How to run multiple instances of the Migration Wizard in Microsoft Exchange Server 2003

In Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, you can run multiple instances of the Exchange Server Migration Wizard on the same computer. You can start the Migration Wizard on any computer that has the Exchange Administration Tools installed. The Migration Wizard uses multi-threading to perform mailbox migration. Additionally, starting multiple instances of the wizard may cause faster migration of mailboxes to Exchange Server 2003.

You must start each instance of the Exchange Server Migration Wizard at a command prompt. Before you start an instance of the wizard, you must create a control file and an accounts file for each instance that you plan to start. You must find the following information, and then include this information in the control file:

• The distinguished name of the destination mailbox store on the Exchange Server 2003 computer.
• The Active Directory container where the user accounts are to be stored.

The accounts files and the control files will contain the information that is typically input when you use the graphical user interface (GUI) of the Migration Wizard.

To start multiple instances of the Migration Wizard on a computer that has the Exchange Administration Tools installed, follow these steps.

Warning If you use the ADSI Edit snap-in, the LDP utility, or any other LDAP version 3 client, and you incorrectly modify the attributes of Active Directory objects, you can cause serious problems. These problems may require you to reinstall Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server, Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, or both Windows and Exchange. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems that occur if you incorrectly modify Active Directory object attributes can be solved. Modify these attributes at your own risk.

1. Create account files. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. In Notepad, type Alias_Name, and then press ENTER.
      
      Alias_Name is the user name part of a person's e-mail address. For example, the Alias_Name in user@domain.com is "user."
   2. Repeat step b until you have typed a manageable number of aliases in this text file. There is no limit to the number of aliases that you can type in a file. However, with a manageable number of aliases in a file, you can easily troubleshoot any issues.
   3. Save this file with a unique name. For example, "accounts1.txt" is a unique name.
   4. Create multiple files by repeating steps a-c until you have typed the aliases of all the users whom you want to migrate. When you save each file in step c, use a unique file name.
      
      A sample account file may have the following entries:
      
      user_name1
      user_name2
      user_name3
      user_name4
2. Use Active Directory Service Interfaces (ADSI) Editor to find the following:
   • The distinguished name for the destination Exchange Server 2003 mailbox store
   • The Active Directory user accounts container
   
   Note The names of the containers or folders and their paths may be different in your environment.
   
   To use ADSI Editor, follow these steps:
   1. Log on to a computer in the domain that has the Microsoft Windows Support Tools installed.
      
      If the Windows Support Tools are not installed, install them from the Microsoft Windows Server CD. The file path for Windows Server 2003 is Support\Tools\Setup.msi. The file path for Windows 2000 Server is Support\Tools\Setup.exe. The Windows Server 2003 support tools can be installed only on a computer that is running Windows XP Professional or on a Windows Server 2003�based member server.
   2. At a command prompt, change to the folder where the Windows Support Tools are installed. By default, the Windows Support Tools are installed in the Drive:\Program Files\Support Tools folder.
   3. Type adsiedit.msc, and then press ENTER. By default, ADSI Editor connects to the directory of the domain that you are logged on to.
   4. In the left pane, expand Configuration, expand CN=Configuration, expand DC=Your_Domain_Name, expand CN=Your_Root_Domain, expand CN=Services, expand CN=Microsoft Exchange, expand CN=Your_Organization_Name, expand CN=Administrative Groups, and then expand CN=Your_Administrative_Group_Name.
   5. Expand CN=Servers, expand CN=Your_Server_Name, expand CN=InformationStore, and then click CN=Your_Storage_Group_Name.
   6. In the right pane, click CN=Mailbox Store (Your_Exchange_Server_Name).
   7. Right-click the CN=Mailbox Store (Your_Exchange_Server_Name) object, and then click Properties.
   8. In the Attributes list, double-click distinguishedName.
   9. Make a note of the text in the Value box. This text is the distinguished name of the destination Exchange Server 2003 Information Store database. In step 3, you will type this text in your control files as the value for the ExchangeStoreDN variable.
   10. Click Cancel two times.
   11. In the left pane, expand the Domain (Your_FQDN) container.
   12. Expand DC=Your_Domain_Name, expand DC=Your_Parent_Domain, and then expand DC=Your_Root_Domain container.
   13. Click the CN=Users container.
   14. Right-click the CN=Users container, and then click Properties.
   15. In the Attributes list, double-click distinguishedName.
   16. Make a note of the text in the Values box. This text is the distinguished name of the Active Directory container where the new accounts will be created. In step 3, you will type this text in your control files as the value for the Container variable.
   17. Click Cancel two times.
   18. Quit ADSI Editor.
3. Create control files.
   1. In Notepad, type the following lines of text into the opened text file, and press ENTER after each line:
      
      Mode, Exchange
      Exch55,TRUE
      Postoffice,Source_5.5_Server_Name
      ExchStoreDN,Distinguished Name of destination Exchange Server 2003 Information Store database.
      Container,Distinguished Name of the Active Directory container where the new accounts will be created.
      Accounts,File name of accounts to be migrated
      TargetDC,Name of Domain Controller in destination Forest
      
      Note For the File name of accounts to be migrated, type the file name of the first account file that you created in step 1.
   2. Save the file with a unique name, such as control1.txt.
   3. Repeat steps a through b until you have created as many control files as the account files that you created earlier. In each control file, replace the value of the Accounts variable with the name of one of the subsequent account files you created. Each control file is linked to a unique accounts file, on a one to one basis. They are linked by the file name in the Accounts variable. When you save each file in step b, use unique file names.
      
      A sample control file may have the following entries:
      
      Mode,Exchange
      Exch55,TRUE
      Postoffice,EX5_Server
      ExchStoreDN,CN=Mailbox Store (EX03_Server),CN=First Storage Group,CN=InformationStore,CN=EX03_Server,CN=Servers,CN=First Administrative Group,CN=Administrative Groups,CN=First Organization,CN=Microsoft Exchange,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=E03_Domain,DC=Main_Domain,DC=com
      Container,CN=Users,DC=First Organization,DC=E03_Domain,DC=Main_Domain,DC=com
      Accounts,accounts_sample.txt
      TargetDC,Win2003_Server
4. Start multiple instances of the Migration Wizard.
   
   You can copy the account files and control files to the exchsrvr\bin folder. This action decreases path input on the command line while you are running the migration command.
   1. At a command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
      \exchsrvr\bin\mailmig.exe /m /c:path and file name of control file /a:domain\administrator /p:password
      
      
      Note For more information, see the "More information about the switches in step 4a" section.
   2. Repeat step a for each control file you created in step 2.