Migrate Exchange 2007 & 2010 Public Folders to Office 365
Migrate Exchange 2007, 2010 Public Folders to Office 365
Exchange Server 2007 users can seamlessly transition their on-premises mailboxes to Office 365 using the staged migration method, while Exchange Server 2010 offers the cutover migration approach for mailbox migration. However, it's important to note that both of these methods are specifically tailored for migrating primary mailboxes. The primary mailbox content is efficiently moved to Office 365, making it readily accessible for immediate use.
If you're looking to migrate public folders associated with your accounts, you'll need to explore additional methods that not only ensure the security of this shared data but also facilitate a smooth migration to the target account.
Instant Solution
Download automated tool Kernel Migration for Exchange to migrate Exchange Server 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2019 Public Folders to Office 365.
Migration from public folder to Office 365 can be categorized into 10 sufficient steps:
You are in for a bumpy ride!
Download the Migration Scripts
Unfortunately, there is no easy tool provided by Microsoft to do the migration, we must use a collection of PowerShell scripts and cmdlets to do the work for us.
Save them all to C:\PFScripts feel free to change this location but make sure all the scripts are in the same place.
Update Exchange Server
Only the following versions of Exchange server are supported by these scripts
Exchange 2010 with SP3 and at least RU8
Exchange 2007 with SP3 and at least RU15
If you don’t have these versions of Exchange you will have to upgrade and unfortunately if you have Exchange 2003 you can’t migrate your public folders to Exchange Online.
Prepare Exchange Server
You need to follow the following steps on your Exchange server before attempting the migration, if you miss any of these the scripts won’t work properly.
General Steps:
Make sure no orphaned public folders exist in AD (i.e. there are AD Objects for public folders that no longer exists)
Check that the SMTP address for any public folder objects in Exchange match the AD Objects
Remove any duplicate public folder objects in AD (If you have performed say a 2003 to 2007 public folder migration before it's common to have something like "FolderName" & "FolderName54334533" in AD for the same public folder
Exchange Server Steps
Run the through the following steps on the Exchange Server that you are migrating the public folders from
We have to add the onmicrosoft domain for your 365 tenant to the Exchange server. To do this open the Exchange Shell as an administrator and type this
Once you’ve reset the migration status you have to wait for these settings to refresh in Exchange, this could take a couple of hours.
If you are using Azure AD connect you must remove public folder objects from the sync.
Open Azure AD Connect
Under Additional Task select Customize Synchronization options
Enter your credentials
On the Optional Features screen make sure the Exchange Mail Public Folders is unticked
Prepare Exchange Online
Now that the Exchange Server is ready to go it’s time to move onto setting up Exchange Online.
Make sure there are no pre-existing public folder migration requests, if there are delete them.
Check that there are no public folder mailboxes already in Exchange Online, if there are check for existing public folders. You will want to remove any public folders and public folder mailboxes before carrying on.
Generate the migration files
Time to dig out those scripts! Create a folder called C:\PFMigration and then open an Exchange Management shell change directory to the scripts directory (C:\PFScripts) now run the following scripts
Have a look through your folder to mailbox map file, if there are more than 1000 rows you will need to simplify your public folder layout.
Generate the Public Folder mailboxes in Exchange Online
Next, we need to create the public folder mailboxes in Exchange Online, these mailboxes are what actually host the content for your public folders. To do this it’s more PowerShell commands so open up the Exchange shell and run
Update the estimate with the max number of concurrent users you expect, this isn’t massively important but it might help performance in bigger organisations.
Start the Migration Request
Up until now everything has been prep work for this stage, now it’s time to start syncing our data.
Synchronize the mail enabled public folders, run this on the old Exchange server. Use your Office 365 Admin account credentials when prompted.
Now switch to Office 365 PowerShell, it’s time to update the info we just got into Exchange Online, first we need to set some values, then we can actually create the migration request!
Get the credential of the old Exchange server admin
We are getting there! But don’t say I didn’t warn you about this being a complicated process. At this stage, we can actually use the EAC to check in on the Migration Process
Login to EAC (Office 365)
Go to Mailbox > Migration
Find the migration that you just created and click view details
Only 3 steps left!
Lock down the public folders on the old Exchange server
We must prevent users from updating, editing, or accessing the old public folders, as any changes they make won't synchronize. The duration of the migration process may vary depending on factors such as data volume, Exchange server performance, and available bandwidth. During this period, Public Folders will essentially be offline, causing incoming mail to queue up, and users will be unable to access them. It's essential to plan for this downtime. Now, let's return to the command shell on the old Exchange server.
Public folders are now locked, if you have multiple public folder servers you will have to wait for them to replicate before continuing.
Finalize the migration
We are so close at this point I can practically taste it, time to finish the migration. Once you run this command, Exchange does one final sync of the data and then that’s it. In 365 Shell run this
Complete-MigrationBatchPublicFolderMigration
If you have Hybrid Exchange you will also need to run this
Everyone will now have access to the public folders through outlook (assuming they had permissions to do so before the migration). Finally run this command
Set-OrganizationConfig-PublicFoldersEnabledLocal
That’s it. Done.
If you do not want to go through this tiresome process, then you can always choose a much safer option - a third-party tool like Kernel Migration for Exchange which conducts a flawless migration of public folder to Office 365. With this Exchange Migration tool, You can choose to run a pre-migration analysis to know the possible migration time. Also, it synchronizes source and destination data and migrates limits and permissions too.
To understand how Kernel Migration for Exchange performs a swift migration, first download and install the application and then follow the given steps:
Start the Kernel Migration for Exchange software application. Click on the Add Project option to add a project for the migration process. Enter a project name and click OK. A migration project will be created. Now click on Add Job for Public folders.
Provide a job name and click Next.
Enter the source domain (Exchange 2010) login details. Perform validation of the details with Validate option. With this tool, you can Use existing profile and also delegate owner rights to this user on public folder(s). After providing the complete information, click Next.
Select the public folders you want to migrate from the list and click Next.
In the next dialogue box, enter the target domain (Office 365 account) details like username and password. Here also, you can validate the details. If required, use the existing profile and finally click Next.
Users can filter the data with filters like Message classes, Date range, etc. After filtering, click Next.
Users can manage bad items and synchronization settings with the options provided. Then click Next.
Set the job notifications by providing the email address (if needed) and click Next.
Confirm the job details given in the summary and click Finish to start the migration.
The duration of the migration process may vary depending on the volume of data to be transferred. Once the migration of Exchange public folders to Office 365 has concluded, you will see the migration status reflected as either "completed" or "successful."
Conclusion
While there exist manual methods for migrating public folders to Office 365 from older Exchange versions, the preference among Exchange administrators leans heavily towards employing professional tools. In this article, readers will gain insight into the seamless migration capabilities of Kernel Migration for Exchange with regard to public folders. This versatile tool not only streamlines migrations between different Exchange versions but also extends its support to facilitate seamless transitions from Office 365 to On-premise Exchange and between two distinct Office 365 tenants.