Easymail migration to Office 365

[plexer]

The details for the initial TXT record are given once you sign up for Office 365.

 

Until you change the MX record email will still be delivered to the Easymail servers so up until that point you can do all the testing and fiddling on Office 365 that you want without breaking anything.

 

Ben

[witch]

OK...so you are saying what exactly? Set up my email migration on Office 365 to see if it would work? But how could it if the record hasnt been changed?

I really don't get this and I am sure I am just being particularly thick...even more so than usual..

 

And if they issue the details for the initial txt record, why or how do I change the MX record?

[plexer]

They have to create the TXT record so that it verifies your domain with Microsoft.

 

The MX record tells email servers what server to deliver the mail too until you are ready to switch permanently it can still point to the current Easymail service.

 

The migration process basically logs in to the easymail server and downloads any email in to that persons Office 365 account, it keeps doing this until you tell it to stop therefore it will pick up all the historical email and any new email sent.

 

Once you want to move to Office 365 permanently you get SWGfL to change the MX record to the one provided by Office 365 this now means that any new email is delivered direct to the users Office 365 mailbox, the migration can now be told to stop, it will then do one final check for email before it stops.

 

Before the MX record has been changed you can still log in to Office 365 as and admin and users can login but at the moment email will go to the easymail server before the Office 365 migration downloads it to the Office 365 account.

 

Changing the MX record is one of the last things we want to do as it means they can still access Easymail while you test Office 365 if we change the record too early users have to rely on Office 365 only.

 

If you want to talk through it and have the time ring me tomorrow.

 

Ben

[speckytecky]

I'm with @witch - not finding this at all straightforward and deadly worried if and when the time comes to migrate our accounts to O365. I can think of 4 of our staff who would be big time peed off if their treasured folders and contents vanished - my card would be big time marked for redundancy I reckon;)

[plexer]

The email will always exist in the easymail accounts the imap migration doesn't delete anything it will basically mirror their easymail emails in to their office 365 account.

 

Ben

[witch]

I have already provided swgfl with the txt and mx record provided by office365 in order to verify that we are an educational establishment.

It just said that I needed to do that - and it said either the txt or the mx with no info as to why I would choose so I put both down, so that I could get the educational office 365

Have I done it wrong then? I have just checked and I am correct, it doesnt mention emails at all.

I have sent in a support call asking them to ignore the MX record

Told you I had no idea what I was doing:(

[witch]

I give up

[plexer]

Don't give up but before any changes of made lets work on this together.

 

If you have submitted a request to have the MX record of domain changed chase this up and stop doing it as soon as you can.

 

Ben

[glennda]

A service like this https://www.migrationwiz.com/Default.aspx might be able to help.

 

They reckon they can move anything to Office 365

 

Ben

 

I have just done this for a client - honestly the easiest migration I have ever done!

 

@witch - if you need any help tomorrow PM me and email address and I will try and help you get your head around it if needs be - I still owe you a favour from when you sorted my CV

[witch]

I have just done this for a client - honestly the easiest migration I have ever done!

 

@witch - if you need any help tomorrow PM me and email address and I will try and help you get your head around it if needs be - I still owe you a favour from when you sorted my CV

 

Lucky you said that last - because telling me something is easy when I really don't understand it at all isn't going to make me feel good now, is it?

I cannot use any paid-for solutions at this point

What I dont understand is why Office365 gave me the MX record without saying anything about email. I cant be the only one caught out by that.

But I can write a CV and play the French Horn. Pretty carp at IT though....

[Boredguy]

Office365 gave you the TXT and MX record information to add into your DNS to verify you own the domain before you can complete the configuration of what you want that domain to do.

 

They do assume that people know that the MX record is the one that actually lets other mail servers know where to deliver your domain's messages to, but not everyone knows this.

 

Heck I can't play the French Horn, so not knowing everything about DNS is fine

[witch]

Thanks

I don't know anything much about DNS

But @plexer has now told me the mx record and it ISN'T the same as the one I got when trying to verify the domain ?

 

If I do go ahead with this - will I still need everyone's email address and password? mrwITch thought he read that the administrator can sync accounts without knowing the password - seems unlikely?

If I do need the username and password, that throws up another issue as when we were going to get swgfl to do it, I had to hand over my list and the HT, DHT and Office were going to add in the details of their account - perish the thought that I could see the head's emails. I was insulted at the time and it was stupid anyway as I am an admin on the email so I could go in , change his password, read all his emails and then tell him, when he could no longer get in, that the password must have spontaneously corrupted....

But if I need the details of their accounts and they wont let me have them - I cant migrate their emails....

[jamesbmarshall]

Thanks

I don't know anything much about DNS

But @plexer has now told me the mx record and it ISN'T the same as the one I got when trying to verify the domain ?

 

Correct, if you verify by MX then the record you get is a dummy; you'll need to set a different one for actual mail flow.

 

If I do go ahead with this - will I still need everyone's email address and password? mrwITch thought he read that the administrator can sync accounts without knowing the password - seems unlikely?

 

You'll need to know (or reset to something you know, which is better IMHO) every username and password that you want to migrate. It's unlikely that you'll have admin access to every mailbox so while that's an option in situations where you have total control, in this case it's not going to be an option.

