Email Migrations with Zero Downtime

Mirapoint Migration Toolkit
The Mirapoint Migration Toolkit enables easy migration from legacy email environments to the Mirapoint Messaging platform. The source systems supported include Microsoft Exchange 5.5, 2000, and 2003; Lotus Notes 5.x or later; Novell GroupWise 5.5; and any IMAP-compliant email system. Support for other versions of Notes and Novell GroupWise 6.0 are currently under development. Mirapoint is continually enhancing the Migration Toolkit with additional features and source types that are scheduled for future release.

The Migration Toolkit runs on the migration station, a separate, Windows XP-based PC that runs software to migrate data from the source server to the Mirapoint Message Server-essentially acting as a broker between the old and new servers. The customer-supplied PC must have at a minimum a Pentium-4 2GHz processor, at least 1 GB of RAM, and 10 GB of available hard drive space. Once the migration is completed, the PC is no longer required.

The Mirapoint Migration Toolkit has a modular architecture that consists of four components: MailSync, Extractor, Importer, and Graphical User Interface (GUI) Wizard.

The Mirapoint MailSync component migrates email data to the Mirapoint Message Server. MailSync uses a patent-pending technology that provides repeated and incremental synchronization between the source and the destination servers. Each synchronization moves data that has been added or changed since the previous update, progressively reducing synchronisation time. MailSync allows for email migrations to be carried out with virtually zero downtime. Once an acceptable synchronization window is achieved, a final synchronization pass is run and users are quickly switched over to the Mirapoint platform.

The remaining data is migrated using two components. The source platform-specific C++-based Extractor is used to extract data from a source server to an intermediate format. A common Perl-based Importer is used to then import data to the Mirapoint Message Server. Use of Perl enables rapid field customization.

A fourth component, the customizable VB-based user interface, provides a front end for the migration tool.

All components are controlled by command line interface (CLI) and data is stored locally on the migration station in the Mirapoint Migration Interchange Format (MMIF) between extraction and import. Administrators are then able to inspect data prior to importing it into the Mirapoint Message Server and can perform spot checks to verify consistency and integrity of the data.

In a typical migration, data is moved directly, in real-time, from source to destination server. However, where network bandwidth is insufficient to move large data files within a reasonable window of time, or where security concerns exist, a two-step process can be used. Data extraction is performed by one Migration Station local to the source system. The data is then transferred via removable storage to a second Migration Station, which is configured identically to the first. At that time the data is imported from the second Migration Station to the Mirapoint Message Server.

A reconciliation tool is also provided with the Toolkit, which can be used to perform verification of the migrated data. This tool validates the number of items in each data type (e.g., email, calendar entries, and `address book entries) that has been migrated to Mirapoint.

Data Types
Files migrated consist of a number of different data types, as itemized in the table below. The Mirapoint Migration Toolkit individually processes the migration of each data type securely and with minimal involvement by the system administrator.

*Note: Passwords for Exchange are encrypted inside the Windows Domain controller and cannot be extracted. If the Mirapoint solution is to include Active Directory the passwords will not change.

Access and Authentication
The export of data from the source system(s) requires access to an administrator account. The import of data into Mirapoint can use two different authentication methods:

• Administrator authentication: In this case an administrator account on the Mirapoint appliance is used to create user accounts and import the user data into the appropriate accounts. This requires a direct (un-proxied) connection to the Mirapoint appliance and uses the Mirapoint API and IMAP.
  
  
• User authentication: In this second case data is imported into existing user accounts on the destination Mirapoint appliance(s). The individual user accounts must be created prior to the migration and the password for each account must be known. In this case only access to the standard public ports on the Mirapoint appliance is required, specifically HTTP(s) and IMAP(s).

User Accounts
A list of user accounts can be extracted from the source system. This list can be used either “as is” to create identical users within the Mirapoint message store or used as the input for the mapping of source usernames to the desired destination usernames. For example, c.smith@abc.com becomes c_smith@abc.com.

The Toolkit can automatically create user accounts on the Mirapoint appliance if importing as an administrator.

Zero-Downtime Migration
Our proven methodology lets you quickly, easily, and safely migrate from your legacy email solution, whether it’s Sendmail,® Openwave,® iPlanet, Novell,® Critical Path,™ Microsoft,® other commercial products, or freeware. We migrate all elements of a user’s email account, including the message store, individual preferences, mail filters, forwarding rules, and address book entries. Nothing gets lost in the transition, and an unlimited amount of data can be migrated. Our fail-safe approach includes rigorous quality assurance and detailed reconciliation reports to ensure accuracy and keep you informed.

Email Folders
For any given user, or list of users, all email folders, subfolders, and messages and their attachments contained within those folders are migrated. All server side flags (Seen, Answered, Flagged, Draft, etc) are maintained intact.

Access control lists (ACL) that grant access rights to other users on individual mail folders are also migrated. Exchange supports the use of Public Folders that map to Mirapoint’s Shared Folders. These folders are moved over while maintaining ACL information for each folder.

Personal Address Books
Users’ primary personal address books are migrated. Mirapoint appliances use the Lightweight Directory Information Format (LDIF) format for importing address books. This format provides interchangeability of data among virtually all mail systems. The Migration Toolkit stores users’ address books in this format on the migration station once extracted from the source server.

If the entry in the address book is for a user being migrated, the address book is automatically updated to contain the new email address.

Certain source systems contain information that cannot be mapped one for one to Mirapoint. In this event the Administrator is given the option to map source fields to target fields. The default configuration is setup for best practices and stores all extra data in the notes section of the contact. All information is preserved.

Calendars
Calendar events from the source server are exported to an intermediate format for subsequent import to Mirapoint.

For attendee and acceptance information to be correct, the import is run four times: once for event import, once for updating attendee information (after all users exist within Mirapoint), once for event acceptance information, and once to ensure any extra event is marked as declined. This ensures that linked events remain linked (i.e., if the owner of a particular event updates that event post migration, all users linked to that event receive the updates).

Source event priority is converted to Mirapoint event priority. As with the contact import, best practices are used to map fields to their associated Mirapoint field. Data for which a direct mapping is not available is stored in the description field on the target Mirapoint entry.

To-Do/Task lists
To-Do lists are also exported to an intermediate format for import to Mirapoint. Source task priority is converted to Mirapoint task priority. As with the contact import, best practices are used to map fields to their Mirapoint counterpart and additional data about an event is stored in the description field.

Distribution Lists / Global Address List
Contact information for all users within the source system is extracted from the global address book, with mappings as per the individual user’s contact list.

Static distribution lists are exported from the Source Global Address List to an LDIF file. Where possible, the Migration Toolkit maps from old addresses to new. Import in to Mirapoint creates a new LDAP directory database within the server for list storage. Import to any other LDAP system will require modification of the LDIF import data.

User Preferences
User preferences of auto-replies and vacation messages are automatically migrated when the user is created on Mirapoint.

Futures
A Mirapoint Self Migration Toolkit is also being actively developed which will allow individual users to perform a migration to Mirapoint from their own desktop. The Self Migration Toolkit will have a ‘wizard’ like interface and will guide the user through the process step by step.

Pricing & Availability
Mirapoint PS services are available immediately and priced according to the individual project requirements. To learn more about Mirapoint PS and how your business can leverage the reliability and performance of Mirapoint messaging systems, please contact Mirapoint sales at 1-800-937-8118 or info@mirapoint.com.