The Exchange Server 2003 migration wizard has significant improvements over the Exchange 2000 Server version of the migration wizard.

To migrate mailboxes directly from Exchange Server 5.5 to Exchange 2003 in an intraorganizational migration you must use the Move Mailbox Wizard. To migrate mailboxes from Exchange 2000 Server to Exchange 2003 servers, Microsoft also recommends using the Move Mailbox Wizard, although in-place upgrades are fully supported.

Migration Wizard (MAILMIG.EXE)

The Migration Wizard was first published in Exchange 2000, but the Exchange 2003 version is much more attractive and efficient when you want to move mailboxes from older Exchange servers to Exchange 2003.

When to Use the Wizard

You can only migrate mailboxes from the source server if the source server is not part of the same Exchange 2003 organization as the server that is running the Migration Wizard.

What is the difference between Intraorganizational- and Interorganizational Migration?

Intraorganizational migration: The mailboxes will be migrated between Exchange Servers in ONE Exchange Organization.

Interorganizational migration: The mailboxes will be migrated between Exchange Servers in DIFFERENT Exchange Organizations.

You can start the Migration Wizard by clicking Start – Microsoft Exchange – Deployment – Migration Wizard (MAILMIG.EXE).

Figure 1: Start the Migration Wizard

Follow the Wizards instructions.

Figure 2: Migration Wizard initial screen

Select the type of migration…

Figure 3: Select the type of migration

The Migration Wizard supports the migration from several different mail systems. I will give you a short explanation about the supported systems:

PC Networks

Use this option to migrate Microsoft Mail for PC Networks users, mail, and schedule data directly from your Microsoft Mail post office.

Lotus cc:Mail

Use this option to migrate Lotus cc:Mail user mailboxes, messages, message drafts, attachments, folders, personal mail lists, and bulletin boards directly from your cc:Mail post office.

Lotus Notes

Use this option to migrate users, mail, and schedule information from your Lotus Notes or Domino server.

Novell GroupWise 4.x/5.x

Use this option to migrate users, mail, and schedule information from your Novell GroupWise 4.x post office.

We choose Microsoft Exchange ….

Figure 4: The wizard for Exchange Migration starts

Use the following screen to confirm that you want to migrate from an Exchange 2000 or later organization or an Exchange 5.5 site, and to confirm that your servers are ready for migration. The server from which you want to migrate is called the "source server." You can only migrate mailboxes from the source server if the source server is not part of the same Exchange 2003 organization as the server that is running the Migration Wizard.

Before starting migration, verify the following on the source server:

• Exchange services are running
• If the source server is an Exchange 5.5 server, be sure Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) is active

Select the computer to which the data should be migrated

Figure 5: The wizard for Exchange Migration starts

Specify from which server the migration should start. It is necessary to specify an Administrator account and the password to access the source server.

Figure 6: Specify credentials to connect to the source Exchange Server

You can choose the information you want to migrate. It is possible to filter by messages within a date range and to filter messages with specific subjects.

Figure 7: Apply a filter for migration data

Select the accounts you want to migrate.

Figure 8: Select accounts to migrate

Select a container in Active Directory where the Accounts should be created.

Figure 9: Specify the destination container in Active Directory

Click Options for advanced options. It is possible the art of Account creation. You can use the Windows Account name for password or a random generated password.

Figure 10: Account creation options

The next picture displays the Migration Progress. The processing time depends on the size of the mailbox and the number messages in the mailbox.

Figure 11: Migration progress screen

Congratulations: You have finished – The Migration of mailboxes is complete.

Figure 12: Migration successful

EXMERGE

One other possible solution for mailbox migration is EXMERGE.

EXMERGE extracts data from mailboxes on one Exchange server and then merge that data into mailboxes on another Exchange server.

Figure 13: EXMERGE initial screen

Figure 14: Choose One Step – or Two Step Merge

Use the Mailbox Merge Program to extract data from mailboxes on a Microsoft Exchange Server and then merge this data into mailboxes on another Microsoft Exchange Server. Exmerge copies data from the source server into Personal Folders (.PST files) and then merges the data in the .PST files into mailboxes on the destination server.

Exmerge is a great tool during a disaster recovery. It is possible to script and schedule Exmerge so you can easily export or import mailbox data from one server to another.

I love Exmerge because it is also possible to filter the data to export or to import. With the help of the filtering feature you can clean for example all mailboxes from an dangerous e-mail.

You can download EXMERGE here.

This article should give you an overview about the EXMERGE process. For more information about EXMERGE read Markus Klein’s article.

Conclusion

The functionality of the Migration Wizard was improved with every Microsoft Exchange version. New to Exchange 2003 is the ability to migrate from Exchange 5.5 and 2000 to Exchange 2003 with the Migration Wizard.

Related Links

Permissions required to run the Exchange 2000 Server Migration Wizard
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;281496

How to Use the Exchange Migration Wizard to Migrate Mailboxes from an Exchange Organization
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;328871

XGEN: Exchange Tools for Migration
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;281584

Support WebCast: How to Setup the Exchange 2000 Migration Wizard
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;822537

Support WebCast: How to Setup the Exchange 2000 Migration Wizard
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;822537