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Established in 1999, Priasoft was first to market a trusted toolset to expertly migrate customer emails to and from messaging platforms. Since then, their solutions have continued to “set the standard” for
proven migration practices and have resulted in the successful migration of over 30,000,000 Microsoft
Exchange Mailboxes and Public Folders worldwide.
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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.
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PublisherAcknowledgmentsAllofthefolksresponsibleforthecreationofthisbook:
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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.
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