W H I T E PA P E R

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CONTENTSIntroduction ...........................................................................................................................................3

Content Mapping Between Exchange Public Folders and SharePoint ....................................................3

The Migration Manager for SharePoint Console – Typical Workflow .............................................4

Determining the Size of Your Exchange Public Folders ..........................................................................5

Item Count Limitations in SharePoint Containers ...................................................................................6

Exchange Server Connection Options ....................................................................................................7

SharePoint Connection Types .................................................................................................................8

Selection of Which Public Folder Properties/Fields to Migrate ...............................................................9

Mail and Post Item Public Folders Views and SharePoint Library Views ...............................................10

The Metalogix Email Viewer Web Part ....................................................................................................11

Calendar Public Folder Migration to SharePoint Calendar List .............................................................13

Contacts Public Folder Migration to SharePoint Contacts List ..............................................................14

Tasks Public Folder Migration to SharePoint Task List ..................................................................15

User Mapping and Permissions Migration ............................................................................................16

Permissions Copy Within a Single Active Directory Forest or Domain............................................16

Permissions Copy Across Domains/Forests and SharePoint Online Migrations ...........................17

Using the Command Line Interface to Perform Unattended, On-Going Synchronization from Public Folders to SharePoint ......................................................................................................18

Conclusion .........................................................................................................................................19

Copyright © 2010 Metalogix Software. All rights reserved.

Migrating Exchange Public Folders to SharePoint with Metalogix Migration Manager for SharePointMetalogix SoftwareFebruary 17, 2010

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Organizations running Microsoft Exchange Server at the core of their messaging and collaboration infrastructure have historically used Exchange Public Folders as a centrally managed, shared data repository that is accessible by end users from Outlook and Web clients. Exchange Public Folders are used in many organizations as a shared document repository for corporate calendars and corporate contacts as well as for email-addressable repositories for corporate functions like sales, HR, marketing, and support where many employees access a common, shared mailbox as part of corporate workflow.

Widespread adoption and deployment of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and SharePoint 2010, along with the global rollout of SharePoint Online by Microsoft in 2008, are driving organizations to migrate away from on-premises Exchange Public Folder systems and move to a SharePoint-based repository instead. This repository, either on-premises or in the cloud, provides a way to manage and share documents, email, and data across the enterprise. Migrating legacy content from Exchange Public Folders to SharePoint or SharePoint Online is an imperative for these organizations.

Migration Manager for SharePoint – Exchange Public Folders Edition is a software solution from Metalogix, built specifically for Exchange and SharePoint administrators, that makes the migration of Exchange Public Folder content to SharePoint fast, simple with high fidelity and easy on end users. It handles the complex mapping between Exchange Public Folder data types and views, and SharePoint sites, lists, libraries, and metadata columns. Migration Manager for SharePoint – Exchange Public Folders Edition preserves the original data and metadata during content migration, while rendering views in SharePoint for both the Outlook and Web browser user that are intuitive and easy to use.

The following table depicts how Migration Manager for SharePoint – Exchange Public Folders Edition maps between Exchange public folder objects and views, and SharePoint objects and views. The “Mail and Post” Folder is the default folder type in Exchange public folders unless another type is selected by the Exchange/Outlook user.

INTRODUCTION

CONTENT MAPPING BETWEEN EXCHANGE PUBLIC FOLDERS AND SHAREPOINT

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Metalogix  Migration  Manager  for  Exchange  Public  Folders:    Content  Migration  Mapping  

Exchange  Public  Folder  Object  Type  

    SharePoint  Object  Type  

Migration  Target  

Mail  and  Post  Folder   >>>>Maps  To>>>>>   Document  Library     Under  existing  or  new  SharePoint  Site  with  optimized  “Public  Folder”  view  

Calendar  Folder   >>>>Maps  To>>>>>   Calendar  List   Under  existing  or  new  SharePoint  Site  with  optimized  “Calendar”  view  

Contacts  Folder   >>>>Maps  To>>>>>   Contact  List  Under  existing  or  new  SharePoint  Site  with  optimized  “Contacts”  view  

