Rackspace to Office 365 migration

As businesses evolve and digital transformation becomes increasingly essential, migrating from Rackspace Email to Office 365 has become a strategic choice for many organizations. Rackspace, once a trusted name in email hosting, has long provided reliable communication solutions. However, with the growing demand for integrated tools and seamless collaboration, organizations are now seeking a more comprehensive solution, leading many to embrace Microsoft’s Office 365 suite. Office 365 offers more than just email services—it delivers a full productivity suite, including applications like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, along with collaboration tools such as Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint. This transition is fueled by businesses aiming to streamline operations, enhance teamwork, and boost productivity. In addition, Office 365 offers expanded storage options, stronger data protection, and automatic updates, presenting significant advantages over Rackspace’s more traditional hosting services. Despite these benefits, migrating to Office 365 comes with challenges, including data mapping inconsistencies, user account synchronization issues, minimizing downtime, and addressing compatibility concerns.

EdbMails facilitates seamless Rackspace to Office 365 migration using its Exchange Office 365 migration and IMAP migration features, effectively addressing all challenges associated with the migration process through advanced capabilities. Its delta migration functionality ensures that only incremental changes are transferred after the initial migration, minimizing downtime and maintaining continuous access to email services. Advanced filtering options allow users to migrate specific email data, reducing errors and saving time. EdbMails offers a script-free migration solution, making it accessible to users with no technical expertise. The tool’s step-by-step wizard tutorials guide users through each phase of the migration process, simplifying the transition. Additionally, automated mailbox mapping ensures accurate synchronization of user accounts, eliminating manual configurations and preventing data inconsistencies. These features make EdbMails an ideal solution for overcoming the challenges of Rackspace to Office 365 migration, ensuring a smooth and efficient transition.

1. Rackspace to Office 365 migration planning

   Planning is one of the most important steps before you migrate from rackspace to Office 365. Here is a brief checklist of points to consider before you migrate.

   1. Remove unused mailboxes, mail items and duplicate files from the source.
   2. Make an inventory of items before you make the move. These should include but are not limited to the following items.
      • User accounts, email addresses and login credentials
      • The source and target details, browser and operating systems used
      • Network settings, DNS configurations, MX records, firewall settings
      • Outlook settings and version you are using in your organization.
      • Licensing plans on your current source server
      • Active Directory configuration and other dependencies associated with it.
      • List of data and permissions from Rackspace that you want to transfer.
   3. Determine the size of the data and number of mailboxes you want to migrate.
      • Decide if you want to migrate everything at once (cutover migration) or plan to migrate your data in stages (staged migration).
      • Decide if you plan to migrate Public folders, In-Place Archive, and Shared mailboxes along with the primary mailboxes.
      • Decide if you want to migrate SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams data.
      • Based on the preceding factors, estimate the approximate time that may take for the migration.
   4. Create appropriate user mailboxes on Office 365 and assign licenses to them.
   5. Ensure you have enough network capacity and bandwidth to migrate.
   6. Consider the throttling and message size limits on Office 365.
   7. Communicate the migration plan and changes to your end users and stakeholders.
   8. Perform a test migration before you start the actual one.
   9. Start the actual migration, verify the endpoints and update the MX records.
   10. Check for correct mail flow and configure Outlook for all the users.
   11. Plan for decommissioning unused apps and their settings post migration

2. Rackspace to Office 365 migration prerequisites

   1. Ensure you have the users’ email addresses, passwords, IMAP hostname, and port number handy. You can Identify the IMAP server Host name for your Rackspace email, either by accessing your server's dashboard settings or integrating the email account with Outlook.
   2. Create mailboxes on the target Office 365 server; with EdbMails, you can opt for automatic creation or manually create them by referring to the links below.

       Add users and assign licenses to Office 365 users

       Assign Microsoft 365 licenses to user accounts

   3. If you have a custom email domain from your hosting provider to which you want to migrate and receive emails, you must add and verify the domain on Office 365.

       Steps to add a custom domain to Office 365 and Steps to add DNS records to connect your domain.

   4. Configure Office 365 to send and receive large messages.

       Follow the steps to increase the message size on Office 365 to 150MB and see tips to optimize IMAP migration to Exchange online.

