jontelukltd
asked on
Restore from imap mac osx server (dovecot )
We just upgraded our server to Lion server from Snow Leopard. It is a mac mini server now running Lion Server.
The upgrade worked ok but didnt copy across the Open Directory settings.
Therefore we had to rebuild the open directory. (This wasnt a huge job for only 8 users)
To get clients up and running quickly and so they could respond to email, we created the users in the open directory and created the new mail accounts.
We have the old /var/spool/imap/mail directory as both a copy on the server HD and also inside a full time machine backup from close of business yesterday.
The clients are now sending and receiving email, but we need to restore their old mail from the backup.
The backup is basically the dovecot imap folder structure.
How can this be achieved?
Is there some software that I can use to convert to an impoartable file?
Would this process work?:-
Create a new import export imap account, then overwrite the mail directory with one from the backup.
Open the mail account, then use mail or entourage to export the emails into a file.
use the file to import into the new mail account.
Would that [process work or does the GUID of the mail folder relate to the email username or something?
Help!?
p.s. dont upgrade to Lion server yet!
The upgrade worked ok but didnt copy across the Open Directory settings.
Therefore we had to rebuild the open directory. (This wasnt a huge job for only 8 users)
To get clients up and running quickly and so they could respond to email, we created the users in the open directory and created the new mail accounts.
We have the old /var/spool/imap/mail directory as both a copy on the server HD and also inside a full time machine backup from close of business yesterday.
The clients are now sending and receiving email, but we need to restore their old mail from the backup.
The backup is basically the dovecot imap folder structure.
How can this be achieved?
Is there some software that I can use to convert to an impoartable file?
Would this process work?:-
Create a new import export imap account, then overwrite the mail directory with one from the backup.
Open the mail account, then use mail or entourage to export the emails into a file.
use the file to import into the new mail account.
Would that [process work or does the GUID of the mail folder relate to the email username or something?
Help!?
p.s. dont upgrade to Lion server yet!
ASKER
We did follow the upgrade guide from 10.6
The only bit we left out was archiving the pen directory which wa s a big mistake.
Its not going to be possible to revert to a backup.
All we need to do is restore email from IMAP directories to restore the users old emails.
Is this possible to do? i.e. using the trick I meantioned earlier?
The only bit we left out was archiving the pen directory which wa s a big mistake.
Its not going to be possible to revert to a backup.
All we need to do is restore email from IMAP directories to restore the users old emails.
Is this possible to do? i.e. using the trick I meantioned earlier?
Unfortunately, Lion Server is so new, you'll be hard-pressed to find anyone with experience doing what you're asking. Your best hope for that is a call to Apple Support, and they may refer you to a paid support option (since, after all, in their eyes you didn't follow their instructions to the letter).
The are too many variables of things which may have changed to assume replacing the directories will work, however, you could try it and revert the changes if it doesn't work as you hoped. It certainly should not take long, and you could create a dummy account on the Lion server and compare the directory structure and permissions with that of your Snow Leopard server backup first. If it is all the same, there is a better chance it would work.
You do understand my suggestion for reverting was to just to do that temporarily to export the settings as Apple suggests, not to redo your whole Lion Server upgrade?
Good luck
The are too many variables of things which may have changed to assume replacing the directories will work, however, you could try it and revert the changes if it doesn't work as you hoped. It certainly should not take long, and you could create a dummy account on the Lion server and compare the directory structure and permissions with that of your Snow Leopard server backup first. If it is all the same, there is a better chance it would work.
You do understand my suggestion for reverting was to just to do that temporarily to export the settings as Apple suggests, not to redo your whole Lion Server upgrade?
Good luck
ASKER
All I want is the old emails back on each individual machine.
Therefore a simpler version of my question might be: How can I restore mac server mailboxes from a time machine backup?
I agree with the full restore in most instances, but in this instance now we are up and running on the Lion server it would seem to make sense to aim for just restoring the mailboxes. This would be to reduce further downtime.
Therefore a simpler version of my question might be: How can I restore mac server mailboxes from a time machine backup?
I agree with the full restore in most instances, but in this instance now we are up and running on the Lion server it would seem to make sense to aim for just restoring the mailboxes. This would be to reduce further downtime.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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ASKER
In this instance a full restore from image wasnt the quickest way to get users back online quickly.
I wanted to restore individual mailboxes and my solutions seemed to work ok.
I wanted to restore individual mailboxes and my solutions seemed to work ok.
Would it be possible to revert to the Time Machine backup, either to the server HD itself or to an external hard drive, boot into the old and back everything up first following the guide? That may sound like a lot of work, but it might save you a lot of time in the end. As I understand, OS X Lion Server took many options which used to be available in the GUI and made them only available in the command line. Exporting/Importing the settings from the 10.6 Server install might carry over settings which otherwise you'll have to figure out manually later.
I hope this helps, and I hope you report back the results.
T