Summary: Microsoft support for MS Exchange 2007 and 2010 has already reached its end of life. Thus, it’s critical to migrate the MS Exchange 2007 to Exchange 2013 or later versions to get important updates, security patches, and feature updates. In this guide, we have discussed various steps to migrate Exchange 2007 to Exchange 2013 and decommission or uninstall the older Exchange 2007 post-migration.
Exchange 2007 to Exchange 2013 migration requires adequate planning and preparation to ensure a smooth transition of data and Exchange services from Exchange 2007 to 2013. In this guide, we will perform Exchange 2007 to Exchange 2013 migration in 7 steps, which are as follows,
- Deploy New Exchange 2013 Server
- Install and Setup Exchange 2013
- Deploy Certificates
- Configure Exchange 2013 Namespace and Virtual Directories
- Test the Services
- Migrate the Mailboxes and Public Folders
- Decommission the Exchange 2007 Server
Steps to Migrate Exchange 2007 to Exchange 2013
Below we have explained each step in detail to migrate Exchange 2007 to Exchange 2013.
Step 1: Deploy MS Exchange 2013 Server
To migrate Exchange 2007 to Exchange 2013, you need to set up a new MS Exchange 2013 on Windows Server 2012. So, first install the Windows Server 2012 OS on a new machine and then deploy the MS Exchange 2013 Server, i.e. setup and prepare the Windows Server 2012 for Exchange 2013 installation.
The steps are as follows,
- Install .NET Framework 4.6.2 and Windows Management Framework 3.0 on Windows Server 2012 machine
Install-WindowsFeature Net-Framework-Core -source \\MyDrive\
MyDrive is the location of .NET source files.
- Prepare Active Directory (AD)
- Install Remote Server Administration Tools
Install-WindowsFeature RSAT-ADDS
.setup /PrepareAD /YourOrganizationName: ABC /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms
- Open Active Directory User and Computers to check if AD is prepared successfully
- Then force AD replication
Step 2: Install and Setup Exchange 2013
To install Exchange 2013, you need to install a few pre-requisites on Windows Server 2012. For this, open the PowerShell window as administrator and execute the following command,
Install-WindowsFeature AS-HTTP-Activation, Desktop-Experience, NET-Framework-45-Features, RPC-over-HTTP-proxy, RSAT-Clustering, RSAT-Clustering-CmdInterface, RSAT-Clustering-Mgmt, RSAT-Clustering-PowerShell, Web-Mgmt-Console, WAS-Process-Model, Web-Asp-Net45, Web-Basic-Auth, Web-Client-Auth, Web-Digest-Auth, Web-Dir-Browsing, Web-Dyn-Compression, Web-Http-Errors, Web-Http-Logging, Web-Http-Redirect, Web-Http-Tracing, Web-ISAPI-Ext, Web-ISAPI-Filter, Web-Lgcy-Mgmt-Console, Web-Metabase, Web-Mgmt-Console, Web-Mgmt-Service, Web-Net-Ext45, Web-Request-Monitor, Web-Server, Web-Stat-Compression, Web-Static-Content, Web-Windows-Auth, Web-WMI, Windows-Identity-FoundationThen restart the Windows Server 2012 machine and install the following components in the given order,
- Microsoft Unified Communications Managed API 4.0, Core Runtime 64-bit.
- Microsoft Office 2010 Filter Pack 64-bit.
- Microsoft Office 2010 Filter Pack SP1 64-bit.
Then install the MBX and CAS server,
.setup /m:Install /Roles:ca,mb,mt /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms /InstallWindowsComponents /DBFilePath:"C:DB01DB01.edb" /LogFolderPath:"C:DB01Logs" /MdbName:"DB01"Finally, use the following command in PowerShell to install MS Exchange 2013,
.Setup.exe /mode:Install /role:ClientAccess,Mailbox /OrganizationName:ABC /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTermsThe command accepts the Exchange 2013 licensing terms and creates Exchange 2013 organization in AD called ABC, installs mailbox server role, client access server role, and management tools.
Step 3: Deploy Certificates
Now, you can open the Exchange Management Shell (EMS) and configure SSL certificates. By default, Exchange is set up with a self-signed SSL certificate. However, you must replace this with a certificate same as on Exchange 2007 signed by CA that includes the correct organization domain name.
