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Site Consolidation in Mixed Mode

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This topic describes the general process for site consolidation of your Exchange Server environment for Exchange organizations in mixed mode. For important information related to this process, see Important Considerations for Site Consolidation in Mixed Mode.

If Exchange 5.5 is running in the sites you want to consolidate, you must use the Exchange 2003 SP1 site consolidation tools to ensure that mailboxes, distribution lists, recipients, and public folders are moved properly and with the least amount of disruption in service. The goal is to ensure that mail flows properly after users and Exchange data are moved to the central site.

Before you consolidate content from remote sites, perform the following actions:

  • Verify that you have enough server resources in the central site to handle the Exchange services.

  • Upgrade all mailbox servers and public folder servers in the central site to Exchange 2003 SP1.

  • Apply the hotfix for the Exchange 5.5 DS/IS consistency adjuster to all of your Exchange 5.5 public folder servers (available at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=3052&kbid=836489). This hotfix ensures that after a cross-site move, public folder access control lists (ACLs) are updated properly move so users and groups have continued access to public folders.

    Important

    Apply the Exchange 5.5 DS/IS consistency adjuster hotfix before you begin the site consolidation process. The site consolidation tools require this hotfix.

  • Upgrade all Active Directory Connector (ADC) servers to Exchange 2003 SP1. Ensure that all connection agreements to all sites are two-way and that there are public folder connection agreements on the source and target sites.

    Note

    It is highly recommended that you use ADC Tools to configure your connection agreements to ensure that the directories are properly updated and distribution list membership is properly cleaned up.

The overall process for consolidating sites in Exchange mixed mode is as follows:

  1. Create a site consolidation plan. Plan and schedule a three-phase site consolidation effort for each site. Schedule time for replication during periods of low usage, such as during a weekend. Ensure that Exchange 2003 is deployed in the central site and that you have established coexistence with Exchange 5.5. Upgrade all Exchange 2003 target servers to Exchange 2003 SP1. If you want to use Outlook with Cached Exchange Mode, install Outlook 2003 in all sites and enable Cached Exchange Mode.

  2. The latest version of the Exchange Server Deployment Tools contains site consolidation tools that guide you through the process of moving mailboxes, distribution lists, custom recipients, and public folders to the central site and retiring Exchange 5.5 servers. To prepare for site consolidation, use the tools as follows:

    • Upgrade all ADC servers to Exchange 2003 SP1.

    • Apply the DS/IS consistency adjuster hotfix to all public folder servers.

    • Add public folder replicas to the central site and allow time for public folders to replicate.

  3. Use the Exchange Server Deployment Tools to move Exchange data to the central site:

    • Mailboxes   Consolidate content in the remote site to the central site by moving mailboxes and using Exprofre.exe to update user profiles.

    • Custom recipients and distribution lists   Use the Object Rehome tool to update custom recipients and distribution lists to reflect the central site, which, in effect, moves them to the central site. Ensure that the proper connection agreements are set up.

  4. Follow the steps outlined in the Exchange Server Deployment Tools to remove the remote site:

    • Use PFMigrate to remove public folder replicas, and then follow the process for retiring Exchange 5.5 servers.

    • Use the Object Rehome tool to ensure that distribution lists and custom recipients were successfully removed from the remote site.

  5. Repeat these steps for each site you plan to consolidate.

For complete instructions, see the following resources:

Site Consolidation Tools

When consolidating sites, there may be many mailboxes, distribution lists, contacts, and public folders that must be moved across administrative groups. In addition, the legacy Exchange distinguished name (legacyExchangeDN) for an object changes after it is moved across administrative groups, which affects the services that depend on this attribute. The following Exchange 2003 SP1 features and tools address these concerns:

  • Exchange Server Deployment Tools   The latest version of the Exchange Server Deployment Tools guides you through the process of moving mailboxes, distribution lists, custom recipients, and public folders to the central site, and retiring Exchange 5.5 servers. The latest Exchange Server Deployment Tools are available at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=21231.

  • Move Mailbox Wizard in Exchange 2003 SP1   The Exchange 2003 SP1 version of the Move Mailbox Wizard gives you the option to move mailboxes across administrative groups.

    If your Exchange organization is in mixed mode, by default, Exchange 2003 displays one administrative group and one routing group for each Exchange 5.5 site. Prior to Exchange 2003 SP1, if your organization contained Exchange 5.5 servers, you could move only mailboxes within the same administrative group. This meant that you could not easily consolidate remote Exchange 5.5 sites into a central Exchange site.

    In Exchange 2003 SP1, you can move mailboxes across administrative groups by using either the Move Mailbox Wizard in Exchange System Manager or Active Directory Users and Computers.

  • Exchange Profile Update tool   The Exchange Profile Update tool (Exprofre.exe) is a stand-alone executable that updates users' Outlook profiles automatically, thereby allowing users to log onto their relocated mailboxes after the mailboxes have been moved across administrative groups. To update the default Outlook profile to reflect the new information, you must run Exprofre.exe on each client computer. It is recommended that you use a logon script to run this tool.

  • Public Folder Migration tool   It is recommended that you create replicas of Exchange 5.5 public folders on Exchange 2003 servers. By creating replicas, users will still be able to access public folders after users are moved from the remote site to the central site.

    The Public Folder Migration tool (PFMigrate) moves public folders from remote Exchange 5.5 servers to the central Exchange 2003 server. The latest version of PFMigrate contains a site consolidation command option (/sc) for moving public folders across administrative groups. PFMigrate is available as part of the Exchange Server Deployment Tools (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=21231).

  • Object Rehome tool   The Object Rehome tool moves distribution lists and contacts from remote Exchange 5.5 servers to the central Exchange 2003 server. The Object Rehome tool allows you to update the legacy distinguished name for distribution lists and custom recipients to reflect the central site during site consolidation. By updating these objects to reflect the central site, you ensure that these objects are not lost when you remove the remote site.

    The Object Rehome tool also updates the distribution list expansion server to the server that you specify. If you want to clear the expansion server from all distribution lists, you can leave the target expansion server option blank so that the distribution lists use any expansion server. The Object Rehome tool is available as part of the Exchange Server Deployment Tools (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=21231).