3. Steps to migrate from Rackspace to Office 365 using EdbMails

   Method 1 : Migrate from Rackspace Hosted Exchange to Office 365

   • Step 1: Download and Install EdbMails Exchange migration software

     • Download and Install EdbMails on any Windows-based computer that is connected to the source Exchange server.

        System requirements for Hosted Exchange to Office 365 migration

     • Launch the application and select either 'Login' or 'Start Your Free Trial' to proceed.

       

     • Select 'Live Exchange migration' from the drop down list.

       

   • Step 2: Connect to source Rackspace Hosted Exchange

     • Select 'Connect Hosted Exchange Server'.

        Various methods for establishing a connection to your Hosted Exchange server.

     • With EdbMails, you can migrate mailboxes, public folders, and archive mailboxes from Hosted Exchange to Office 365.

       

     • Choose the required option to perform ‘Multiple user migration’ or ‘Single User migration’.

       

     • You have the option to select either 'Connect Using Autodiscover Email' and provide your email address or password for the Hosted Exchange server with Autodiscover service enabled, or opt for 'Default Connection' by manually entering the domain name or IP address.

       

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

       

     • Select your preferred method for loading mailboxes. EdbMails will automatically fetch mailboxes from your source Hosted Exchange server. Alternatively, you can upload mailboxes by using a CSV file.

       

   • Step 3: Select source Rackspace Hosted Exchange mailboxes

     • Select the mailboxes and folders that you want to migrate to Office 365.
     • Click 'Migrate to Office 365'

       

   • Step 4: Connect to target Office 365 server

     • Choose the preferred method for secure OAuth-based modern authentication. The default option, ‘Auto Registration,’ requires Global admin access. Alternatively, in the Manual Registration method, you can use either a Global admin account or any user account with full access rights.

       

     • Next, select the desired migration option and proceed with the log in on the Microsoft sign-in page.

       

     • After logging in successfully, choose one of the options to load the mailboxes from the target Office 365 server. You can also load mailboxes using a CSV file.

       

   • Step 5: Rackspace Hosted Exchange to Office 365 mailboxes mapping

     • Select the required mailbox mapping option

       

     • EdbMails provides features that automate mailbox creation on the target server and ensure seamless mapping of mailboxes and folders from the source Rackspace Hosted Exchange server to the destination Office 365 server.

       

     • Click on the 'Folder and Item Filter' option to customize your migration operation. You can apply a date filter to transfer data within a specific range or exclude specific standard and custom folders from the migration process.

       

   • Step 6: Start Rackspace Hosted Exchange to Office 365 migration

     • Once the mailboxes are mapped, specify the job name and start the migration. To view the detailed migration report, click the 'View Log' button, which provides information on the number of emails, folders, and mailbox items migrated.

       

   Method 2 : Migrate from Rackspace Office 365 tenant to Office 365

   • If you have your Office 365 tenant on Rackspace, then an Office 365 to Office 365 migration is the best approach. Download and install EdbMails on your computer and select Office 365 migration from the main screen.

   • Step 2: Connect to source Rackspace Office 365 tenant

     • Choose your preferred method for secure OAuth-based modern authentication. The default setting, ‘Auto Registration’, necessitates Global admin access. Alternatively, the ‘Manual Registration’ option allows you to use either a Global admin account or any user account with full access privileges.

        Connect to Office 365 server using secure modern authentication

       

     • Select the desired migration operation and complete the authentication process on the Microsoft Sign-In page.

       

     • After successfully connecting to your Office 365 server, select an option to load the mailboxes. Alternatively, you can also load the mailboxes using a CSV file.

   • Step 3: Select source Rackspace Office 365 tenant mailboxes

     • EdbMails displays a list of mailboxes from the source Office 365 tenant.
     • Select the mailboxes and folders that you want to transfer.
     • Click ‘Migrate to Office 365’ to setup the connection with the target server

       

   • Step 4: Connect to target Office 365 server

     • Select the required authentication method

       

     • Then, select the relevant migration option and continue by signing in on the Microsoft login page.

