabaseratherthanhavingtheirownseparatedatabase.OnevaluetothisapproachisthatyoucannowmakepublicfolderspartofaDAGfornativedataprotection(akaredundancythroughpassivecopies)ratherthanusingpublic

folderreplicas.

PublicFolderMailboxes

PriortothereleaseofExchange2013,publicfoldersusedtobeasimplemonolithicpublicfolderdatabaserepository–therewerenosizeboundaries,soyoucouldkeepgrowingthemaslongasyouhaddiskspace.Inaddition,youwouldusereplicastoputthatpublicfolderdataclosertothepeoplethatneededtoaccessit.

SinceExchange2013,thathaschanged.TheconceptofPublicFolderMailboxes–essentiallypartitionedstoragecontainerswithsize,depth,andmaximumuserlimitations–tookoverandcontinuestothisdaywithbothExchange2016andExchangeOnline.Witha100GBsizelimitation(withE3/E5plans),andarecommendationfromMicrosoftnottoexceed50%ofthatamount,anypublicfolderdatamigratedautomaticallygetspartitionedintosegmentedpiecesofdata.Thisiscalled‘auto-split’.

Auto-Split

InExchangeOnline,publicfoldergrowthismanagedwithanauto-splitfeaturethatautomaticallysplitsthepublicfoldermailboxwhencertainsizesare

reached.Itdoesn’tlike,however,whenthereisasuddengrowthinsizewhichiswhythePSTexportoptionisn’trecommended.

Theauto-splitprocessgoesintoactionwhenthepublicfolderreachesthewarningquotaof24.5GB.Itwillthenstartlookingtomovepublicfolderdataintoanotherpublicfoldermailboxthathasroomoractuallycreateanotherpublicfoldermailboxtosplitthatdataintotwoparts.

ThedirectionfromMicrosoftonpublicfoldermigrationsforExchange2013/2016isthatyoumustfirstlookatthesizeofsinglepublicfoldersandifanyarelargerthan25GB,thesemustbeshrunkdown(akadeleteordividethedata)ortheydon’trecommendyoumovethosepublicfolders.

So,whatstepsdoyouneedtotaketoalignyourexistingPublicFolderswithExchangeinOffice365?

Pre-ArchitectYourSourcePublicFolders

Beginbyassessingthepublicfolderstructureyouhavetoday.Youcanvisuallywalkthesourcetree,lookingatthenumberoffolders,theamountofdata

storedwithinafoldertreeandevenwithinasinglefolder–allcalculatingwhatthiswilllooklikeonceyoumoveittoOffice365andhowyoucanallowforgrowth.

YoucanusetheExchangeManagementShell(EMS)toviewstatisticsforpublicfolderand

publicfolderitems.

https://tinyurl.com/y793qs6w

Asinglesetofpublicfoldershousing200GBsneedstobesplitinto8separatedatasetsofsub-25GB.Singlefolderswith50GBsormoreneedtobereassessedtoseeifthedatacanbebrokenintomorethanonefolder.

Allthisresultsinrestructuringthesourcepublicfoldersbeforethemove.It’spossibleyoumayneedtodothisexercisemultipletimesbecausethelastdesign,whilemeetingmigrationrequirements,doesn’tmeetthecurrentbusinessrequirements.So,beginyourpre-architectingwithcaution,asyouneedtobethinkingaboutboththepresentandthefutureneeds.

TheMicrosoftMigrationProcess

LookingattheprocessMicrosoftprovidesthroughTechNetfor2013and2016publicfolderstoExchangeOnlinethereareroughly9stepswithmanysub-stepstoconsider.

Step1:Downloadthemigrationscripts

Step2:Prepareforthemigration

Step3:Generatethe.csvfiles

Step4:CreatethepublicfoldermailboxesinExchangeOnline

Step5:Startthemigrationrequest

Step6:LockdownthepublicfoldersintheExchange2013/2016environmentforfinalmigration(publicfolderdowntimerequired)

Step7:Finalizethepublicfoldermigration(publicfolderdowntimerequired)

Step8:TestandunlockpublicfoldersinExchangeOnline

Step9:Finalizethemigrationon-premises

ChallengesinthePublicFolderMigrationItself

Let’sassumeyou’vegotyoursourcefoldersarchitectedproperlyandyouturnyourattentiontothemigrationitselfwiththestepsandsub-stepsinmind.Therearestillsomechallengestokeepinmindbeforemakingthemove.