InfoPath  Forms  Folder   >>>>Maps  To>>>>>   Document  Library   Under  existing  or  new  SharePoint  Site  with  optimized  “Public  Folder”  view  

Journal  Folder   >>>>Maps  To>>>>>   Document  Library  Under  existing  or  new  SharePoint  Site  with  optimized  “Public  Folder”  view  

Note  Folder   >>>>Maps  To>>>>>   Document  Library   Under  existing  or  new  SharePoint  Site  with  optimized  “Public  Folder”  view  

Task  Folder   >>>>Maps  To>>>>>   Task  List  Under  existing  or  new  SharePoint  Site  with  optimized  “Project  Tasks”  view  

 

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THE MIGRATION MANAGER FOR SHAREPOINT CONSOLE – TYPICAL WORKFLOWThe Migration Manager for SharePoint – Exchange Public Folders Edition console allows the “Migrator” to connect to the source Exchange Server and to the target SharePoint Site/Server and select Exchange public folder, folder hierarchy (parent and children nodes), or individual items or groups of items (within a single public folder) for migration to SharePoint Sites, lists, and libraries. Both EML and MSG message file format options are available for migrating email into SharePoint, based on the type of Exchange connector selected: More on that later.

The Migration Manager for SharePoint – Exchange Public Folders Edition solution GUI workflow is straightforward:

1. Connect to Exchange (public folders) source system (with appropriate credentials)

2. Connect to SharePoint target system (with appropriate credentials)

3. Select node or item(s) within public folder tree for copy

4. Select SharePoint target node for pasting the selected content

5. Configure Paste Settings/filters/options and User Mappings

6. Paste content (now, or save batch copy job file to execute later) to SharePoint target

7. Monitor paste operation progress

8. Review results; check logs and inspect the target site content.

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As part of your pre-migration analysis, planning and preparation, you first need to determine the size of your Exchange public folder content, both item counts as well as storage utilization (bytes), and ensure you have made enough storage available on the target SharePoint environment to handle all the data. The size of any single Exchange public folder can be determined by viewing the Property page of the appropriate public folder in Microsoft Outlook.

The aggregate size of ALL Exchange public folders can be determined in several ways:

1) Using the MS Exchange System Manager for Exchange 2000/2003

2) Using the Exchange Management Console for Exchange 2007

3) By generating a report using the Exchange Management Shell PowerShell cmdlet for Exchange 2007/2010. The PowerShell cmdlet to run within the Exchange Management Shell for public folder size reporting is of the form:

In Exchange Management Shell:

Get-PublicFolder -Identity “\” -Recurse | Get-PublicFolderStatistics | ft Name,TotalItemCount, TotalItemSize | out-file PublicFolderReport.txt

This PowerShell cmdlet generates the PublicFolderReport.txt file shown to the right, which can be imported into Excel and the ItemCount and TotalItemSize columns can be totaled (after doing a find and remove of the letter B in the TotalItemSize column) to provide your aggregate size information on all public folders.

DETERMINING THE SIZE OF YOUR EXCHANGE PUBLIC FOLDERS

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It’s important to understand your public folder item counts before migration because SharePoint 2007 containers are limited to 2000 items per container for optimal SharePoint performance, per Microsoft-recommended best practices. Overloading any one SharePoint list, library, or folder with more than 2000 items can bog down SharePoint performance for the end user.

As Exchange public folders can contain tens of thousands of individual items, particularly when dealing with large email or document repositories, Metalogix has implemented an item counting, chunking, and mapping facility within Migration Manager for SharePoint – Exchange Public Folders Edition that automatically splits public folder content into SharePoint containers of 1000 items or less as part of the migration operation. If it detects a public folder with more than 1000 items, Migration Manager for SharePoint – Exchange Public Folders Edition will automatically create sub-containers (i.e., folders) within the SharePoint Library or List and will include the date of the first item in each folder name so users can identify which folders contain which date range of items.

