Exchange & Outlook UPDATE, Exchange Edition, November 18, 2004

1. Commentary
- Get Ready for Moving Day

2. Resources
- Featured Thread: Separating SMTP Functions for Multiple Domains
- Outlook Tip: Assigning a Delegate on a Mailbox

3. New and Improved
- Get a Full-Featured Web-Based Email Account
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==== 1. Commentary: Get Ready for Moving Day ==== by Paul Robichaux, Exchange Editor, [email protected]

As the end of the calendar year approaches, many organizations are executing their migrations from Exchange Server 5.5 to Exchange 2003. With that in mind, I wanted to share a few tips and pointers for mailbox moves. The mailbox-moving tools included in Exchange Server have come a long way since the product was first introduced. Exchange Server 2003's Move Mailbox tool is multithreaded, so it can move multiple mailboxes in parallel, and is significantly more robust than earlier versions.

First, remember that Exchange 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) changes the rules of the game. Earlier versions of Exchange don't let you move mailboxes between sites. Until now, this limitation created a huge hassle for organizations that wanted to restructure their Exchange 5.5-based organizations. Often, the best solution for those folks was to put on one server all the mailboxes to be moved, then use the Move Server Wizard to move the entire server. Fortunately, Exchange 2003 SP1 adds the ability to move mailboxes (and other objects) between site boundaries in a mixed-mode organization. To understand how these changes might affect your migration plans, carefully study Chapter 10 of the "Exchange Server 2003 Deployment Guide" ( http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/2003/library/depguide.mspx ) and Chapter 4 of "Planning an Exchange Server 2003 Messaging System" ( http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/2003/library/messsyst.mspx ).

Next, a performance tip. Because the Exchange 2003 Move Mailbox tool is multithreaded, it can move up to four mailboxes at once. Doing so might or might not give you a performance boost, depending on the power of the client you move the mailboxes on; because you can schedule mailbox moves, performance might be somewhat less important. The mailbox mover generates an XML report (in \My Documents\Exchange Task Wizard Logs) showing the status of your moves.

Microsoft doesn't explicitly recommend that you move mailboxes from more than one location at a time, for example by launching the Move Mailbox tool on more than one computer. However, doing so can speed up mailbox moves significantly if the target and destination servers can handle the load. Be sure you don't attempt to move the same mailbox from more than one place at a time, or the results can be unpredictable.

Speaking of results: You might occasionally run into a case in which the mailbox move fails, but the mailbox seems to have been moved successfully. The move process doesn't remove the original mailbox until all its contents have been moved, so a failed move can result in the original mailbox (which almost always works fine) plus a stub mailbox (indicated with a red "X" in Exchange System Manager--ESM) on the target machine. You can purge the stub or you can try to move the mailbox again (in which case Move Mailbox will purge the stub for you). The stub's presence isn't harmful; it can't be used for mail delivery and doesn't replace the original mailbox in the user's account attributes.

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==== 2. Resources ====

Featured Thread: Separating SMTP Functions for Multiple Domains
"I have a requirement to host multiple mail domains on a single server, yet ensure that all interdomain SMTP traffic is forwarded to a smart host to process for viruses, spam, etc. Does anyone know how to achieve this?" To put in your two cents or join the conversation, go to the Windows IT Pro Exchange and Outlook forum at
http://www.windowsitpro.com/forums/rd.cfm?cid=40&tid=127713

Outlook Tip: Assigning a Delegate on a Mailbox by Sue Mosher, [email protected]

Q: Can you give me a good explanation of the differences between assigning someone as a delegate and giving him or her permission to a folder?
Find the answer (and links to more great tips) at http://www.windowsitpro.com/article/articleid/42225/42225.html

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