SBS 2K8 Migration/Exchange Public Folder Replication/Past 21 Days

I have a client I've been trying to migrate from SBS 2003 to SBS
2008. It's gone pretty well, but in between the migration they moved
their office and that ate up about a week of the 21 days typically
available to do the migration.

I was able to move the mailboxes and, apparently, MOST of the Public
Folder data from the SBS 2003 system to the SBS 2008 system, but of
(probably) 10+ GB of public folder data they had, about 2.5 (based on
the size reported by Exchange 2003's System Manager) is still in the
Public Folder Store on Exchange 2003.

But as of this morning, I'm past the 21 day window and the server has
shut down (my understanding is that it will shut down HOURLY - if
it's once per day, then this may be ok as I'll be able to turn it on
and PRESUMABLY let it finish replication). How can I get the
replication to finish? I want to get the SBS 2003 server off the
network following the Microsoft Documentation, but I need that public
folder data to replicate.

Thanks for any help you can provide!

Lee wrote:

> I have a client I've been trying to migrate from SBS 2003 to SBS
> 2008. It's gone pretty well, but in between the migration they moved
> their office and that ate up about a week of the 21 days typically
> available to do the migration.
>
> I was able to move the mailboxes and, apparently, MOST of the Public
> Folder data from the SBS 2003 system to the SBS 2008 system, but of
> (probably) 10+ GB of public folder data they had, about 2.5 (based on
> the size reported by Exchange 2003's System Manager) is still in the
> Public Folder Store on Exchange 2003.
>
> But as of this morning, I'm past the 21 day window and the server has
> shut down (my understanding is that it will shut down HOURLY - if
> it's once per day, then this may be ok as I'll be able to turn it on
> and PRESUMABLY let it finish replication). How can I get the
> replication to finish? I want to get the SBS 2003 server off the
> network following the Microsoft Documentation, but I need that public
> folder data to replicate.
>
> Thanks for any help you can provide!

Hi Lee,

You may want to try a different approach. I would try using an Outlook
client to backup the public folder data to a PST. Then manually
duplicate the public folder on the new system and move the content from
the PST into it. This will go a lot faster than replication would take
and even if the server reboots on you it will be easy to pick up where
you left off and grab the additional content after reboot.

The down side to this is permissions. If the customer has a lot of
custom permissions on the public folders you will have to document that
and manually redo those permissions. If it is a plain vanilla
installation then that would not be that big of a deal.

Hope that helps,

Mark D. MacLachlan

--

"Mark D. MacLachlan" <markdmac@live.com> wrote in message
news:OQO4dG1BKHA.528@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> Lee wrote:
>
>> I have a client I've been trying to migrate from SBS 2003 to SBS
>> 2008. It's gone pretty well, but in between the migration they moved
>> their office and that ate up about a week of the 21 days typically
>> available to do the migration.
>>
>> I was able to move the mailboxes and, apparently, MOST of the Public
>> Folder data from the SBS 2003 system to the SBS 2008 system, but of
>> (probably) 10+ GB of public folder data they had, about 2.5 (based on
>> the size reported by Exchange 2003's System Manager) is still in the
>> Public Folder Store on Exchange 2003.
>>
>> But as of this morning, I'm past the 21 day window and the server has
>> shut down (my understanding is that it will shut down HOURLY - if
>> it's once per day, then this may be ok as I'll be able to turn it on
>> and PRESUMABLY let it finish replication). How can I get the
>> replication to finish? I want to get the SBS 2003 server off the
>> network following the Microsoft Documentation, but I need that public
>> folder data to replicate.
>>
>> Thanks for any help you can provide!
>
> Hi Lee,
>
> You may want to try a different approach. I would try using an Outlook
> client to backup the public folder data to a PST. Then manually
> duplicate the public folder on the new system and move the content from
> the PST into it. This will go a lot faster than replication would take
> and even if the server reboots on you it will be easy to pick up where
> you left off and grab the additional content after reboot.
>
> The down side to this is permissions. If the customer has a lot of
> custom permissions on the public folders you will have to document that
> and manually redo those permissions. If it is a plain vanilla
> installation then that would not be that big of a deal.
>
> Hope that helps,
>
> Mark D. MacLachlan
>
> --
>

Mark,

That's a good alternative to export to a PST. Just to add, I would suggest
using PFDavAdmin to create a report of all folders, size and permissions
that are still left in the 2003 database into a CSV so they know what's
actually left, and can reproduce the permissions on the remaining folders
once exported and recreated.

