Moving Mailboxes to a new Exchange server

Yep, you must use the SyncInMigrationMode registry key to ensure the new mailboxes are assigned to the existing Archives.

SyncInMigrationMode  -  http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH48928

Other than that, so long as you have setup archiving from the new Exchange server and tested this with a test account, all should go smoothly.

Using the above key will ensure EV associates the 'New' (In EVs eyes) mailbox with the existing entries in the EV SQL DBs.

Just add the SynchInMigrationMode, as Ben suggested, with a value of 1:

SynchInMigrationMode
http://www.symantec.com/docs/HOWTO32318

Description
Specifies whether, when migrating mailboxes from one Exchange Server to another, Enterprise Vault automatically assigns migrated mailboxes to existing archives. SynchInMigrationMode affects only the association between user mailboxes and archives; it does not affect the association between journal mailboxes and their archives.

1 - Makes Enterprise Vault assign new or moved mailboxes to existing archives if the legacyMbxDN values match.

thank you chaps,

The fact that we have carried out Exchange migration in the past this mentioned reg key is already exists in the registry. it looks like I don't need to make any changes. But still concern that I might end up EV creates new archive account for the moved mailboxes.

Hi EV,

So long as that regkey is in there you wont get duplicated archives.

Since GabeV mentioned journaling. would the journal mailbox cause any issue when I start moving it to a new Exchange server.

For journaling, the process is a little bit different. I wouldn't move the journal mailbox. When you setup journaling in EV initially, you need to create the journal archive manually, create the journaling task and then setup the journal mailbox under the Exchange server. In this last step, you need to select the journal mailbox from Exchange, the journal archiving task, journal policies, retention and which archive you want to use to archive it.

In this case, you can just create a new journal mailbox in the new Exchange Server and setup a new task and a new Journal Mailbox in EV under the new Exchange Server and point it to the same archive you were using before.

I hope this helps.

Hi Gabe,

Currently I have one Exchange server (Exch01) and the plan is to build two more servers Exch02 and Exch03 then decomm Exch01. So I will have to move all mailboxes from Exch01 eventually.

Form Exchange point of you I can have one Journal mailbox but then I assume from EV point of you I should be able to have one journal archive for both Exch servers. is this possible and performance point of you is this recommended.

 cheers

If that's the case, you can configure a new journal mailbox in the new server, redirect journaling to the new mailbox and configure EV to archive this new journal mailbox. Then, once the 'old' EV journaling task archives all the data from the old journal mailbox, you can delete the mailbox from Exchange and decommission the server. You can have two journaling tasks archiving to the same journal archive. With only one EV server, you shouldn't have any performance issues if you keep your SQL DBs fragmentation low.

Gabe,

For what I read is that I need to add new exchange server as a new target, add journal, PF and then create new journal and mailbox archive tasks.

I noticed that when I tried to add the new target it prompt me to associate a system mailbox for the new exchange server. is this mean that I have to create a new system mailbox for each new target.

on the new exchange server I have yet got no mailboxes and in EV environment I only have one EV service account and I don't want to have multiple service/system mailboxes.