Public folder Exchange(2010-->2016) migration

Question

Hello,
Exchange 2010-->Exchange 2016 migration.
All mailboxes and mail flow is moved to Exchange 2016.
Public folder in Exchange 2010 have a small size and very little information.
Is it possible to delete public folders in exchange 2010,create new public folder mailbox on Exchange 2016 and how to do it?

Answer 1

You can do that, but alot of things can go wrong. :)
Its always better to migrate them:

If you wanted to remove the 2010 PFs completely, I would follow this article:
https://blog.rmilne.ca/2020/09/30/unable-to-remove-exchange-2010-public-folder-database/

Then create new one PF mailboxes per:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/collaboration/public-folders/create-public-folder-mailboxes?view=exchserver-2019

Can I make a recommendation? If they are small and have little information, save the contents to a pst or copy them to a shared mailbox instead, then remove the 2010 servers following: https://blog.rmilne.ca/2020/09/30/unable-to-remove-exchange-2010-public-folder-database/

Then use shared mailboxes instead to replace them. Public Folders are a pain and if you can not use them, I would recommend it!

Answer 2

Hi @fsdg ,

If those data in Exchange 2010 PF are useless for your organization, you can delete it with How to Remove an Exchange 2010 Public Folder Database
Please Note: Since the web site is not hosted by Microsoft, the link may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this information.

But like Andy said, it is recommended to migrate the legacy public folders to the new server.

Regards,
Lou

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