When to use Move Mailbox Wizard or ExMerge to move Exchange mailboxes

When moving mailboxes, you want a tool that's quick and easy to use. One such tool for Exchange Server is the Move Mailbox Wizard. However, there are some situations where Move Mailbox Wizard is impractical and ExMerge is your only option. The trick is to know which situation calls for which tool.

Running Exchange organizations in mixed mode

You may not be able to use the Move Mailbox Wizard in organizations that operate Exchange in mixed mode without some significant restrictions. First, you can't install Exchange Server 2007 in a mixed-mode organization. If you're planning to move mailboxes to an Exchange 2007 server, you must get rid of your Exchange 5.5 servers and convert the organization to native mode before installing Exchange 2007.

More on moving mailboxes on Exchange: Moving mailboxes and public folders to Exchange 2007  Use ExMerge to move mailboxes from SBS 2003 to another server

Note: Microsoft replaced ExMerge in Exchange 2007 with the EMS Export Mailbox command. Most situations in this article deal with legacy Exchange servers.

Another limitation associated with using the Move Mailbox Wizard in mixed-mode environments is that you can't move a mailbox between servers residing in different administrative groups. This restriction exists because legacy versions of Exchange Server use separate Active Directory (AD) partitions.

Legacy Exchange Servers and Move Mailbox Wizard versions

Avoid using the Move Mailbox wizard when upgrading from a legacy version of Exchange Server. For example, suppose that your entire Exchange organization is running Exchange 5.5 and you want to deploy either Exchange Server 2003 or Exchange 2007.

You can use the Move Mailbox Wizard here, but it will involve a lot more work. Simply stated, you would have to install an Exchange 2003 server and then deploy an AD connector. Then, you would migrate everything to Exchange 2003, decommission your Exchange 5.5 servers, switch to native mode and finally bring Exchange 2007 into the mix.

The problem with using this type of migration (aside from its complexity) is that leaves behind a lot of garbage from legacy Exchange servers. Using ExMerge may not be less work but will result in a pristine deployment, instead of a cluttered Active Directory.

Note: Using ExMerge causes more downtime during the migration process.

Additionally, older versions of the Move Mailbox Wizard will encounter problems if mailboxes contain corrupt messages. Newer versions, however, let you skip corrupt messages and move everything else.

About the author: Brien M. Posey, MCSE, is a five-time recipient of Microsoft's Most Valuable Professional award for his work with Exchange Server, Windows Server, Internet Information Services (IIS), and File Systems and Storage. Brien has served as CIO for a nationwide chain of hospitals and was once responsible for the Department of Information Management at Fort Knox. As a freelance technical writer, Brien has written for Microsoft, TechTarget, CNET, ZDNet, MSD2D, Relevant Technologies and other technology companies. You can visit Brien's personal website at www.brienposey.com.

Do you have comments on this tip? Let us know.

Please let others know how useful this tip was via the rating scale below. Do you know a helpful Exchange Server, Microsoft Outlook or SharePoint tip, timesaver or workaround? Email the editors to talk about writing for SearchExchange.com.

Digg This!     StumbleUpon     Del.icio.us

RELATED CONTENT Microsoft Exchange Server Mailbox Management Delivering email between Exchange server test and production domains Microsoft Outlook error message: 'Mailbox Size Limit exceeded' Restoring user accounts and mailbox links in Active Directory Problems receiving email from outside a Exchange Server 2003 domain Best practices for moving mailboxes in Exchange Server Exchange admins: Is it time to rethink your email address policy? Exchange Server 2003 collects email from only specific POP3 domains Troubleshoot 'System Attendant' error messages in OWA Relocating Outlook email messages on a hosted Exchange 2007 server Restore contacts from an Exchange public folder Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 How to install Forefront Security for Exchange Server Displaying Exchange 2007 public folders in SharePoint Don'ts for optimal Exchange 2007 mailbox server efficiency Is your Exchange 2007 hub transport server healthy? Top 5 Exchange ActiveSync tips Two useful tools for documenting an Exchange Server installation Controlling spam in Exchange 2007 at the edge transport server level Restore Exchange storage groups with DPM 2007 How a hosted Exchange service can help you Email issues after configuring hosted Exchange server on laptop Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Research Exchange Server Deployment and Migration Advice Exchange Server 2010 bows with improved recovery Leapfrogging from Exchange 2003 to Exchange 2010 Two useful tools for documenting an Exchange Server installation Avoid these Exchange Server migration pitfalls Why it's important to document your Exchange installation Exchange Server 2007 support ends at Windows Server 2008 Best practices for moving mailboxes in Exchange Server Exchange Server 2007: Email archiving tips and hosted services trends Exchange Insider e-zine ExMerge gotchas to watch for when migrating Exchange 2003 mailboxes

RELATED GLOSSARY TERMS Terms from Whatis.com − the technology online dictionary bounce email  (SearchExchange.com) messaging server  (SearchExchange.com)

RELATED RESOURCES 2020software.com, trial software downloads for accounting software, ERP software, CRM software and business software systems Search Bitpipe.com for the latest white papers and business webcasts Whatis.com, the online computer dictionary