For the poster:

Download details: Microsoft Exchange Server PFDavAdmin
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...4-E2422C0AB424

PFDavAdmin tool (Part 1), Jan 18, 2007 ... What the PFDAVAdmin tool is and
what it can do for you.
http://www.msexchange.org/articles/P...ool-Part1.html


--
Ace

This posting is provided "AS-IS" with no warranties or guarantees and
confers no rights.

Please reply back to the newsgroup or forum to benefit from collaboration
among responding engineers, and to help others benefit from your resolution.

Ace Fekay, MCT, MCSE, MCSA 2003 & 2000, MCSA Messaging
Microsoft Certified Trainer
aceman@mvps.RemoveThisPart.org
http://twitter.com/acefekay

For urgent issues, you may want to contact Microsoft PSS directly. Please
check http://support.microsoft.com for regional support phone numbers.

Ace Fekay [MCT] wrote:
> "Mark D. MacLachlan" <markdmac@live.com> wrote in message
> news:OQO4dG1BKHA.528@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>> Lee wrote:
>>
>>> I have a client I've been trying to migrate from SBS 2003 to SBS
>>> 2008. It's gone pretty well, but in between the migration they moved
>>> their office and that ate up about a week of the 21 days typically
>>> available to do the migration.
>>>
>>> I was able to move the mailboxes and, apparently, MOST of the Public
>>> Folder data from the SBS 2003 system to the SBS 2008 system, but of
>>> (probably) 10+ GB of public folder data they had, about 2.5 (based on
>>> the size reported by Exchange 2003's System Manager) is still in the
>>> Public Folder Store on Exchange 2003.
>>>
>>> But as of this morning, I'm past the 21 day window and the server has
>>> shut down (my understanding is that it will shut down HOURLY - if
>>> it's once per day, then this may be ok as I'll be able to turn it on
>>> and PRESUMABLY let it finish replication). How can I get the
>>> replication to finish? I want to get the SBS 2003 server off the
>>> network following the Microsoft Documentation, but I need that public
>>> folder data to replicate.
>>>
>>> Thanks for any help you can provide!
>>
>> Hi Lee,
>>
>> You may want to try a different approach. I would try using an Outlook
>> client to backup the public folder data to a PST. Then manually
>> duplicate the public folder on the new system and move the content from
>> the PST into it. This will go a lot faster than replication would take
>> and even if the server reboots on you it will be easy to pick up where
>> you left off and grab the additional content after reboot.
>>
>> The down side to this is permissions. If the customer has a lot of
>> custom permissions on the public folders you will have to document that
>> and manually redo those permissions. If it is a plain vanilla
>> installation then that would not be that big of a deal.
>>
>> Hope that helps,
>>
>> Mark D. MacLachlan
>>
>> --
>>
>
> Mark,
>
> That's a good alternative to export to a PST. Just to add, I would
> suggest using PFDavAdmin to create a report of all folders, size and
> permissions that are still left in the 2003 database into a CSV so they
> know what's actually left, and can reproduce the permissions on the
> remaining folders once exported and recreated.
>
> For the poster:
>
> Download details: Microsoft Exchange Server PFDavAdmin
> http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...4-E2422C0AB424
>
>
> PFDavAdmin tool (Part 1), Jan 18, 2007 ... What the PFDAVAdmin tool is
> and what it can do for you.
> http://www.msexchange.org/articles/P...ool-Part1.html
>
>

Thanks guys, a colleague suggested a similar approach as well. He
indicated that in order to gain access to the public folders on that
server, I would need to move a user's mailbox back onto that server
since, according to him, the server that has the mailbox of the user
will also provide the public folders to that user... is that correct?

"leew [MVP]" <useContactPage@LWComputing.dot.com> wrote in message
news:4a61a04e$0$22535$607ed4bc@cv.net...
>
> Thanks guys, a colleague suggested a similar approach as well. He
> indicated that in order to gain access to the public folders on that
> server, I would need to move a user's mailbox back onto that server since,
> according to him, the server that has the mailbox of the user will also
> provide the public folders to that user... is that correct?

