How can I migrate archive mailboxes from Exchange 2010 to 2016?

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Modern Exchange Server versions offer a plethora of enticing features seamlessly integrated with archive mailboxes. The ensuing advantages vividly illustrate the symbiotic relationship between archive mailboxes and Exchange Server.

• Exchange Search: The mailbox information in both primary and archive mailboxes is indexed in a consistent manner, ensuring that search features perform equally effectively in both mailbox types. Notably, the archive mailbox offers swifter search capabilities due to its lack of local caching on the user’s computer. Whenever a search is initiated within the on-premises Exchange environment, it seamlessly retrieves results from both the primary and archive mailboxes, ensuring a comprehensive search experience.
• Recoverable Items folder: The archive mailbox includes its dedicated Recoverable Items Folder, similar to other mailboxes. In the event of an accidental deletion, you can easily locate and retrieve items within the Recoverable Items folder.
• In-Place hold and litigation hold: This feature serves the purpose of preserving items to meet legal obligations. Litigation hold provides comprehensive control over all aspects, while In-place hold operates with a finer level of granularity. When an administrator places a hold on a mailbox, it automatically extends to the associated archive mailbox as well, ensuring consistent retention across both repositories.
• In-Place discovery: When the discovery manager initiates a search for the required item, it automatically scans both primary and archive mailboxes. Currently, there isn’t a specific method available to exclude the archive mailbox from the ongoing search.

If you’re still relying on Exchange 2010, you might be missing out on the numerous advantages offered by Exchange 2013, 2016, or the latest 2019 versions. The clock is ticking, as Exchange 2010 will soon become outdated, with Microsoft discontinuing updates and support for this legacy version. To ensure your platform remains current and well-supported, it’s imperative to consider either migrating Exchange 2010 mailboxes to 2016 or 2019.

Among these options, Exchange 2016 stands out as the most popular and widely adopted version. Therefore, it makes strategic sense to transition your Exchange 2010 mailboxes to Exchange 2016. Exchange Server 2016 offers a multitude of benefits over its predecessors, including but not limited to:

• Outlook on the web: Outlook on the Web represents the digital evolution of the popular email manager, Outlook. Notably, it offers enhanced mobile accessibility, making it more user-friendly for those on the move. Furthermore, the user interface has been revamped, featuring a sleek new Calendar, a variety of fresh themes, and even an integrated video player for a more seamless experience.
• MAPI over HTTP: In Exchange 2016, the default communication protocol is MAPI over HTTP, a cutting-edge protocol designed to enhance both user experience and connectivity. This innovative protocol offers a valuable feature known as “pause-and-resume,” allowing users to seamlessly resume existing connections rather than initiating new ones. This capability ensures uninterrupted communication and fosters a smoother interaction with the Exchange server, greatly benefiting users.
• Office 365 Hybrid: Exchange 2016 provides a versatile hybrid environment that seamlessly integrates your on-premises server infrastructure with Office 365. This empowers organizations to concurrently operate Exchange Online alongside their on-premises setup, ensuring maximum flexibility and continuity. Moreover, the hybrid configuration enables a smooth and comprehensive migration of Exchange services to Office 365, streamlining the transition process.
• Auditing log reports: Exchange 2016 boasts robust auditing capabilities, empowering administrators to effortlessly access comprehensive auditing log reports. This functionality diligently records user interactions with mailboxes and their actions, ensuring a detailed account of activities. Consequently, Exchange administrators gain valuable insights into user mailbox access and activity timestamps, facilitating effective monitoring and oversight.
• Antimalware protection: Exchange 2016 comes equipped with robust built-in antimalware security features that diligently scrutinize both incoming and outgoing emails for any signs of suspicious content. In the event that malware is detected, the system promptly removes the offending message, adhering to the default configuration. Administrators also have the option to configure notifications to be sent to the corresponding sender or receiver, providing flexibility in managing security alerts.

How to migrate mailboxes to a different database along with archived mailboxes?

You can swiftly migrate your Exchange 2010 mailboxes to 2016 by using your Exchange Admin Center:

1. Login to EAC (Exchange Admin Center) with the help of administrator credentials.
2. Go to Recipient and click the option Migration.
3. Click the (+) icon and select Move to a different database.
4. Add the source mailbox with the help of (+) icon and click Next.
5. Now, provide a unique name to the new batch. Here, among three options, you should select the first option Move the primary mailbox and the archive mailbox if one exists. In the last, click the Browse button and select the desired Exchange 2016 database where you want to save the mailbox.
6. In the next screen, you can browse the user who will get the report after the migration. You can also choose when to start and end the migration.
7. As soon as the mailbox is synced and migrated, the status of the batch will be changed to “Completed.”

So, this was the whole process which you can easily follow and migrate your Exchange mailboxes. But there are several difficulties that you may face during migration. That’s why you need to use a professional tool to make the migration job easier.

Kernel Exchange Migration – Express edition stands out as the optimal choice for Exchange migration tasks. With its user-friendly interface, you can effortlessly transition between different Exchange server versions, whether you need to upgrade or downgrade. This versatile tool efficiently handles the migration of primary mailboxes, archive mailboxes, and public folders without requiring separate migration processes for public folders. The software streamlines the entire migration process, ensuring all your data is seamlessly transferred in a single, cohesive cycle.

Conclusion

The migration of archive mailboxes constitutes a crucial component of every Exchange migration endeavor. Administrators have the capability to perform archive mailbox migrations directly from the Exchange admin center. Nonetheless, the utilization of specialized Exchange migration tools greatly enhances the efficiency and expediency of archive mailbox migrations, making the process notably faster and more streamlined.