How to Move System Public Folders from Exchange 2003 to 2010

There are situations when the user wants to move public
folders from Exchange 2003 to 2010. The exact replica of the public
folder on other systems is the requirement, which fulfills requirements like
migration or up-gradation of the server without a compromise made with the server
data. The task is simple if the mail flow is fine between Exchange 2003 and
Exchange 2010.

Problem Faced in Sync. Public Folders in Exchange Server

In a particular case, a user wanted to perform an upgrade
from Exchange 2003 to Exchange 2010. The 2003 server has SP2, and Exchange 2010
is SP1. It contains multiple subfolders, which need to be migrated quickly
without spending much time. It has to be known how to do the task of moving
public folders from Exchange 2003 to 2010.

Solution to Move Public Folders from Exchange 2003 to 2010

The following tricks can help to replicate Public Folder from Exchange 2003 to 2010:

Method 1

Using the Exchange 2003 System Manager console

Follow the below steps:

1. Open Exchange System Manager on Exchange Server 2003.

2. Navigate to the server that currently hosts the public
folder replicas, and browse to the public folder Instances folder of the public
folder database.

3. Choose Move All Replicas by doing a right-click on the
public folder database.

4. Move replicas to the chosen public folder database.

5. Click OK to the warning that appears on the move. This can
take a lot of time depending on the amount of public folder content(s) that are
being moved.

6. Refresh the public folder instances folder to monitor progress.
After some time, all the Public Folders will be moved successfully.

Method 2

Using the Exchange 2010 Management Shell

Follow the below steps:

1. Open Exchange Management Shell on the Exchange 2010 Server.

2. Now navigate to the scripts folder of the Exchange
installation folder using command:

           [PS]
C:\>cd $env:exchangeinstallpath\scripts

3. Use PowerShell script to replicate the public folders. Run
the script with the following parameters:

• Server is the name of the Exchange 2003 server
• NewServer is the name of the Exchange 2010 server

4.Then type .\AddReplicaToPFRecursive.ps1-TopPublicFolder”\”-ServerToAdd
“exchange2010”

The above command will add replica of all public folders to Exchange
2010 Public Folder database.

5. Now enter the above mentioned parameters with the following
command:

[PS]C:\ProgramFiles\Microsoft\ExchangeServer\V14\scripts>.\MoveAllReplicas.ps1 -Server ESP-BR-DC -NewServer ESP-BR-EX2010

This command will move the Public folder from Exchange 2003
to Exchange 2010.

Method 3

Export to PST

One of the ways to get your Public Folders is by exporting them to PST files.

Follow the below steps:

1. First, identify an account having permission to all the Public
Folders on Exchange 2003 and locate account store.

2. Change the Default public folder database to point to the
Exchange 2003 server by opening the store’s properties.

3. Replicate the public folder store by executing the command

            repadmin
/syncall /AdeP

4. Check for no errors and then open Outlook with the account
having permission to access the public folder store.

5. Now export the public folder to PST file.

6. After PST is exported, proceed with re-pointing the home
server of the information store of the account you used to export the public
folder back to Exchange 2010.

7. Now dismount the information store which you imported after
the PST has been re-imported.

8. Restart the Microsoft Exchange Information Store service and
then compare the public store folder of the Exchange 2003 Server with Exchange
Server 2010.

 9. Enter the following
command on Exchange 2010 server for comparing public folder store

C:\ProgramFiles\Microsoft\ExchangeServer\V14\Scripts>Get-publicfolderstatistics-ResultSize unlimited >
c:\pfcount.txt

OR

Conclusion

Moving public folders is easy if the mail flow is working
fine between Exchange 2003 and Exchange 2010. Use of scripts is not recommended
if the size of public folder database is too large. Use of System manager & PowerShell is very useful for
replicating the public folders while upgrading or migrating to another Server.
The user should use the commands for these methods which can do the task
efficiently and is not time consuming. I hope the above article helps the users to understand the
methods used to move public folders from Exchange 2003 to 2010. For any query or suggestion, do comment.