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Two Exchange boxes Migrating to One

We currently have two sites running independently, Exchange and Domain Controller at each site. There is a VPN link between the two sites. The two sites run different domain names but we'd like everyone at both sites to have the same email domain.

We'd like to move everything in to one Exchange but keep coming up with different ideas how to achieve this. What would be the fastest and most cost effective way to achieve this as any downtime on either Exchange will have to be done at the weekend.

Thanks.
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desaille
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You're going to need to export the mailboxes from the server going away to PST..how you do this depends on whether it is 2k/2k3 or 2k7/2010.

I would do it like this.

In advance, re-create all necessary mailboxes on the server that will remain.
On the day of the cut, cut over all MX/DNS records to point mail to the remaining server
Export mailboxes to PST and import into new mailboxes.
Create new outlook profiles at the site where users were migrated from.

Kind of simpllified but that really is going to be the best route unless we are talking a huge number of mailboxes where some sort of automation tool/service might be worthwhile.

There will be some side effects for the end users
If you have two domains but one Exchange then expect to have problems with the users from one domain access the Exchange in a different domain from what they are in.  The mailbox is an attribute of a user account in Active Directory,...the data for the mailbox resides in Exchange but the mailbox itself resides in Active Directory...thereby implying that the User,...the Exchange,... and the Mailbox are from the same Active Directory.

You need to get users in the same Domain and same Exchange.
Actually I think it can be different domains as long as they are in the same Forest.
Anyway,...my point is that you need to make sure you know what you are getting yourself into.
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Plaice

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Yea,..I've seen that before.  Good thinking.