Tips and tricks for optimizing IMAP migrations from Microsoft

Good to see this:

Tips and tricks for optimizing IMAP migrations: https://t.co/UH5MCjrVVR pic.twitter.com/MEPMya69rh

— Microsoft Exchange (@MSFTExchange) August 24, 2016

 But they left out the most important suggestion:  evaluate imapsync instead of Microsoft's black box.

Quick guide to Enabling IMAP in @Office365 / #MSFTExchange 2013

Let's say you're going to want to start migrating email from a legacy system like Zimbra into Exchange 2013 or Office 365.  You're going to need to get IMAP running on either your on-prem Exchange environment or in O365.

This tells you how to do it.

In a few days we'll show you how to start moving your Zimbra email.  Why are we picking on Zimbra?  We're not, we're responding to market demand to move Zimbra (which is not hard to see since Exchange continues to improve linearly and Zimbra has developed in fits and starts from being independent to being a quizzical part of Yahoo to being remaindered to VMware to passed off to Telligent and now just sold to Synacor). 

There are three pieces to get IMAP working:

1. Start the IMAP service (Exchange 2013.)  Office 365 can skip this step
2. Enable the IMAP Connector
3. Enable the IMAP mailbox feature for user accounts

Start the IMAP Service

The first step is to start IMAP on your Exchange 2013 server (see below).  Once set, you can then enable the IMAP mailbox feature for each user.  (Office 365 customers can skip this step.)  These are the four shell commands:

Set-service msExchangeIMAP4 -startuptype automatic
Set-service msExchangeIMAP4BE -startuptype automatic
Start-service msExchangeIMAP4
Start-service msExchangeIMAP4BE

Step 1: Start two IMAP4 services (and configure those services to automatically start if you wish.)

By default, in Exchange 2013 the IMAP4 service(s) are stopped:

To start those services: On the computer running the Client Access server role:

1. Set the IMAP4 service to automatically start:

     Set-service msExchangeIMAP4 -startuptype automatic

2. Start the Microsoft Exchange IMAP4 service.

     Start-service msExchangeIMAP4

On the computer running the Mailbox server role:

1. Set the Microsoft Exchange IMAP4 Backend service to start automatically.

     Set-service msExchangeIMAP4BE -startuptype automatic

2. Start the Microsoft Exchange IMAP4 Backend service.

             Start-service msExchangeIMAP4BE

In our case, the CAS and Mailbox server roles are on the same box:

Configure Exchange IMAP4 External Connection

This allows users to see (and thus use) the IMAP server.  Here is how via the powershell SET-IMAPSettings cmdlet, e.g.:

     Set-ImapSettings -ExternalConnectionSetting {:993:SSL}.

Note: This requires you restart IIS.

This is true even if you are working within the firewall  Thus in our case, the External Connection is the same as the InternalConnection.

Finally,  Verify things are working, using OWA’s Options select Account, then pick the “Settings for POP or IMAP access” link.

For more information see: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb124489(v=exchg.150).aspx

Enable IMAP for your users
Next, ensure your user mailboxes are enabled for IMAP.
You can do this one-user-at-a-time using the Exchange Admin Center (EAC):

Or via Remote PowerShell for Office 365:

 Set-CASMailbox jimi@sumatra.onmicrosoft.com -MAPIEnabled $True

Which can be set for all users by piping from Get-Mailbox (note that this correctly excludes resource accounts for email migration):

Get-Mailbox -resultsize unlimited ^
  -filter {isResource -eq $false} | set-CASmailbox ^
  -MAPIEnabled $True

MDaemon Mail to Exchange 2007 via Microsoft Transporter Suite

Gentle reader,

Today we will use Microsoft Transporter Suite for migrating email from MDaemon to Exchange 2007.

Why?  Obviously because we're going to get to moving calendars for this legacy product, but you only get to calendars if you're also doing email and we get asked about email, so we're documenting it here.

This is for on-premises Exchange migration to Exchange 2007 ONLY.  You want to go into Office 365, the read our previous article How to Migrate Oracle Beehive Email into Office 365 because the method will be the same.  

Why 2007?  Believe it or not Exchange 2007 is still out there, and we still get questions on it.  Might as well deal with reality.

We've also tested email migrations with imapsync (spoiler alert: imapsync is MUCH BETTER).

But it starts with Transporter since it's there, it's free, it's from Microsoft.  What is not to love? Quite a few things, actually, but free is a big draw.

First, download and install it.  But: WHERE should you download it and install it?

You won't even be able to get to the documentation (all in the form of help files) until after you install it -- so I'll cut to the chase:  you must have Exchange Recipient Admin rights and Exchange Impersonation rights on a computer with the Client Access server role installed for Exchange 2007. Later version of Exchange will of course require slightly different methods of setting these permissions (and we've blogged on those enough).

Refer to this section of the in-application help.

For MDaemon we're going to be using the Transporter for Internet Mail. The installer seems to already know we do not have Lotus Notes installed,

but  then very helpfully reminds us in case that was what we were really after.  

We're not in this case, so let's just accept the EULA and get this done.

Now we can actually execute the Transporter

You are now in a position to actually start defining which user mailboxes you will move.

