How Public Folder Deletions Are Handled
Migration Manager for Exchange synchronizes deletions of public folder items and folders themselves. Messages deleted on one side are deleted from the corresponding public folder on the other side.
In order to avoid data loss, public folder synchronization agents do not delete public folders. Instead, they move deleted folders to a special public folder called Aelita EMW Recycle Bin. When a public folder is deleted in one of the environments, the public folder synchronization agents move the corresponding folder in the other environment to the Recycle Bin. Thus, administrators can verify that no important information has been deleted and restore any data deleted by mistake.
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CAUTION: Although the folders are moved to the Recycle Bin and an administrator can move them back, folders that have been deleted once cannot be migrated again. This is because public folder synchronization agents preserve the folders’ SOURCE_KEY property. On the side where the folders are actually deleted, Exchange tombstones the deleted folders and does not allow creation of folders with the same SOURCE_KEY property again. Therefore, you should never delete production public folders on either source or on target. If you want to experiment with a folder and delete it later, create a test public folder specifically for that purpose. Never experiment with live folders. If you want to do a pilot public folder migration, create a test public folder and use it for your experiments. Avoid doing pilots on the production folders. |
Public folder synchronization agents can create the Recycle Bin folder, but it is recommended that an administrator create and configure this folder manually prior to starting public folder synchronization. The reasons for this are as follows:
- Replication – The folder should be replicated among all the Exchange servers within the organization that participate in public folder synchronization. If this is not configured, the agents will create a separate Recycle Bin folder on each of these servers, which will result in several folders with the same name in the public folder tree.
- Access to the deleted folders – If the agents create the Recycle Bin folder, it will have the default settings for Default and Anonymous access. This may not be desired, as usually the default permissions are set to the Author role.
- Folder properties – If the agents create the Aelita EMW Recycle Bin folder, the other folder settings will have their default values as well. For example, you might want to change folder limits or replication schedule.
Aelita EMW Recycle Bin must be a top-level folder right under the All Public Folders node. The agents recognize this folder by name, so if you create it manually, be sure to type its name correctly.
When Public Folder Resynchronization is Required
In certain situations you may want to resynchronize public folders. However, because Migration Manager for Exchange uses Exchange replication APIs for public folder synchronization, resynchronization is not an easy task. Resynchronization that is not performed properly may interfere with the Exchange public folder replication.
Always contact your migration consultant or technical support specialist before choosing to do a full resynchronization.
Mailbox Synchronization
The following are the important issues to consider when synchronizing mailboxes:
- How many jobs have to be configured and how many agents should be installed
- How to use collections to map Exchange Migration Wizard configuration to your migration plans
- What users typically work with offline folder (OST) files
- How to restructure Exchange servers during migration
Mail Synchronization Agents and Jobs
A mailbox synchronization job is configured between each source/target server pair. The jobs are performed by mailbox synchronization agents. The Mail Source Agents (MSA) and Transmission Agents work on the source Exchange servers, while the Mail Target Agent (MTA) works on the target Exchange servers.
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NOTE: Mailboxes included in Remote Users Collections are synchronized by the Mail Source Agents only. The whole mailbox content, including the Calendar folder, is transferred to the target Exchange 2003 server at once by the MSA. The Mail Target Agents and Transmission Agents are not used. |
Synchronization agents work with the Private Information Store locally, so they will be installed on each server involved in mailbox synchronization (on all source and target servers). Each agent can participate in multiple synchronization jobs. This allows for messaging system restructuring, such as splitting or merging servers, as described in the Restructuring Exchange Servers topic.