• Limits–Knowyourpublicfolderlimitsbeforeyoumakethemove.Forexample,10GBmaxsinglefoldersize,andthe1,000publicfoldermailboxceiling.

• MigrationTime–Synchronizingevenjust50GBsofdatawon’thappenin5minutes;it’sgoingtotakeasubstantialamountoftime–likelyinthedaysorweeksoftimerealm,dependingonhowmuchdatayouhave.

• Inflexibility–evenwithre-architectingthesource,thescriptsaren’tdesignedtodogranularmoves.

• LimitedVisibility–ThePowerShellscriptsmovethedataautomaticallywithnoreal

insightintowhat’shappening.However,onceyoukickoffamigrationyoucanviewtheprogressandcompletionthroughtheExchangeAdminCenter(EAC)orusingtheGet-MigrationBatchcmdlet.

Althoughwe’vefocusedonExchange2013/2016migration,therearedirectionsforlegacymigrationstoo.Inaddition,youcanfinddirectionfromMicrosoft

formigratingyourExchange2007/2010publicfoldersto

ExchangeOnline.

MakingyourMigrationUsable

Mostmigrationsstartasatechnicaldiscussionofhowitcanbeaccomplished,whattoolsarenecessary,andwhatdatasetsareinvolved.Buttokeepbusinessestodayrunning,ITcannolongerlettechnologydictatethemigrationpath.

So,whatpreliminarystepsshouldyoutake?

Step1.StartwiththeBusiness

Starttheplanningprocessfromabusinessobjectivesstandpointfirst,andthendecidehowtoleveragetechnologytoaccomplishandmeetthebusinessgoals.Whichpublicfoldersarecriticaltooperations?Whicharenecessaryforanad-hocarchive?Whatpartsofthebusinessaccesseachfolder?Understandexactlyhowthefoldersareusedwithinthebusiness.Onceyou’veansweredthesequestions,youcanbegintoformulatehowthemigrationneedstohappenand,therefore,whatpre-migrationworkmaybenecessary.

Step2.Re-Architect

Withtheorganization’sneedsinfullview,youcanapplythosebusinessobjectives,theexistingfoldertree,andthelimitationsinOffice365toproperlyplanoutanewarchitecturethatwillfacilitatebothasmoothmigrationandusabilityofthedataoncemigrated.

KeepinmindthespaceandfolderlimitationsinOffice365,andmixthatwiththebusinessneedsofeachsourcefoldertocreateasourceenvironmentthat,oncemigrated,willbeabletogrowastheorganizationdoes.

Step3.PlantheMigration

Here’swhereyouneedtofigureoutexactlyhowyou’llperformthemigration–willyouusetheMicrosoft-providedscripts?Create/Modifyyourown(whichisn’tsupported),orleverageathird-partytool?Theidealanswerisactuallytoleverageasolutionvendorthatwantstopartner–andnotjustprovidetools–thathasthedesireandexpertisetomakethetransitionasuccessatbothatechnicallevelandatabusinessandITperceptionlevel.

TheBigTakeaways

ThemovetoOffice365isn’tassimplewhenitcomestopublicfolders.Thechangesfromolderon-premversionsofExchangetothecurrentversionofExchangeOnlinemakesimplypushingpublicfolderdataintothecloudabitclunky.

ByunderstandingthelimitationsinOffice365,andthemethodsbywhichMicrosoftaddressthemasyoupushpublicfolderdatain,youcanbetterformulatehowyourcurrentstructureneedstolooktobebestmigrated.

Leveragingpartnerswithsolutionswilllikelyincreasethespeed,accuracy,andusabilityofyourpublicfoldersbothduringthemigration,andafterwards.

I’vedonebatchmigrationsofbothmailboxesandpublic

foldersandpersonally…Ipreferworkingwithasolidthird-party

solutiontohelpmedoit.

NOTES

NOTES