Wednesday 3 August 2016

Import Exchange EDB to Office 365 - Quick Migration Guide

Exchange EDB file

EDB file is Exchange database files which was designed on single client-server architecture. These files contain rich text data, which is stored in Exchange Server. Components that an EDB file contains are email, Contacts, calendar, and attachments. These files are the acronyms for Exchange Database. EDB files are formatted using b-tree structure. Each EDB file has a corresponding STM file, which consists of the actual SMTP message.

Office 365

Office 365 is a Subscription based service, which provides multiple services and software to the users. Office 365 is a brand name of Microsoft. It is based on cloud technology, which means you can access, store and view computer related data and services from anywhere using any platform Mac or Microsoft. Office 365 also provides cloud storage services.

Need to Import EDB to Office 365

“I am trying to migrate from Exchange on-premise to Exchange Online, but I want to access our old Exchange database to our new Exchange online platform. I did not find the direct option to import EDB to Office 365 my new platform. Whenever I try to import, it is saying that the file is unrecognized & cannot import it to your Exchange online account. I am afraid of trying to import it again & again as it may corrupt the existing Exchange EDB file.”

Note-> Now when there is a need to import EDB to Office 365, the question is how to import? Is it possible to transfer EDB to Office 365 directly. Therefore, the answer to all the questions is “YES” EDB file can be migrated to Office 365, with the help of third party utility.
We first Convert Exchange EDB to Outlook and then migrate this Outlook PST file to Office 365

Discussing How To Import Exchange EDB to Office 365

As stated already, importing EDB to Office 365 directly is very tedious and time-consuming so we are exporting EDB file to PST first then in another section we will discuss importing PST file to Office 365.

Steps to Import EDB to Outlook Data File

Refer the following steps to know how to convert EDB to PST:

1. Launch the software EDB to PST converter. In addition, follow the steps accordingly. First add the file by browsing it from its location.



2. Click on Open given below to add the EDB file and start the process. It will show you a scanning screen. As scanning is done click Ok



3. When the selected EDB file are added to the software then go to Export tab, select the folder that you want to Export to PST format, select the destination location by clicking browse and then click Export.



4. The software will start the convert EDB to PST. As the process is done, click Ok.



5. Now, you can save the imported data report for further usage. Verify the outcome in Outlook.



Note-> In the above section I have exported EDB file to PST. Now in the next section I will discuss how I Migrate Outlook to Office 365 using simple steps.

Steps to Migrate PST to Office 365


Now let us discuss how we can transfer PST to Office 365:
1. Download & launch the software. In the login Window, enter your Office 365 credentials and click on Sign in.



2. Then I choose the option 'Office 365 Restore' to upload data from PST file to Office 365 Cloud and then click 'Next'.



3. Now I Select Category, Folder Hierarchy & Date Filter options. Choose the options as per my requirement.



4. I received a Completion message when PST was migrated to Office 365.



5. To verify if the PST file is migrated successfully, I log in to my Office 365 Outlook account.


Conclusion

In this blog, we discussed EDB file & Office 365, the need to import EDB to Office 365 & the ways to migrate your EDB file to Office 365.This blog is designed to help users with the types of errors I face while working on Exchange EDB files and how using a third-party utility can resolve their issues as I resolved mine. In addition, steps to export EDB file extension to PST and then migrate this PST file to Office 365 is discussed because importing EDB to Office 365 directly is a lengthy process to follow.

Tuesday 2 August 2016

Export Mailbox From Dismounted Exchange Database Using Best Method

Need to Dismount Exchange Database and Export Mailbox

There are times when it has required to dismount database. The reasons can be when you
replace hardware/software component
- Create offline backup
- Fix sever related issue
These are the various situations when you required to dismount the database.

“I have a dismounted Data Base on Exchange Server 2010 SP1 server and now I cannot get the Database Mounted again. I Installed new Exchange Server as:
2 HUB/CAS Server
2 mailbox Server
so I am facing problem in moving the Mailboxes from the dismounted Database to new server”


How to Mount Exchange Database on Server

You can mount your exchange mailbox database on server with the help of two methods by
1. Using PowerShell Command
2. Using exchange admin centre

#1. PowerShell command to mount Exchange Database on Server

To mount the Database on the Server that has mailbox server role installed on it you can use “Mount Database” cmdlet.

Mount-Database-identity [-AcceptDataLoss][-Confirm[]][-DomainController][-Force][-WhatIf[]]

This command can only be used when the following conditions are satisfied
1. Exchange IS service is running
2. Exchange Replication service is running

#2. Using Exchange Admin Center

To manage Exchange 2013 database you can use this GUI medium. What you need to do is first login to exchange Admin Center (EAC) for which you would be required internal and external URL. Check by running the New-EcpVirtualDirectory command in Exchange Management Shell

Get-ECPVirtualDirectory |Format-List Name, Internal|URL,ExternalURL

1. Once you login to EAC, click on “Servers” in the feature pane and click on “Databases” tab
2. Now select the database that want to be mounted on Server and then click on “More” button in the toolbar.
3. Click on “Mount” option and wait for a while to let the application mount the database.

You can use any of the following methods to mount the database on the server. However there are times that error “unable to mount database” can restrict smooth mounting. In such situations you can adopt a solution and convert your mailbox from Exchange to Outlook and then try to mount them on server.

Advantage of Using the Export Request:-

The PST file can be shared or saved on the shared network from where it can be accessed by the exchange server.
There is a provision to extract the mailboxes into PST file and access the mailboxes simultaneously at times.

Note

When you are exporting mailbox it must be less than 50 Gb in size. Because the maximum PST file size limit that Outlook supports is 50 GB. And if the file size is large in size then multiple PST files can be created for every folder in a mailbox.

Common Reason To Move Mailbox to PST

- For Compliance Purpose.
- For creating Point-In time snapshot
- For creating an archive of the Mailbox

Tech Talks


1. The database is dismount and I just have 17 GB free

Ans. If the database is dismounting on its own and you have 17GB free space, then I would like to recommend you to create a new mailbox database on a separate set of disks and move the users there.

2. My database is dismounted and I am getting alerts regarding that. What to do?

Ans. What you can do is take a backup of the database and keep the backup or you can export the mailbox in database as PST file.

3. I have third party program, the program reads the EDB file and export the information but when I scanned the dismounted database, the email server stop sending and receiving.


Ans. As already discussed, use an Exchange aware backup platform to back up your database. And then use the third party tool along with the backup software to export any information.

Conclusion:


Export Mailbox from Dismounted Exchange Database blog is aimed to help users when they dismount database and trying to mount it back. And How they can use the PowerShell command to mount the database. Scenarios where database is dismounted and need to export mailboxes to PST then surely a third party application should be adopted.

Note-> The EDB to PST Converter software can run without Exchange Server Environment.