PST migrations and Storage Service

[CadenL]

Hi

I;m hoping someone can answer a couple of PST migration planning questions that I'm trying to understand. I have a single EV email archiving server which archives about 2500 users from two Exchange 2010 mailbox servers (in a two node dag). I'm planning on creating a temproary EV server to run the PST locate\collect\migrate services for the PST migration and then would decommission this once the PST migration activity has competed.

The storage service that manages the users email archives is currently running on the EV email archiving server and the vault store partitions are presented as block storage from an EMC SAN but does the storage service need to run on the newly commissioned EV PST migration server? If so how do I move this - is it just effectively moving the vault store to a different EV server as per http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH47388? In which case I guess I'd need to unpresent the vault store volumes from the email archiving server and represent them to the PST migration server and then create a storage service on there? Once the PST migration has completed then move it back? 

I assume that the normal email archiving runs will still happen on the EV Email archiving server but the content will now be sent over the network to the storage service running on the EV PST migration server?

Sorry for all the questions but just trying to get the processes straight in my mind :o)

thanks

[dcVAST]

You need to add the Task Controller Service to the new server and then you can add PST tasks.

[CadenL]

Ok thanks. So do I need to move the vault store?

[dcVAST]

You need to configure a PST Migrator task on each Enterprise Vault server that hosts archives to which you intend to migrate PST files. So whatever route would work best.

[dcVAST]

If you want to move the Vault Store TECH47388 is correct. Should have all that you need. Mailbox archiving will have to use outbound/inbound queues since the archive resides on the new EV server.

[CadenL]

Yeah - so I think I follow.

For me, I don't want to create the PST tasks on the same server as the EV server that  hosts the archives to which I intend to migrate PST files  - as this server also has the email archiving tasks. I actually want to build a new server to run the PST tasks separately to balance the workloads. 

So In that case I MUST move the vault store to my new PST server for my scenario to work - correct?

Once the PST migration has completed I can move the Vault store back to the original server and theny delete my PST migration server from the EV configuration

thanks again

[dcVAST · Accepted solution]

Correct, that's one way to do it. You could even look at using thrid-party tools after the fact if you didn't want to move the Vault Store.

[CadenL]

Moving the vault store will be fine......

What happens to the indexing? Where will that occur?

Will indexing occur on each EV server (eg PST server indexes and the PST files and the EV email archiving server indexes the emails before passing the content onto the PST EV server (as this is where the storage service is). 

In which case I'll still need an index location for each server and when I want to decommission the PST migration server ,I close the index locations and move them (along with the Vault store itself) to the EV email archiving server? 

thanks

[EdLacey]

How many PST's do you calculate you're going to ingest? Personally I can't help but think you are about to embark on a complex solution to a reasonably simple problem. If your current EV server is properly specified to archive your 2500 mailboxes during an overnight archiving window then it should be more than capable of ingesting PST's during the day without impacting users archive access.

Have you read the PST Migration Whitepaper?

http://www.symantec.com/docs/DOC6625

[CadenL]

Hi Ed

Thanks for your input and I'm beginning to think the same - I'm still collecting PST info but looking like about 5000 PST's equalling about 4TB in size..... rough guestimate.

That aside, and assuming I do standup a dedicated PST migration server - is my question about indexes valid.... I'm now thinking that the PST migration server will use the Index on the email archiving server as that's where the user has been enabled. Isn't that the point at which the archive and index location is defined or would the PST migration server create a separate index location locally for the same user archive? Perhaps I don't need an index service and volume on the PST migration server?

thanks

[EdLacey]

When you ingest a PST into an existing archive you will just be adding to the Index of that archive. Again, for the amount of mailboxes you are archiving if the server is properly specified I cannot see any reason to add an adittional server

[WiTSend]

The indexing will be done by the EV server that holds the user's archive, unless you have Index groups (which I strongly do not recommend).  The storage service on the EV server that holds the vault stores will be used.  I dont' recommend moving the vault store since you're still doing archiving.  The PST migration server will just be doing the collecting and initial migrating, moving the data to the EV server for Indexing and storage.  I'd personnally, set my scheduling up so that I wasn't doing any PST work during my archive period, but other than that I'd just let'er fly.