But you need to give it a list in a CSV-- and you notice a distinct lack of a user manual. What should the format of this list be?

In one of the few times I will ever write that the Help Files are actually.... HELPful, I am bidding you to Click on Help and read them.

The format is then readily copied and uploaded.

My file looks something like this:

You'll see something like this and are ready to import.

Now migrate your email.

MDaemon Mail to Exchange via imapsync

Gentle reader of migration mindedness,

Today we will use imapsync for migrating email from MDaemon to Exchange.

Why?  Obviously because we're going to get to moving calendars for this legacy product, but you only get to calendars if you're also doing email and we get asked about email, so we're documenting it here.

Using imapsync will cost you all of 50 Euros.

Goodness, gracious it is worth it!  

This application has significant advantages over other products:  

1. It is really simple to install and use.
2. The "sync" in the title is serious.  You can upload all the data from a user set during working hours and then cut over the incremental changes starting on a Friday after closing time.
3. You can also use imapsync on a Linux environment as well as a Windows environment.
4. It is all in your control as opposed to run through someone else's data center or through a major integrator looking to run up hours.
5. It is very reasonably priced with the most liberal license I have seen.

We use the Windows version in our testing.

imapsync runs exclusively in the Command Prompt.

First off, please make sure you have enabled IMAP on your Exchange 2013 server.

Migrating from MDaemon to Office 365 looks something like this (if you use individual passwords for users).

imapsync.exe 
--host1 147.1.41.1 --user1 zyg@sumatra.local --password1  "XXXX" 
--host2 outlook.office365.com --user2 zyg@sumatra.onmicrosoft.com --password2 "XXXXX"  
--ssl2

If you set up a service account with FullAccess, you can accomplish a migration with a command like this:


imapsync.exe 
--host1 147.1.41.1  
--user1 jimi.hendrix@sumatra.local --password1  "XXXX" 
--host2 outlook.office365.com --port2 993 --sep2 / 
--user2 jimi.hendrix@sumatra.onmicrosoft.com  
--authuser2 riuliano@sumatra.onmicrosoft.com 
--password2 "XXXXX"  --ssl2

Note in  the above, for an Office 365 target system we need to use the "--sep2 /" command. 

Executing will give you some excellent statistics and feedback.

Other things to be aware of

Exchange Configuration Requirements:

Before you can run imapsync, you will have configure Exchange for IMAP.  This requires two steps.

Step 1: Start two IMAP4 services (and configure those services to automatically start if you wish.)

By default, in Exchange 2013 the IMAP4 service(s) are stopped:

To start those services: On the computer running the Client Access server role:

1. Set the IMAP4 service to automatically start:

     Set-service msExchangeIMAP4 -startuptype automatic

2. Start the Microsoft Exchange IMAP4 service.

     Start-service msExchangeIMAP4

On the computer running the Mailbox server role:

1. Set the Microsoft Exchange IMAP4 Backend service to start automatically.

     Set-service msExchangeIMAP4BE -startuptype automatic

2. Start the Microsoft Exchange IMAP4 Backend service.

             Start-service msExchangeIMAP4BE

In our case, the CAS and Mailbox server roles are on the same box:

Step 2: Configure Exchange IMAP4 External Connection so users can see (and thus use) the IMAP server settings

Use the powershell SET-IMAPSettings cmdlet, e.g.:

     Set-ImapSettings -ExternalConnectionSetting {:993:SSL}.

This requires you restart IIS.

This is true even if you are working within the firewall  Thus in our case, the External Connection is the same as the InternalConnection.

Finally,  Verify things are working, using OWA’s Options select Account, then pick the “Settings for POP or IMAP access” link.

For more information see: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb124489(v=exchg.150).aspx

These sample scripts for major migrations / multiple users will help you out a lot.

http://imapsync.lamiral.info/examples/sync_loop_windows.bat

http://imapsync.lamiral.info/examples/file.txt

I really like the way this user lays out a basic sequencing for migrations including how and when to change your MX records.

http://hadjigeorgiou.com/blog/mdaemon-to-microsoft-exchange-migration/

And on the more than crucial need for advance planning and testing, please read this thread.

IMAP to Exchange 2007 email migration

We get asked about email migration fairly frequently. In Exchange 2003 we tried doing it but truth be told there were some adequate free solutions. And "free" is tough to sell against. Then 2007 came out and NOBODY initially had solutions (even Microsoft) but we resisted the temptation to develop our own solutions (and we are still glad).


In general we find that Microsoft Transporter Suite is ... lacking (I'm trying to be polite here). But I know it is tough to ignore because it's from Microsoft and your boss knows it's free. Try it yourself and look through the fora before you commit to using this.


Glen did a great article on EML migration into Exchange 2007 using Exchange Web Services. If you're comfortable scripting this will get you through the hard part of inserting email into Exchange 2007.


We think you should also look into using imap2exchange which you can download at http://tp.its.yale.edu/confluence/display/EXCH/imap2exchange+Conversion+Utility. We worked on their calendar migration over the summer and the crew at Yale impressed us as a sharp bunch of folks. Please keep in mind these complements come without any grudging or reticence from a Harvard graduate.