Migrate between Hosted Exchange servers

Hosted Exchange servers, maintained by third-party providers like GoDaddy, DreamHost, or LiquidWeb, offer cloud-based email solutions that enable businesses to manage email, calendars, and contacts without the need for on-premises infrastructure. This model allows organizations to access their data from any device, promoting seamless collaboration and communication. Migrating between Hosted Exchange providers often occurs for reasons such as cost efficiency, enhanced features, improved performance, or better security. Companies may seek competitive pricing, advanced collaboration tools, reduced downtime, or more robust customer support and compliance with evolving regulations, making migration a strategic move to optimize operations.

EdbMails Exchange migration software plays a crucial role in simplifying the Hosted Exchange migration The software offers a direct, end-to-end migration solution, transferring all mailbox data—such as emails, contacts, calendars, public folders, and more—without needing intermediate steps like exporting to PST files. This ensures a more efficient and secure migration, preserving folder hierarchies and data integrity throughout the migration process.

EdbMails features incremental migration, which transfers only newly added or modified data after the initial migration, reducing bandwidth usage and speeding up subsequent migration runs. Its automatic mailbox mapping function significantly reduces manual configuration by automatically matching source and target mailboxes. Additionally, the throttling management feature ensures stable data transfer during peak times, preventing any interruptions or slowdowns. EdbMails' advanced filtering options allow you to migrate selected data based on date ranges or specific folders, offering flexibility in what data is transferred.

EdbMails is designed for ease of use, making it accessible to both IT professionals and novice users alike, with a user-friendly interface that simplifies even complex migrations. Whether migrating for better performance, security, or cost savings, EdbMails ensures a seamless transition, zero downtime, and secure data migration between Hosted Exchange environments, making it the go-to solution for businesses of all sizes.

1. Hosted Exchange migration: pre-requisites

   • Conduct an inventory of mailbox sizes, folder structures, and custom configurations to understand the scope of the migration.
   • Analyze available bandwidth to ensure it can handle the data transfer without impacting ongoing operations.
   • Communicate the migration timeline, expected downtime, and any changes in access to users to prepare them for the transition.
   • Create a sandbox environment for pilot migrations to identify potential issues before the full migration.
   • Grant full access permissions for the mailboxes on both the source and the target servers if you are using full access permission method to connect to source and the target Hosted Exchange servers
   • Specify email address and passwords in the CSV file if you are connecting to multiple users using the CSV file.
   • Get email address and passwords if you are connecting as a specific user on both the source and the target servers.
   • Set impersonation rights for the global admin account if you are connecting to source and target Hosted Exchange servers using a global admin account.

2. Steps to migrate Hosted Exchange server using EdbMails

   Step 1: Download and Install the EdbMails application

   • Download and install EdbMails on any computer that has connectivity to both the source and target environments. Migration can also be executed from a non-Exchange server if necessary.
   • System requirements for EdbMails Hosted Exchange migration.
   • Select the 'Login' or 'Start Your Free Trial' to launch the application and commence the migration process.

     

   • Select the migration method known as Live Exchange migration.

     

   Step 2: Connect to source Hosted Exchange server

   • Select ‘Connect to Hosted Exchange Server’ to connect to your Hosted Exchange server followed by the mailbox type. If you are using a global admin account to connect to your Hosted Exchange server, ensure to set impersonation rights.

     

   • Select the required connection option

     

      Different option to connect to Hosted Exchange server

   • Select one of the options among ‘Connect Using Autodiscover Email’ using email address or password for your Hosted Exchange server which is enabled with the Autodiscover service or ‘Default connection’ using domain name or IP.

     

   • Enter the Hosted Exchange server details and click the ‘Login’ button

     

   • Select the required option to load the mailboxes. EdbMails automatically loads your source server mailboxes. You can also load mailboxes using a csv file.

     

   Step 3: Select Hosted Exchange server mailboxes

   • From the left pane of the main migration interface, select the source Hosted Exchange mailboxes you wish to migrate.

      Next, click ‘Migrate to Live Exchange’.

     

   Step 4: Connect to target Hosted Exchange server

   • Select the required connection options

     

   • Select the appropriate option

     

   • Select one of the options among ‘Connect Using Autodiscover Email’ using email address or password for your Hosted Exchange server which is enabled with the Autodiscover service or ‘Default connection’ using domain name or IP.

     

   • Enter the target Hosted Exchange server details and click the ‘Login’ button

     

   • Select the required option to load the mailboxes. EdbMails automatically loads your target server mailboxes. You can also load mailboxes using a csv file.

     

   Step 5: Mailbox mapping between Hosted Exchange servers

   • Select the required mailbox mapping option.

     

   • EdbMails automatically maps mailboxes between the source and target Hosted Exchange servers. This capability is especially beneficial when migrating a large number of mailboxes, as it reduces manual effort and accelerates the overall migration process.

     

   • Click the ‘Folder and Item Filter’ button to set a filter for your migration. For instance, you can choose to migrate data only within a specific date range by applying a date filter. Additionally, you can exclude both standard and custom folders from the migration.

     

   Step 6: Start Hosted Exchange migration

   • After completing the mailbox mapping, click the ‘Continue’ button, enter a job name, and proceed. Once the migration is successfully finished, EdbMails prompts the migration completion message. Click the 'View Log' button located at the bottom of the main migration window to check the migration report. Also, log in to your target server to confirm that items such as emails, calendars, and contacts have been migrated successfully.

     

3. Hosted Exchange post-migration tasks

   • Confirm that all emails, contacts, calendars, and tasks were successfully transferred.
   • Send and receive test emails to ensure proper mail flow.
   • Ensure all user accounts are correctly set up in the new environment.
   • Modify MX records to direct emails to the new server.
   • Assist users in configuring their email clients with the new server settings.
   • Test connectivity for mobile devices using ActiveSync.
   • Gather feedback from users regarding their experience post-migration.
   • Shut down old servers after confirming successful migration and user satisfaction.

4. Hosted Exchange migration troubleshooting guide

     Check the Hosted Exchange migration troubleshooting guide for insights into resolving any migration errors. For further information about the EdbMails Exchange migration tool, please review the frequently asked questions section.