PST migration to public folder archive

[JayScovill]

Is it possible to migrate a PST to a public folder archive?  I have several public folders that were manually archived to PST files and I'd like to get those PST files into the Vault archive now created for each PF.

All the various methods of PST migration (PST Locate and Migrate and the PST Migration wizard) only let you select mailbox archives as a destination.  I'd like to be able to select a public folder archive.

So far the only option I can see is to import those PST files back into the public folders and let the archive tasks do their thing.  That's not very attractive when you're dealing with gigabytes of data being moved back into the Exchange databases like we have.

Thanks

[Mohawk_Marvin]

Amend the Archive type in SQL to a mailbox archive, do your thing, then change the archive type back to a mailbox archive :)

I do not have a lab up at the moment but, If you look in the ArchiveView you will see a column "Type", I am fairly sure Mailbox archives are Type 9 Public Folders will have a different "Type". If you need a better SQL interaction than this do shout and I am sure someone else will get a lab up and help you through?

[JayScovill]

Thanks for the suggestion. Is this all in a table in one the SQL datatbases?

[Mohawk_Marvin]

It is indeed, under Enterprise Vault Directory database. Expand that DB then expand views you will see the Archive View in there.

[JayScovill]

I'm looking at the EnterpriseVaultDirectory -> Views -> dbo.Archiveview -> Columns -> Type column properties but I don't see anything there with a name that reflects the mailbox archive type of 9.

[Mohawk_Marvin]

Public folders are by default a type of 33. And Mailbox Archives are a default type of 9.
 
So an example SQL command would be as follows:
 
Use EnterpriseVaultDirectory
update archiveview
set Type = ‘9’
where archivename = ‘Your Public Folder’

This will set your PF archive to a mailbox archive and you will be able to use the PST wizard from here.

[JayScovill]

This is what I'm running:

Use EnterpriseVaultDirectory
update ArchiveView
set Type='9'
where ArchiveName = "CanOps Folder Archive"

"CanOps Folder Archive" is the name of the public folder archive as it appears under Archives -> Exchange Public Folder

This is the result:

Msg 207, Level 16, State 1, Line 2
Invalid column name 'CanOps Folder Archive'.

[JesusWept3]

you have to use 'CanOps Folder Archive' (single quotes, not double quotes)

[JesusWept3]

oh and it should be Set Type = 9, as integers do not use quotes of any kind

[Nick_White · Accepted solution]

Hi,

this feels like a potentially bad idea to me. Ok, it might appear to work but it could lead to unexpected problems further down the line.

Just from a very, very quick test you won't get shortcuts and imported items will not appear in Archive Explorer as they are not imported with a valid location path for the actual folder structure. I've not tried anything more complex such as storage expiry to see what happens there, but there is the potential for unexpected errors in other functional areas, and by the time they become apparent it may be too late to do anything to fix them

[JayScovill]

Thanks for the input. 

I'm not using shorcuts so that's not a concern to me.  But not being able to view the imported mail in Archive Viewer is definitely a show stopper.

So the long and short of it is that it's not possible to migrate a public folder PST into an archive short of re-importing it back into the information store and letting the archive task do its thing?