You are welcome.

You can use any user account to create the PST for this purpose. You may
need multiple PSTs depending on the amount of data. Once the PST has been
created and the PF's moved over to them, simply copy the PST to an admin
account logged on to the new Exchange server, add the PST to the Outlook
Profile, and copy or move the data into Public Folders.

Use the exported permissions you created using PFDavAdmin to recreate the
permissions and roles.

Ace

Ace Fekay [MCT] wrote:

> "leew [MVP]" <useContactPage@LWComputing.dot.com> wrote in message
> news:4a61a04e$0$22535$607ed4bc@cv.net...
> >
> > Thanks guys, a colleague suggested a similar approach as well. He
> > indicated that in order to gain access to the public folders on
> > that server, I would need to move a user's mailbox back onto that
> > server since, according to him, the server that has the mailbox of
> > the user will also provide the public folders to that user... is
> > that correct?
>
> You are welcome.
>
> You can use any user account to create the PST for this purpose. You
> may need multiple PSTs depending on the amount of data. Once the PST
> has been created and the PF's moved over to them, simply copy the PST
> to an admin account logged on to the new Exchange server, add the PST
> to the Outlook Profile, and copy or move the data into Public Folders.
>
> Use the exported permissions you created using PFDavAdmin to recreate
> the permissions and roles.
>
> Ace

The suggestion to backup the existing permissions is an excellent one
Ace. I've used PFDAVAdmin to fix permissions but was unaware I could
export them using that tool as well. I'll have to pay more attention
to that next time I use it. I love it when I learn something new,
thanks!

--

"Mark D. MacLachlan" <markdmac@live.com> wrote in message
news:exlwtDBCKHA.4004@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>
> The suggestion to backup the existing permissions is an excellent one
> Ace. I've used PFDAVAdmin to fix permissions but was unaware I could
> export them using that tool as well. I'll have to pay more attention
> to that next time I use it. I love it when I learn something new,
> thanks!
>
> --

Mark,

My Pleasure, and thanks! I've learned some stuff off of you, too, regarding
scripting. I'm not a scripter, but used to program Basic, Fortran, Cobol, in
the *old* days, and I can read a script to an extent, but I've learned some
stuff. Thanks!

I've used PFDavAdmin in one place I worked with 17 Exchange servers with
4500 global users. I had to create a report of all 4000 PFs to cleanup
permissions from deleted users, because they show up in PF (and mailbox
folder permissions) in Outlook as "NTUser\OldSID#" or "NTUser\OldAliasName."
That tool came in real handy for that task!

Ace

Lee wrote:
> I have a client I've been trying to migrate from SBS 2003 to SBS 2008.
> It's gone pretty well, but in between the migration they moved their
> office and that ate up about a week of the 21 days typically available
> to do the migration.
>
> I was able to move the mailboxes and, apparently, MOST of the Public
> Folder data from the SBS 2003 system to the SBS 2008 system, but of
> (probably) 10+ GB of public folder data they had, about 2.5 (based on
> the size reported by Exchange 2003's System Manager) is still in the
> Public Folder Store on Exchange 2003.
>
> But as of this morning, I'm past the 21 day window and the server has
> shut down (my understanding is that it will shut down HOURLY - if it's
> once per day, then this may be ok as I'll be able to turn it on and
> PRESUMABLY let it finish replication). How can I get the replication to
> finish? I want to get the SBS 2003 server off the network following the
> Microsoft Documentation, but I need that public folder data to replicate.
>
> Thanks for any help you can provide!

First, this is a small business that doesn't have any special
permissions defined for anything, so I'm not worried about those.

Tonight, I backed up to PST the public folders in question but I
couldn't delete them once they were backed up - Exchange (System
Manager from 2003) kept throwing up an error that there had to be at
least one replica. In theory I have everything in an easily
recoverable state and now I need to be able to continue with the
removal process of the SBS 2003 server... any suggestions as to how I
can do that when it won't let me delete the public folders from
System Manager?