 

You will end up with a list of source mailboxes, usernames and passwords, and a corresponding list of target mailboxes, etc. You need to combine that into a CSV file (I think I sent you the link already?) in order to facilitate the migration.

 

The point about the head not giving you his password is irrelevant, you don't need it if you can reset it.

 

*puts best practice hat on* You should never know the legitimate passwords for your users, ever. Reset them all to something temporary and encourage them to reset after the migration has completed.

Edited November 8, 2013 by jamesbmarshall
Typo

[plexer]

If not here's the link for the csv file

 

Learn more about CSV files for IMAP migrations: Exchange Online Help

 

Ben

[Boredguy]

If the HT wants their e-mail migrated, but is not willing to give you their password, then I would be sorely tempted to provide them with instructions for downloading all their e-mails to a PST file from Easymail, then have them manually upload them back to 365 if they want them... or they could start with an empty mailbox

 

Thankfully none of our staff even batted an eyelid when I requested that they inform us of their password for the migration. We let them all know that the Office 365 login details would be synchronised with their main network details so they could change their password after we had moved everything over and it would take effect within 3 hours.

[plexer]

If the head really doesn't want to give it to you then you set him up an account in Office 365 and he can then manually add his easymail account as a connected account and it will then import all his email.

 

Ben

[jamesbmarshall]

Thankfully none of our staff even batted an eyelid when I requested that they inform us of their password for the migration.

 

This makes me sad.

[witch]

I know the password issue - and it saddens me too - but it is the way staff in schools are. You get used to it after a while.

 

It isnt that I cannot reset the head's password, it is that he doesnt want me to read his emails which I find HIGHLY insulting even though apparantly it is for "my protection"

 

I have the passwords for the two other members of SLT though

 

I do have complete admin access to the EasyMail accounts. I set them up

I have received confirmation of the domain thing and I have "purchased" the A2 educational O365 packages.

So - the first thing I need to do is set up an O365 account for everyone?

Sorry, I know it's a bit "baby steps" but imagine that I gave you a French Horn, taught you how to play a scale of C Major and then gave you a Mozart Horn Concerto and asked you to play that, perfectly, in front of people who will shoot you if you make a mistake (not edugeeks, SLT I mean)

[witch]

If the head really doesn't want to give it to you then you set him up an account in Office 365 and he can then manually add his easymail account as a connected account and it will then import all his email.

 

Ben

 

If I did this - what happens when we stop paying our Easymail subscription next year if this is just a redirect? Heck, what happens to all of them when this happens?

[plexer]

If I did this - what happens when we stop paying our Easymail subscription next year if this is just a redirect? Heck, what happens to all of them when this happens?

 

It's not just a redirect it will copy the easymail emails into their office 365 inbox.

 

Once all the users existing emails are migrated and you switch to the real office 365 mx record all new mail will be delivered straight to their office 365 inbox and the easymail servers could blow up at that point and it wouldn't matter.

 

Now you have signed up for Office 365 yes you can create a csv to create your new user mailboxes and then we can test the migration using your test account.

 

Ben

[witch]

If not here's the link for the csv file

 

Learn more about CSV files for IMAP migrations: Exchange Online Help

 

Ben

Don't understand this. At all. It is like reading sanscrit to me. Yes, I'm that thick

It only mentions one email address per person - so would that be the easymail address, username and password then? Where is the info as to where each one is going - or is it just creating them?

Do those people need accounts first and if so how do the email addresses connect to them?

Edited November 8, 2013 by witch

[witch]

It's not just a redirect it will copy the easymail emails into their office 365 inbox.

 

Once all the users existing emails are migrated and you switch to the real office 365 mx record all new mail will be delivered straight to their office 365 inbox and the easymail servers could blow up at that point and it wouldn't matter.

Even if I tell the HT to do it himself? Does that still apply?

 

Now you have signed up for Office 365 yes you can create a csv to create your new user mailboxes and then we can test the migration using your test account.

 

Ben

So I would need all the usernames and passwords to do that? But it won't actually happen till I do the MX record? So how do we test it with one account? I can't have them migrating yet.

[plexer]

You first need to create an office 365 account for each of your users that link is the csv needed to do the migration.

 

For example for your test account that you provided me the csv looks like this:

 

EmailAddress,UserName,Password
[email protected],[email protected],password_not_really

 

For this to work you create an account in office 365 for the user.

 

The first entry is the users office 365 mailbox, the second is their existing easymail login which is the same thing and the third is their easymail password.

 

Ben

[plexer]

Even if I tell the HT to do it himself? Does that still apply?

 

 

So I would need all the usernames and passwords to do that? But it won't actually happen till I do the MX record? So how do we test it with one account? I can't have them migrating yet.

 

Yes even if the HT adds it as a connected account the emails will be imported in to their Office 365 inbox.

 

You don't need to change the MX record in order to create the new Office 365 mailboxes nor to run the migration this can all be done whilst email is still being delivered to the easymail servers, the MX record is for live email delivery we don't need that until you want to have all your users using Office 365.

 

Ben

[plexer]

To bulk import users into Office 365 see here:

 

Add multiple users with bulk import - Office 365 for enterprises

 

Ben