Migrating #MDaemon Public Distribution Lists to #MSExchange

To Migrate MDaemon Public Distribution Lists to Microsoft Exchange using our tools, follow this procedure:

1. Create a new directory to hold the processed group files.
2. Launch the mCalReader_ParseGroupFiles application.  Browse to the MDaemon server directory for the group files (these all have an extension of *.grp and the format NAME@Yourcompany.com.grp), and the output directory from Step 1.  Ensure the file extension pattern matches your group files (Note: it defaults to @YOURCOMPANY.com.grp)
   
3. Press “Go.” The processing should happen quickly. Then exit the program.  In the directory from Step 1 you should have a file called Distributionlists.csv.
4. Move the files and the shell cmdlet “DistGroupCmdlet.ps1”  to the Exchange server (or any shared/accessible directory)
5. Edit DistGroupCmdlet.ps1:

a. Modify $MyDistFileList to point to the Distributionlists.csv file.

                              i. Note:  the shell will create distribution lists for all entries in this file.  Remove entries that you do not want migrated/created.

b.   Modify $myMigratedOU to point to the OU that will contain the distribution lists.  Note this is a PATH to the OU, and not a typical OU identifier (e.g., ou=xxx,dc=my,dc=com),  Sample OU:, $myMigratedOU = "orca.sumatra.local/Clients/YOURCOMPANY/Lists"
6.Launch Exchange PowerShell, change directory to the location of the script and distribution list files, then run the script: .\ DistGroupCmdlet.ps1.

Notes:                                     

·         If you want to test a few distribution lists:

o   Run the EXE to parse all of the GRP files.  The EXE produces the file  Distributionlists.csv. 

o   Edit that file, and leave the first line (header) and only those groups you want to test.  Then,

o   Copy the Distributionlists.csv, the supporting group CSV export files, and the PowerShell script to Exchange

·         Accounts:

o   Since there is a possibility that users might not exist in Exchange, the script creates the distribution list first, then adds users to the list one user at a time. 

o   If the user does not exist in Exchange, the cmdlet throws an error but continues.

o   Also, the tool does not change any of the SMTP address domains, e.g., email addresses such as “@YOURCOMPANYmail.YOURCOMPANY.com” will be migrated as “@YOURCOMPANYmail.YOURCOMPANY.com”, and not “@YOURCOMPANY.com.”

By the way, this was field-proven as the last stage of a migration at a 300 user site over this past weekend.