Thanks,
-Lee

"leew" <wtlgditc@ThatSearchEngineMSTriedToBuyInEarly08> wrote in message
news:4a630fa8$0$22529$607ed4bc@cv.net...
> Lee wrote:
>> I have a client I've been trying to migrate from SBS 2003 to SBS 2008.
>> It's gone pretty well, but in between the migration they moved their
>> office and that ate up about a week of the 21 days typically available to
>> do the migration.
>>
>> I was able to move the mailboxes and, apparently, MOST of the Public
>> Folder data from the SBS 2003 system to the SBS 2008 system, but of
>> (probably) 10+ GB of public folder data they had, about 2.5 (based on the
>> size reported by Exchange 2003's System Manager) is still in the Public
>> Folder Store on Exchange 2003.
>>
>> But as of this morning, I'm past the 21 day window and the server has
>> shut down (my understanding is that it will shut down HOURLY - if it's
>> once per day, then this may be ok as I'll be able to turn it on and
>> PRESUMABLY let it finish replication). How can I get the replication to
>> finish? I want to get the SBS 2003 server off the network following the
>> Microsoft Documentation, but I need that public folder data to replicate.
>>
>> Thanks for any help you can provide!
>
> First, this is a small business that doesn't have any special permissions
> defined for anything, so I'm not worried about those.
>
> Tonight, I backed up to PST the public folders in question but I couldn't
> delete them once they were backed up - Exchange (System Manager from 2003)
> kept throwing up an error that there had to be at least one replica. In
> theory I have everything in an easily recoverable state and now I need to
> be able to continue with the removal process of the SBS 2003 server... any
> suggestions as to how I can do that when it won't let me delete the public
> folders from System Manager?
>
> Thanks,
> -Lee


Have you tried deleting them within Outlook once you've copied them over?

Ace

Ace Fekay [MCT] wrote:
> "leew" <wtlgditc@ThatSearchEngineMSTriedToBuyInEarly08> wrote in message
> news:4a630fa8$0$22529$607ed4bc@cv.net...
>> Lee wrote:
>>> I have a client I've been trying to migrate from SBS 2003 to SBS
>>> 2008. It's gone pretty well, but in between the migration they moved
>>> their office and that ate up about a week of the 21 days typically
>>> available to do the migration.
>>>
>>> I was able to move the mailboxes and, apparently, MOST of the Public
>>> Folder data from the SBS 2003 system to the SBS 2008 system, but of
>>> (probably) 10+ GB of public folder data they had, about 2.5 (based on
>>> the size reported by Exchange 2003's System Manager) is still in the
>>> Public Folder Store on Exchange 2003.
>>>
>>> But as of this morning, I'm past the 21 day window and the server has
>>> shut down (my understanding is that it will shut down HOURLY - if
>>> it's once per day, then this may be ok as I'll be able to turn it on
>>> and PRESUMABLY let it finish replication). How can I get the
>>> replication to finish? I want to get the SBS 2003 server off the
>>> network following the Microsoft Documentation, but I need that public
>>> folder data to replicate.
>>>
>>> Thanks for any help you can provide!
>>
>> First, this is a small business that doesn't have any special
>> permissions defined for anything, so I'm not worried about those.
>>
>> Tonight, I backed up to PST the public folders in question but I
>> couldn't delete them once they were backed up - Exchange (System
>> Manager from 2003) kept throwing up an error that there had to be at
>> least one replica. In theory I have everything in an easily
>> recoverable state and now I need to be able to continue with the
>> removal process of the SBS 2003 server... any suggestions as to how I
>> can do that when it won't let me delete the public folders from System
>> Manager?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> -Lee
>
>
> Have you tried deleting them within Outlook once you've copied them over?
>
> Ace

Just wanted to say thanks for the assist. Was able to delete them
through outlook. Have to wonder, a few of the folders I couldn't
delete without resetting another admin's password and logging in as
them - could that have caused replication problems?

Thanks again!

-Lee

"leew" <wtlgditc@ThatSearchEngineMSTriedToBuyInEarly08> wrote in message news:4a67c2e9$0$31259$607ed4bc@cv.net...
>
> Just wanted to say thanks for the assist. Was able to delete them
> through outlook. Have to wonder, a few of the folders I couldn't
> delete without resetting another admin's password and logging in as
> them - could that have caused replication problems?
>
> Thanks again!
>
> -Lee


Permissions will do it all the time! Good to hear you were able to delete them.

Ace