Migrator for Notes to Exchange 4.16.3 - Pre-Migration Planning Guide

Migrating encrypted data

Notes encrypted mail can be migrated by either the MNE Data Migration Wizard or the Self-Service Desktop Migrator (SSDM), but each method has its own advantages and disadvantages:

So the batch-migrating Data Migration Wizard can migrate encrypted messages as Active Mail for user collections, but the messages can be decrypted on the Exchange side only by users running local copies of Notes. The SSDM can decrypt Notes messages and migrate them unencrypted to Exchange, but can only be applied to a single user's mail at a time and the migrated messages remain unencrypted on the Exchange side.

NOTE: Encrypted mail in Notes is not decrypted by the SSDM before it is migrated to Exchange. Encrypted mail in Notes is kept in an encrypted state and decrypted as it is migrated. At no time is encrypted mail left in a decrypted state in Notes. Even after the mail is migrated the encrypted email left in Notes remains in an encrypted state.

Alternatively, the Data Migration Wizard can be configured to not migrate encrypted messages as Active Mail (as described in Migrating Notes “Active Mail” above), and in that case will migrate an encrypted message unencrypted portions, and skip the encrypted portions, inserting a text notice in the message body to explain that the encrypted portions could not be migrated.

In most organizations, only the sender or recipient of an encrypted message is authorized to access the encrypted portion, and the wizard does not know the credentials unless the admin account running the wizard happens to be the sender or recipient of the encrypted message. It is possible, but uncommon, for an environment to be configured with broader or even universal access to the encrypted portions of encrypted messages and the wizard can freely migrate encrypted messages in their entirety, without using the Active Mail features. However, more likely, credential access is more restrictive and the wizard can migrate the encrypted portions of encrypted messages only through Active Mail processing.

Organizations that opt to use the SSDM to migrate encrypted messages typically do so after batch-migrating most everything else with the Data Migration Wizard. In any case, two related Migrator for Notes to Exchange program parameters let you tell the wizard how to handle encrypted messages:

These options are set independently for server and archive data, by different combinations of the MigrateEncryptedMessages and SkipEntireEncryptedMessage parameters, in the [ServerData] and [ArchiveData] sections (respectively) of Migrator for Notes to Exchange Task Parameters and Global Defaults. For more information these parameters, see the associated entries in the Migrator for Notes to Exchange Program Parameters Reference.

The MessageStats Notes Migration Report Pack report Migration Status by User can help you determine who has encrypted data. Use the filters in this report to narrow your search to users that have been migrated by the bulk migrator and who have Encrypted Data either skipped or migrated. Those users should run the Self-Service Desktop Migrator to migrate their own encrypted data. Since the Data Migration Wizard does not migrate encrypted messages, it will substitute placeholder messages for encrypted messages in your users’ Exchange mailboxes. The Self-Service Desktop Migrator (SSDM) replaces the placeholder messages with the real messages as it decrypts and migrates them. (The SSDM can do the same thing for encrypted messages that the Data Migration Wizard has processed as Active Mail, replacing the encapsulated-encrypted messages with the real messages as it decrypts and migrates them.)

The placeholder message content is configurable. If you set up a share for your users with an SSDM configured to migrate the Mail file for your users, you can add the location to this package along with instructions for migrating encrypted messages. For more information see “How Do I Customize the Placeholder Message ... for Encrypted Messages?” in Appendix A of the Migrator for Notes to Exchange Administration Guide.

Migrating delayed delivery mail

As of Domino 10, Domino supports scheduling email to be sent at a future date and time. In this case, mail could still be in the Domino queue to be delivered after migration.

If you plan to shut down the Domino server after migration, you should send an message to your users before the migration date instructing them not to schedule email delivery after the Domino server shut down date. Emails scheduled for delivery after the Domino server is shut down date will not be delivered.

Also, you should ensure that forwarding addresses are configured for all migrated users, even the last batch of users that are migrated, so that scheduled emails can be forwarded correctly to Exchange or Microsoft 365.

MNE creates a DeferredEmails.tsv log file in the MNE or SSDM log folder. This file lists the deferred emails that are marked for delivery after a specific date which is configured in INI file. For information about setting the date used to include emails in the log file, see the setting [General] DeferredMailDate=<mm/dd/yyyy> in the Program Parameter Reference Guide.

This TSV file contains following columns:

The DeferredEmails.tsv file exists only if there are emails which were scheduled to be delivered after the date set in the [General] DeferredMailDate parameter. If the DeferredEmails.tsv file exists, it means there are delayed delivery (deferred) emails. You must decide whether to defer the date that the Domino server is to be shut down or notify the senders that these emails must be resent from Outlook.

Migrating Notes attachments

The Domino/Notes environment can be configured to handle message attachments by saving only one copy of the attachment on the Domino server, and making the single attachment available to the sender and all recipients. This Domino Attachment and Object Service (DAOS) is transparent to end users and can save some storage space compared to the alternate method: replicating the attachment for each recipient. However, DAOS tends to slow down migration speed. If speed is critical, the replicated attachments method is preferred.

Migrator for Notes to Exchange will find and migrate Notes attachments saved by either method. For multiple Outlook recipients, an attachment will be replicated for each recipient.

When migrating messages to Microsoft 365, the Data Migration Wizard does not migrate message attachments if the attachment size exceeds the limit as defined in the [Filter] AttachSize settings. Instead, a placeholder attachment file is created with text that indicates the original attachment cannot be migrated due to the size limit. This action is to handle various limits set for Exchange Online, especially the message limits such as the attachment size limit (maximum file size of a single attachment) and the message size limit (including attachments). For details, see Exchange Online limits.

To successfully migrate these messages and their attachments, even if an attachment size exceeds the limit, MNE can migrate message attachments as files to a mailbox user's dedicated OneDrive store. The user must have a license service plan and the OneDrive store must already be provisioned. By effectively decreasing the overall message size, this option provides alternative storage for large message attachments outside of Exchange Online.

When defining the [Filter] AttachSize settings, it is recommended that you use the default message attachment size, which is 25,088 KB for Microsoft 365 targets. Most inline or embedded attachments for Rich Text Format (RTF) or HTML format messages will be smaller than this limit and will be migrated as attachments in Exchange, resulting in the best user experience for migrated messages with Outlook or OWA clients.

Before you migrate mailbox data with the feature to migrate oversized attachments enabled, it is recommended that you run the following PowerShell command to provision the OneDrive stores for all the users in the user collection:

This command is available in Quest.MNE.PowerShell module that is installed on the migration server.

For more information about the Migrate oversized attachments option, see the chapter titled “Exchange Server Configuration: Migrating to Microsoft 365” in the Migrator for Notes to Exchange Administration Guide.

Migrating mail-In databases

Mail-in databases in Notes work like shared folders in Outlook—as a repository for items that can be accessed by multiple users. Migrator for Notes to Exchange migrates Notes mail-in databases like resources. The Directory Export Wizard recognizes mail-in databases as distinct from other (user) mailboxes, and identifies them as "mail-in database"s in Notes Migration Manager, in the Object Type column of the Objects found table.

When migrating a mail-in database, verify that the source address in the TSV file matches the name associated with the mail-in database folder to be migrated. The name can be verified in the Notes admin account under the Mail-In Database section. The mail-in database will be matched up using either of:

Note that the application does not perform a lookup in the names.nsf file, but instead looks for the matching address in the mail-in-database NSF file.

NOTE: The Data Migration Wizard will set forwarding on a mail-in database if it is told to do so, by setting the ForwardingAddress attribute in Notes’ Document Properties for the mail-in database.