Standard Solution for Email Migration?

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truenegative

truenegative

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I'm sure some of you guys have acquired new customers who want to switch hosting to you, but they need to move their email accounts over. What are you guys doing to accomplish this? Just create the new email accounts and let them migrate themselves?

Thanks!
 
@zEitEr,

Do you have a good set of instructions on using IMAP to transfer emails? I need to switch from my POP3 system (at my office) to IMAP, so I need to get a lot of emails and folders back up to the server. My desktop uses standard Maildir format. If possible I want to keep message status.

If you've got any answers, please send me a private message or email.

Thanks.

Jeff
 
I've got one method, which is might be not so accurate, but it still is working for me. I setup in my off-line e-mail client two IMAP accounts, then I go through authentication into both of them. And with drag-and-drop I move emails between them (works both in OutLook Express and in Windows Mail on Vista). So you can try to do that with your favourite off-line e-mail client. In this case, that does not really matter how the email are organized on your servers. I can't say anything now about keepeing message status. I need to check it out at home.

Please note, to the email box, from which you're going to move messages, you can connect both with POP3 or IMAP. To the second mailbox, into which you will transfer emails, you should be connected with IMAP:

Code: 
POP3 (mbox, maildir) ===> IMAP (mbox, maildir)
IMAP (mbox, maildir) <==> IMAP (mbox, maildir)

FTP also can be used, but both mail boxes should store messages the same way:

Code: 
maildir <==  FTP ==> maildir
mbox  <==  FTP ==> mbox

But in some certain circumstances, you might mess up with delivery dates of messages, if file modification time would get updated while transferring with FTP.

I hope, I'm useful with these notes.
 
I'm not sure what you use by an offline e-mail client. My desktop and laptop systems running kubuntu and kmail for email.

And I'm not sure what to do, since all my mailboxes are local; they're not sub-mailboxes of inbox.

Jeff

Jeff
 
Probably I was not clear enough. At home I use Outlook Express (de facto most users in Russia are still using Bill's "masterpiece") on Win2K. And at office I'm using Windows Vista with Windows Mail.

So, these two clients allow to move emails (not folders) between different email boxes. For now I'm finishing with moving my messages from a VPS to GMAIL.COM via IMAP.

1. I've opened account at Google/GMAIL
2. Verified my domain.
3. Created e-mail box at Google/GMAIL on my domain.
4. Changed MX records for domain
5. Changed SPF
6. Enabled IMAP at Google/GMAIL
7. Disabled "Local Server" on VPS with Directadmin
8. Created necessary folders at Google/GMAIL for my email account.
9. And initiate moving emails from VPS into new mailbox at Google/GMAIL via IMAP (drag-n-drop function on Windows System).

That's it.

p.s. I've never used Linux on desktop. Unfortunately I need Windows while I use some programs, that can not be used on Linux. I'm going to use Linux on my future Netbook/Notebook, I'm planning to buy.

p.p.s Of course I know about Wine. I've tried to use Windows in Wine on Linux box.
 
Thanks, zEitEr. That should work with Google and I can replicate it on Kubunut/KDE/Kmail.

Butl I'm using my own mail-server, my own address. So I'll want to create new email address on the server, and then connect to it from a new account created in kmail. Then if I create folders on the local kmail will they automatically be created on my server? If not, do you know what settings I need to make that happen, or do I need to do it in squirrelmail or other imap webmail client first?

Thanks.

Jeff
 
OK, Jeff, yes, with Exim and IMAP, if you create folders on the local kmail they will automatically be created on your server. This is true for all kind of operations: creating/renaming/deleting/moving any folders. Reading emails, setting marks, flags to mail messages. That is IMAP designed for, I guess. Your email client communicates in both direction with mail server via IMAP.
 
Thanks for clarification. I may have other questions as I create a scenario, since I have many different email accounts using (and sometimes sharing, through filtering) local mailboxes. I'm probably going to redesign how I get and filter email.

Some immediate questions come to mind:

1) Do I need any settings on local client to make all this happens?

2) My netbook has minimum memory and I really don't need to store everything on it; can I configure an IMAP client so it won't copy down all messages, but only when I click on the specific message subject?

Jeff
 
1) Do I need any settings on local client to make all this happens?
Click to expand...

Nothing special is needed, make sure that your firewall allow you to connect to remote *:143 (IMAP) and/or *:993 (IMAPS).

If you're gonna use a new email via IMAP, just add it in Kmail, and sync folders with the server, after that you're ready to work with mail box.

If you're planning to switch an existing in Kmail account from POP3 to IMAP(S), then you might need to re-add it in Kmail, because it probably impossible to change protocol for existing account. Still nothing should be changed on server side.

2) My netbook has minimum memory and I really don't need to store everything on it; can I configure an IMAP client so it won't copy down all messages, but only when I click on the specific message subject?
Click to expand...

With IMAP you can choose how email messages should be synced: only headers, only new messages, all messages. With "only headers" syncing method a message will be downloaded only if you open it in order to read. For other methods full message would be downloaded on your netbook with syncing with the server.
 
Thanks, Alex. I believe I now have all parts of this puzzle. I'm going to completely redesign my entire email flow, so I'll be using all new accounts.

Now all I need is to find time.

Jeff
 
A friend of mine asked me the same today, he wanted to drag-n-drop mails between Imap-Accounts, he used a Mac, MaxOSX, and the included "Mail" Program, connected to Mobile-Mail (an ISP here) via IMAP, connected also to his IMAP-Account from DA, and he was able to drag-n-drop Emails and also Folders.
 
CMT for Exchange™ supports migrations from Lotus Notes and Domino to on-premises and online versions of Microsoft Outlook and Exchange, including to Exchange Server 2010/2007/2003 and to Exchange Online in Microsoft Office 365, the successor to the Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS).
 
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