This setting can be manually adjusted up or down but not greater than 2000 in the Configure Paste Settings dialog shown to the right.

ITEM COUNT LIMITATIONS IN SHAREPOINT CONTAINERS

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Migration Manager for SharePoint – Exchange Public Folders Edition supports two types of standard Microsoft Exchange Server connection methods: Exchange Web Services (EWS) and Messaging Application Program Interface (MAPI). MAPI provides for a more complete migration capability and a better resultant end user experience, and supports writing email messages as *.msg file types (native Outlook file format), or as *.eml files. The EWS Connector only supports migrating email messages as *.eml file types into SharePoint.

When writing messages into SharePoint as *.eml files, SharePoint splits email attachments from the message body and header and stores them at the root of the target library in their native file format (e.g., as Word documents *.docx). This is a SharePoint limitation in behavior.

However, when migrating messages as .msg files, the .msg file contains all the information: email header, body, and attachments, within one envelope, retaining the association between the message and its attachment(s). Thus, it is more effective to use the MAPI Exchange connector and select .msg as the file type, if possible.

The resulting effect for the SharePoint end user is that if one double-clicks on an email in a SharePoint List of .msg type, the file will open directly in Outlook (if Outlook is configured as the default email client on the desktop), the attachments are there as they normally would be in the Outlook window, and the user can act on the message directly in Outlook (e.g., reply, forward, etc.)

EXCHANGE SERVER CONNECTION OPTIONS

Exchange Server Connection Controls

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Migration Manager for SharePoint – Exchange Public Folders Edition supports three SharePoint Connection methods.

1) Local Connection (SharePoint Object Model) – can be used when Migration Manager for SharePoint – Exchange Public Folders Edition is installed directly (and fully) on the target SharePoint server.

2) Remote connection (Metalogix SharePoint Extensions Web Service) – can be used when the Migration Manager for SharePoint – Exchange Public Folders Edition client (GUI) component cannot be fully installed on the target SharePoint server, but one is able to install the MSE Web Service component alone on the target SharePoint Server. This connector is approved by Microsoft for use in Microsoft Online (BPOS-D) SharePoint Online – Dedicated deployments.

3) Remote Connection (Native SharePoint Web Service) – used for remote connectivity to SharePoint when the organization cannot install either the MSE Web Service or the full Migration Manager for SharePoint – Exchange Public Folders Edition installation directly on the SharePoint target server. This is the only connection type supported in Microsoft Online BPOS-S (SharePoint Online Standard) migrations.

Migration Manager for SharePoint – Exchange Public Folders Edition will auto-select the best SharePoint connector for the given SharePoint target in the order of preference listed above.

SHAREPOINT CONNECTION TYPES

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The user can selectively add and remove Exchange public folder item properties and fields, based on the type of content, as shown below. Each SharePoint target container type, e.g, Document Library, Calendar, Contact or Task list, has its own specific default columns. For example, an email message sitting in an Exchange public folder gets migrated to a SharePoint Document Library which will be created showing the typical From, To, Subject, and Received date/time, fields. These are mapped to columns in the target SharePoint Document library automatically. Some fields are mandatory and others are optional, as indicated. Mandatory fields cannot be removed from the list of selected fields on the right side of the Select Fields to Migrate control as shown below.

SELECTION OF WHICH PUBLIC FOLDER PROPERTIES/FIELDS TO MIGRATE

Selective Fields/Columns to Migrate

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When Public folders of type “Mail and Post Items” (the default type) are selected for migration, Migration Manager for SharePoint – Exchange Public Folders Edition creates a SharePoint Document library with a “Public Folder view” that is optimized for looking at email and document items, as shown below. It creates SharePoint columns for From, Received date, etc., that are typical email fields.

