Simply Migrate - Migrating Microsoft Exchange Data to Mimecast

This article provides Mimecast Partner Administrators steps on how Microsoft Exchange data can be migrated to Mimecast using Simply Migrate.

Prerequisites   

1. Determine the credentials for the account the administrator will be using for the migration 

The account requires Application Impersonation rights against the Exchange environment. For details on how to configure this, see Mimecast Synchronization Engine - Application Impersonation.

2. Confirm the account has a licensed mailbox (any license that includes a mailbox).
3. Verify that the account does not have two-factor authentication enabled.
4. Obtain a list of SMTP addresses of all the mailboxes the administrator needs to migrate.
5. Determine if the users have archive mailboxes and if these archives are to be included in the migration. (This applies to Exchange 2010 and later.) 
6. Check if there is a journal cutoff date. 
7. Get the EWS URL from the customer and test the credentials against it.
8. Confirm that the maximum threads per job is set between 5 and 8.  

Once the above has been completed, use the following steps to Create Jobs.

Creating Jobs 

From the UI, there are two ways to create jobs. The first is upon initial installation, as described below: 

1. Following the initial installation, the Wizard will prompt the administrator to select the Source. If the product has been set up and initialized, the administrator will need to start the Job Wizard from within the Batches and Jobs view.
2. Select the Green List icon on the Batch line that the administrator wants to create the jobs, then select Job Creation Wizard from the list.

3. Administrators will see the Source selection. For the purpose of this article, we will be choosing Exchange. 

 

The cog icon appears under your selection, click this icon to configure your Exchange settings.

 

4. Once clicked, the administrator will be presented with the Source Configuration page.

 

5. Enter the administrator's credentials.   
6. Once entered, the administrator can click on the Send button on the password box to confirm that connection is possible. This will automatically populate the Exchange EWS URL and Exchange version.  
7. Click Save. 
8. Enter the path to the CSV file of the mailboxes supplied by the customer for migration, here.

If a version of Exchange is detected that supports Legal Hold, the administrator will be given the option to include this data.

 

9. Click Next. 
10. The page shown below will present the administrator with a list of the mailboxes contained in the CSV file / Exchange environment.

 

13. The administrator can add filters that apply to dates, job lists, and handle bad address resolution. These controls are seldom used, however, an administrator will be prompted about date filters once Create Jobs is selected. 

 

Filtering the jobs will only change the view the administrator has of the jobs. Simply Migrate will attempt to create jobs for ALL items ticked, not only those visible in the filter.

The Second way to create jobs is described below.

1. Clicking Create Jobs will prompt the administrator with some information, and the option to select a date filter.

2. Administrators should verify that the number of jobs being created is correct and confirm that the administrator does not require a date filter.
3. Click Create the jobs.
4. The gears start turning and the jobs start getting created. The administrator will see a tick in the job status next to all the source files that have been selected. 

If the administrator attempts to create jobs for the same Enterprise Vault Archives (In the same batch), Mimecast has created safety measures to avoid duplication of jobs. The administrator will be shown the original job ID and a No Entry sign indicating that the job has not been created because it already exists.

Congratulations, the Microsoft Exchange source jobs have been successfully created.