       

     • Once logged in, choose the option to retrieve mailboxes from your target Office 365 server. Alternatively, you can load mailboxes using a CSV file for efficient management.

   • Step 5: Rackspace Office 365 tenant to Office 365 mailboxes mapping

     • Select the mapping option that best aligns with your requirements.

       

     • EdbMails automatically creates mailboxes in Office 365, making it easy to set up target mailboxes and map mailboxes and folders from the source IMAP server. This feature is especially helpful when migrating large numbers of mailboxes.

       

     • 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 Rackspace Office 365 tenant to Office 365 migration

     • After mapping the mailboxes, provide a job name and start the migration. To view the comprehensive migration report, click the ‘View Log’ button, which shows a complete status of the migration operation, including the count of emails, folders, and mailbox items migrated.

       

   Method 3 : Migrate from Rackspace to Office 365 with IMAP connection

   • Step 1: Download and Install EdbMails IMAP migration software

     • First, download and install EdbMails on your computer running on Windows operating system. Once installed, launch the application and choose the ‘IMAP Migration’ option from the main dashboard to proceed with the migration setup.

        See list of EdbMails system requirements for IMAP migration.

   • Step 2: Connect to source Rackspace IMAP server

     • For migrating a single user, input the Host Name, Port Number (993 for SSL), and the user account credentials to securely connect to Rackspace, following the outlined configuration steps.

       

     • To migrate multiple mailboxes, choose the ‘Multiple (bulk) Users/Accounts Migration’ option. Download the sample CSV file, fill in the necessary details like email address, password, host name, and port. Then, upload the CSV file into EdbMails and verify the mailboxes.

       

        Steps to connect to single and multiple users in EdbMails IMAP migration

   • Step 3: Select source Rackspace server mailboxes

     • Select the mailboxes and folders from the left panel.
     • Click ‘Migrate to Office 365’ to set up the connection with the target server.

        See tips to optimize IMAP migration to Exchange online

       

   • Step 4: Connect to target Office 365 server

     • Choose your preferred method for secure OAuth-based modern authentication. The default "Auto Registration" option requires Global Admin rights, while the "Manual Registration" method offers flexibility, allowing the use of either a Global Admin account or any user account with full access permissions.

       

     • Select the desired migration method, then proceed to the Microsoft sign-in page to authenticate your credentials.

       

     • Once logged in, choose the option to retrieve mailboxes from your target Office 365 server. Alternatively, you can load mailboxes using a CSV file for efficient management.

   • Step 5: Rackspace to Office 365 mailboxes mapping

     • Choose the mapping option that precisely matches your requirements.

       

     • Verify the mailbox mapping and proceed

       

   • Step 6: Start Rackspace to Office 365 migration

     • Enter a name for the migration job to reference later and continue. Once the migration is complete, a confirmation message will appear. You can also review the migrated folders and mailbox items by checking EdbMails' detailed, text-based migration report.

       

4. Rackspace to Office 365 post migration tasks

   • Step 1: Update DNS records (MX record) to point to Office 365

     To ensure email delivery is directed to Office 365 after migration, the first step is to update the MX (Mail Exchange) records in your domain's DNS settings. Additionally, configure the Autodiscover record to enable Outlook to automatically connect to the migrated mailboxes, ensuring a smooth setup for users.

   • Step 2: Create a new Outlook profile for users in the new domain

     Configure the Outlook profile for each user in your domain if Outlook has problems connecting to Office 365 mailboxes.

5. Rackspace to Office 365 migration troubleshooting

   Hosted Exchange to Office 365 migration feature:

   For troubleshooting, visit Knowledge Base articles.

   For more queries, check Frequently Asked Questions or contact support.

   Office 365 to Office 365 migration feature:

   1. Knowledge Base.
   2. Frequently Asked Questions

   IMAP to Office 365 migration feature:

   1. Knowledge Base.
   2. Frequently Asked Questions

---

Additional resources:

• IceWarp to Office 365 migration
• Zimbra to Office 365 migration
• AOL Emails to Office 365 migration
• Zoho Mail to Office 365 migration
• GoDaddy to Microsoft 365 migration
• ProtonMail to Office 365 migration
• cPanel to Office 365 migration