MAIL AND POST ITEM PUBLIC FOLDERS VIEWS AND SHAREPOINT LIBRARY VIEWS

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In cases where one is permitted to install software on the target SharePoint environment, Metalogix Migration Manager for SharePoint – Exchange Public Folders Edition includes an Email Viewer Web Part component in the installation package, which can be installed on the target SharePoint server. After installation, the Email Viewer Web Part can be enabled/disabled from the Library Actions menu, as shown below. If enabled, the

Email Viewer Web Part

provides an Outlook-like view of the email in the web browser for the SharePoint Library or list. The list view is retained in the bottom half of the page view, while the top half of the web page shows the selected (from the list) email in an Outlook-like view.

THE METALOGIX EMAIL VIEWER WEB PART

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The Email Viewer Web part is included in the Installer for Migration Manager for SharePoint – Exchange Public Folders Edition. One needs to run the installer on the target SharePoint Server and select it for installation in SharePoint. Then if one looks in SharePoint Central Administration under Operations/Solutions Management, one will see the emailviewerasp.package.wsp solution file deployed as a SharePoint solution within the environment, as shown below.

SharePoint Central Administration Solution Management Page – Metalogix Components Deployed

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Metalogix Migration Manager for SharePoint – Exchange Public Folders Edition maps calendar public folders and can migrate them to SharePoint Calendar Lists, with corresponding Calendar views in SharePoint within the web browser.

CALENDAR PUBLIC FOLDER MIGRATION TO SHAREPOINT CALENDAR LIST

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Migration Manager for SharePoint – Exchange Public Folders Edition maps contacts public folders and can migrate them to SharePoint Contacts lists, with corresponding Contacts List views in SharePoint within the web browser.

CONTACTS PUBLIC FOLDER MIGRATION TO SHAREPOINT CONTACTS LIST

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With Migration Manager for SharePoint – Exchange Public Folders Edition maps tasks public folders and can migrate them to SharePoint Tasks Lists, with corresponding Task List Gantt chart views in SharePoint within the web browser.

TASKS PUBLIC FOLDER MIGRATION TO SHAREPOINT TASK LIST

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When migrating Exchange public folders to SharePoint within a single enterprise Active Directory forest or domain, mapping users and migrating permissions from Exchange public folders to SharePoint is usually not an issue since the identities of the users are the same in both systems, and are synchronized between the corporate AD and the SharePoint 2007 user table.

For example, the corporate AD user John Smith in the acme.com domain, with login acme.com\jsmith and email address jsmith@acme.com, gets synched into the SharePoint 2007 user table as John Smith, acme.com\jsmith, and jsmith@acme.com. In these cases, the same users already exist in both Exchange public folders and the SharePoint 2007 user table, so migration of public folder content to the target SharePoint 2007 server poses no issues with respect to permissions copy. The permissions migrate directly and, if copying those permissions breaks permissions inheritance within SharePoint, so be it.

USER MAPPING AND PERMISSIONS MIGRATION

PERMISSIONS COPY WITHIN A SINGLE ACTIVE DIRECTORY FOREST OR DOMAIN

Mapping Exchange User Public Folder Permissions to SharePoint Permissions

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When migrating Exchange public folders to SharePoint Online (BPOS-S) Standard, one is, by definition, migrating content across two different AD Forests. The naming conventions for SharePoint Online users in the SharePoint Online user table are different then in the on-premises corporate AD: The syntax and domain name are specific to BPOS-S, as shown in the table below

Note how the SharePoint Online username on the far right (RED001\john_acme1.microsoft) is significantly different as a character string than the on-premises Corporate AD Login ID (acme.com\jsmith).

Thus, these two different character strings that represent the user John Smith, both in on-premises AD and in BPOS-S, must be mapped to each other, and permissions must be migrated from on-premises to BPOS-S SharePoint target containers (lists, libraries, or sites) using this mapping.

In the event that writing permissions into SharePoint Online breaks the “permissions inheritance” from the parent of the given SharePoint container, the copy permissions operation will fail if one is using only the native SharePoint Web services API. This is because one is not able to write permissions into SharePoint Online using the SharePoint native web services API if it breaks permissions inheritance.

Metalogix has developed a work-around for this limitation in SharePoint Online such that permissions can be written and applied to an item, list, or library, as part of the content migration job, even in cases where permissions inheritance is broken.