To create a certificate, use the following command,
New-ExchangeCertificate -FriendlyName 'ABC Exchange Certificate' -GenerateRequest -PrivateKeyExportable $true -KeySize '2048' -SubjectName 'C=US,S="New York",O="ABC",CN=mail.ABC.com' -DomainName 'mail.ABC.com','autodiscover.ABC.com' ,'legacy.ABC.com' | out-file c:swe15_csr.txtChange the values according to your organization. Once the certificate is created, download it and import it by using the following command,
Import-ExchangeCertificate -filename c:\sw\certnew.cerThen configure the Exchange 2013 server to use the certificate by using the following command,
Enable-ExchangeCertificate -Thumbprint AXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXCE526 -Services IIS,POP,IMAPStep 4: Configure Exchange 2013 Namespace and Virtual Directories
Open Exchange Management Shell and then setup the following,
a. Setup Outlook Web Access (OWA) and Exchange Control Panel (ECP) Virtual Directories
Set-OwaVirtualDirectory -Identity "e15-01OWA (Default Web Site)" -ExternalUrl https://mail.ABC.com/owa -LogonFormat username -DefaultDomain ABC.local
Set-EcpVirtualDirectory -Identity "e15-01ECP (Default Web Site)" -ExternalUrl Read More
b. Setup Offline Address Books (OAB), ActiveSync, Web Services and Outlook Anywhere
Set-OabVirtualDirectory -Identity "e15-01OAB (Default Web Site)" -InternalUrl https://mail.ABC.com/oab -ExternalUrl Read More
Set-ActiveSyncVirtualDirectory ?Identity ?e15-01Microsoft-Server-ActiveSync (Default Web Site)? ?ExternalUrl https://mail.ABC.com/Microsoft-Server-ActiveSync ?InternalUrl Read More
Set-WebServicesVirtualDirectory ?Identity ?e15-01EWS (Default Web Site)? -InternalUrl https://mail.ABC.com/ews/exchange.asmx ?ExternalUrl Read More
Set-OutlookAnywhere -Identity "E15-01Rpc (Default Web Site)" -InternalHostname mail.ABC.com -ExternalHostname mail.ABC.com -InternalClientAuthenticationMethod Ntlm -ExternalClientAuthenticationMethod Basic -ExternalClientsRequireSsl $True -InternalClientsRequireSsl $true
c. Change Default OAB on Exchange 2013
Get-MailboxDatabase | Set-MailboxDatabase -OfflineAddressBook "Default Offline Address Book (Ex2013)"
d. Create Send and Receive Connectors
Set-SendConnector -Identity Outbound -SourceTransportServers E12-01,E15-01
New-ReceiveConnector -Name Inbound -Usage Custom -Bindings 192.168.0.10:24 -RemoteIPRanges 192.168.0.20
e. Migrate Transport Rule from Exchange 2007 to 2013
In Exchange 2007 Management Shell,
Export-TransportRuleCollection -FileName "c:ExportedRules.xml"
Copy the exported XML file to Exchange 2013 and then in Exchange 2013 Management Shell, enter the following command,
[Byte[]]$Data = Get-Content -Path "C:TransportRulesExportedRules.xml" -Encoding Byte -ReadCount 0
Import-TransportRuleCollection -FileData $Data
Step 5: Test the Server
To test the server, create a test user on the Exchange 2013 and connect a PC to the domain. Then use the Microsoft Remote Connectivity Analyzer to test the Outlook, OWA, and AS connectivity.
Finally, send and receive a few emails to check the mail flow.
If successful, proceed to the next step.
Step 6: Migrate Mailboxes and Public Folders
This step is critical and involves multiple steps to migrate the mailboxes from Exchange 2007 to 2013. To migrate mailboxes from Exchange 2007 to 2013, perform the following steps,
- Move Client Access Server to Exchange 2013 from Exchange 2007
- Also, on Exchange 2007, configure OWA, OAB, ActiveSync, Unified Services, Web Services, and Outlook Anywhere virtual directories
- Calculate the mailbox size and bandwidth required to migrate the mailboxes
- Migrate the mailboxes in batches
- Manually copy the public folders from Exchange 2007 to 2013
- Once migration is done, users can access their mails from Exchange 2013
During migration, users will be able to access their old mailbox on Exchange 2007.
However, to automate this task and ensure smooth, uninterrupted, and error-free Exchange 2007 to Exchange 2013 mailbox migration, you can use Stellar Converter for EDB software. The software lets you export the mailboxes from Exchange 2007 mailbox database (EDB) file to PST which you can import in Exchange 2013.
It also provides an option to directly export the mailboxes from Exchange 2007 offline database file to Live Exchange 2013 in a few clicks.
It helps complete the migration quickly as this step, if performed manually, takes a lot of time and may cause loss of mail items during migration. Overall, the chances of data loss are more with the manual approach, besides technical challenges. By using the software, you can avoid any data loss and recover deleted or lost mailboxes.
Step 7: Decommission or Uninstall Exchange 2007 Server
Finally, you can decommission the old Exchange 2007 server. To uninstall and decommission it, follow this guide on How to Decommission Exchange Server 2007.
NOTE: It?s always recommended to backup the old database before decommissioning the server. You can convert the EDB files on Exchange 2007 to PST by using Stellar Converter for EDB software and create a mailbox database backup that you can open or import in any Outlook mail client.
For more help or queries on how to migrate Exchange 2007 to Exchange 2013, leave a comment or reach us via the Self Help and Support page.
