Exchange Server 2010 : Mailbox Configuration (part 4) - Moving Mailboxes & Disabling, Removing, and Reconnecting Mailboxes

4. Moving Mailboxes

Exchange Server 2010 makes moving mailboxes between mailbox databases easier, as it is now possible to allow users to retain access to their mailbox during a move, meaning that Exchange Administrators do not have to schedule mailbox moves during periods where users would not require access to their mailboxes. As fond as administrators are of scheduling maintenance tasks to occur at 3:00 AM, such tasks are much easier to monitor when they occur during office hours.

Using the EMS New-MoveRequest cmdlet and the EMC move mailbox functionality, you can perform an online mailbox move to a different mailbox database on the same server, a mailbox database on a different server, a host mailbox server in a different domain or site, and even a host mailbox server in another forest. The cmdlet used to move mailboxes was deliberately given a different name for Exchange 2010, and Exchange 2010 does not support the Move-Mailbox cmdlet, which was present in Exchange 2007.

Take into account the following when preparing to move mailboxes:

• You cannot use Exchange System Manager to move mailboxes from Exchange Server 2003 hosts to Exchange Server 2010 mailbox servers.

• You cannot use Active Directory Users and Computers to move mailboxes from Exchange Server 2003 to Exchange Server 2010 mailbox servers.

• When a mailbox is moved, users are unable to access message tracking information.

• You cannot use the Move-Mailbox cmdlet on a server running Exchange Server 2007 to move a mailbox to Exchange Server 2010. You must use New-MoveRequest on the server running Exchange 2010.

• Online moves are possible between Exchange 2010 databases and between Exchange 2007 Service Pack2 and Exchange 2010 databases.

• Items in the recoverable items folder are preserved during mailbox moves.

• You can perform online mailbox moves across forests. You can perform online mailbox moves between servers in the same forest or mailbox databases hosted on the same server.

• During an online move, a user is locked out for only a short period at the end of the process, when final synchronization occurs.

• It is possible to move mailboxes from Exchange Server 2010 to Exchange 2007 Service Pack 1 and RTM as well as Exchange Server 2003, but these moves will occur offline and must be managed using EMS cmdlets on a server running Exchange Server 2010.

• It is not possible to perform a mailbox move from Exchange 2007 Service Pack 1 to Exchange 2010. The Exchange 2007 server must be upgraded to Service Pack 2 before a move is possible.

• Offline moves from Exchange 2003 SP2 to Exchange Server 2010 are supported but require the use of the EMS on Exchange Server 2010. It is not possible to move mailboxes from servers running Exchange 2003 Service Pack 1 or earlier.

• If you perform a move request using the New-MoveRequest cmdlet, you should run the Remove-MoveRequest cmdlet once the move successfully completes. It is not possible to move the mailbox again until the Remove-MoveRequest cmdlet is executed against a moved mailbox. When you perform a move through the EMC, this process occurs automatically.

• When performing a cross-forest move, the target Exchange 2010 forest must contain a valid mail-enabled user account that has been prepared for the move.

Note:

PREPARE FOR CROSS-FOREST MOVES

To learn more about the preparation steps required to perform a cross-forest mailbox move, consult the following TechNet document: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee633491.aspx.

Note:

UNDERSTANDING MOVE REQUESTS

For more information about understanding move requests, consult the following TechNet link: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd298174.aspx.

5. Disabling, Removing, and Reconnecting Mailboxes

The difference between removing a mailbox and disabling a mailbox is as follows:

• Disabling a mailbox disconnects the mailbox from the user account, but the user account remains in Active Directory. You can disable a mailbox by selecting the mailbox in the Recipient Configuration\Mailbox node of EMC and then clicking on Disable in the Actions pane. You can use the Disable-Mailbox cmdlet to disable a mailbox.

• Removing a mailbox disconnects that mailbox from the user account that it is associated with and removes this user account from Active Directory. You can remove a mailbox by selecting the mailbox in the Recipient Configuration\Mailbox node of the EMC and then clicking Remove in the Actions pane. You can use the Remove-Mailbox cmdlet to remove a mailbox.

When you disable or remove a mailbox, Exchange retains the mailbox in a disconnected state for the number of days specified in the mailbox retention policy. By default, Exchange retains disconnected mailboxes for 30 days. During this deleted mailbox retention duration, it is possible to connect the disconnected mailbox to an existing Active Directory user account as long as that account has no current mailbox connected.

To reconnect a mailbox, perform the following steps:

Occasionally, a mailbox that has been disconnected or removed does not appear in the list of disconnected mailboxes in the EMC even though the mailbox retention period has not expired. This may be because the Exchange store has not updated the status of the mailboxes yet. You can resolve this problem by running the Clean-MailboxDatabase cmdlet against the mailbox database that originally hosted the mailbox. When you do this, a scan is performed for disconnected mailboxes, and their status is updated in the Exchange store.

Note:

LOCATING MISSING DISCONNECTED MAILBOXES

To learn more about locating missing disconnected mailboxes and the Clean-MailboxDatabase cmdlet, consult the following link on TechNet: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb124076.aspx.

You can use the Connect-Mailbox EMS cmdlet to connect a disconnected mailbox to an existing Active Directory account. For example, to connect the disconnected mailbox named Jesper_Herp, which was originally located in mailbox database MBX-DB-ONE, to the Jesper_Herp user account, issue the following command:

Connect-Mailbox -Identity "Jesper Herp" -Database "MBX-DB-ONE" -User "Jesper Herp"
					  

Note:

CONNECTING MAILBOXES

For more information on connecting disconnected mailboxes to Active Directory user objects, consult the following TechNet article: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb123490.aspx.