PERMISSIONS COPY ACROSS DOMAINS/FORESTS AND SHAREPOINT ONLINE MIGRATIONS

Metalogix  Migration  Manager  for  Exchange  Public  Folders:    User  and  Permissions  Mapping/Migration  

Exchange  Public  Folder  User  Metadata   SharePoint  Online  (BPOS-­‐S)  User  Metadata  

On-­‐Prem  Display  Name  

On-­‐Premises  Corporate  AD  Login  

ID  

On-­‐Premises  Email  Address  

BPOS-­‐S  User  Display  Name   BPOS-­‐S  Login  ID   Name  in  BPOS-­‐S  SharePoint  User  

Table  

John  Smith   Acme.com\jsmith   jsmith@acme.com   John  Smith   jsmith@acme.com   RED001\john_acme1.microsoft  

 

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Any batch migration jobs created and saved within the Migration Manager for SharePoint – Exchange Public Folders Edition GUI Client can also be called and executed from the Windows command line. This provides a means for unattended migration execution without the need to have the GUI Client up and running with user input. This is an important feature for users who prefer to script their own migration scenarios using Windows PowerShell and/or using the Windows Task Scheduler. These capabilities provide for maximum flexibility for unattended migrations, as well as providing the building blocks for

implementing on-going, recurring, one-way synchronization to SharePoint from Exchange public folders. Further, by leveraging the CLI interface along with the Windows Task Scheduler, one is able to configure recurring batch copy jobs to run at scheduled intervals, providing a type of recurring, on-going, one-way scheduled synchronization between Exchange public folders and SharePoint sites, lists, or libraries. This provides a way to bridge Exchange public folders and SharePoint over extended periods of time. For example, an organization may want to see the same content in both Exchange Public Folders and in a SharePoint list or library over an extended period of time before deciding to fully wean the user base off the legacy public folder infrastructure.

USING THE COMMAND LINE INTERFACE TO PERFORM UNATTENDED, ON-GOING SYNCHRONIZATION FROM PUBLIC FOLDERS TO SHAREPOINT

Running Batch Migration Jobs using the MMEPF Command Line Interface (CLI)

Scheduling Recurring, One-Way Migration/Synch Jobs Using the Windows Scheduler and the MMEPF CLI

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Migration Manager for SharePoint – Exchange Public Folders Edition provides enterprise IT organizations and consultants with the ability to migrate Exchange public folder content to SharePoint and SharePoint Online quickly and easily in one hop. With its easy-to-use Windows Explorer-like Graphical User Interface, Email Viewer Web Part, user mapping and permissions copy capabilities, Migration Manager for SharePoint – Exchange Public Folders Edition can be used to support the needs of organizations seeking to evolve from their Exchange public folder structure over to SharePoint, without loss of fidelity.

With its support for command-line execution coupled with scripting and the Windows Task Scheduler, organizations gain the flexibility to plan and tailor their migration projects, and execute mass migrations on a scheduled or unattended basis, to make the best use of corporate Internet bandwidth, and to configure recurring, on-going synchronization between the Exchange public folders and SharePoint or SharePoint Online.

Further, with its support for remote connection to SharePoint Online, migrations can be performed to SharePoint Online in one hop, without requiring any software to be installed on the target SharePoint Online Standard (BPOS-S) environment.

Finally, with its Email Viewer Web Part, organizations migrating public folders to on-premises or Microsoft Online BPOS-D SharePoint Servers can provide their web end users with an Outlook-like look and feel for email migrated to SharePoint.

CONCLUSION

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Metalogix is the trusted provider of innovative content lifecycle management solutions for Microsoft SharePoint, Exchange and Cloud platforms. We deliver high-performance solutions to scale and cost-effectively manage, migrate, store, archive and protect enterprise content. Metalogix provides global support to thousands of customers and strategic partners and is a Microsoft Gold Partner and GSA provider. Metalogix is a privately held company backed by Insight Venture Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners. For more information, please visit: www.metalogix.com.

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