Move Requests in EMS

Let's take a deep dive on what a move request does internally when executing cmdlets in EMS.

Scenario: I have a single Exchange Server with FQDN Ess-Exch.ExchangeShare.net and two databases Ess-Exch-DB1 and ESS-Exch-DB2. I am trying to move Amit Tank's mailbox from Ess-Exch-DB1 to Ess-Exch-DB2 using the New-MoveRequest cmdlet. Here I also include the -Verbose parameter to see what's happening internally.

Just like all other Exchange cmdlets, the following is first performed on running New-MoveRequest:

• Verifies proper RBAC permission to run cmdlet

• Update the auditing data as per settings configured for 'Admin Audit Agent Log'

Next New-MoveRequest starts working on the actual move request:

• Verify the number of move requests currently running, to make sure MRS throttling is being followed in the same AD site where the mailbox database is available

• Connect to one of the MRS instances within the AD site where the destination mailbox database is available

• Load source and target mailbox information including the Archive mailbox if enabled.

Now it starts updating the move job information,

• Updates the move job information at the System Mailbox (GUID 01613a2a-...) of the target database 'Ess-Exch-DB2' with a special message to move Amit Tank's mailbox (GUID 4bceb069-...) and update the status to 'Queued'.

• Also update the same information and status in Active Directory.

So the move request information will be available from two repositories, at the target database System Mailbox and within Active Directory.

These are the AD attributes being updated during the move process.

Now we look at the background work performed by MRS. We can see the whole operation by increasing the diagnostic logging for "MSExchange Mailbox Replication\Mailbox Move" process to Highest. A series of event logs will be logged at the Application event log.

An asynchronous mailbox move will generate events with the IDs:

• Event ID 1102 - Started processing mailbox moves.
• Event ID 1104 - Started initial seeding stage.
• Event ID 1105 - Completed initial seeding stage.
• Event ID 1109 - Completed incremental synchronization cycle.
• Event ID 1106 - Initiating final (offline) synchronization stage.
• Event ID 1107 - Completed a mailbox move.

Note: By default Diagnostic Logging of "MSExchange Mailbox Replication\Mailbox Move" is set to lowest and in that case you can see 1102 & 1107 events only.

Below, we can see the event logs generated for our sample mailbox move.

• When MRS searches for new move requests, it picks up the queued job and starts the mailbox move process. (Event ID: 1102)

• MRS connects to the mailbox directly with Mapi.net and starts performing the initial seeding of the mailbox to the target database without interrupting user mailbox access. (Event ID: 1104)

• Update the status in AD and System Mailbox to 'InProgress'

We can see the status with Get-MoveRequest.

After completing the initial seeding (Event ID: 1105), MRS starts an incremental synchronization cycle (Event ID: 1109) that moves all transactions to the target mailbox. In this manner actions performed against the source mailbox following the initial seeding are replicated at the target.

• The mailbox will be locked for a short period of time upon completion of incremental synchronization (Event ID: 1106). Thus the user needs to log off and log back on the outlook client with new mailbox location.

• Status will be updated with 'Completed' in AD and System Mailbox.

Now the Administrator needs to clear the move request with the Remove-MoveRequest cmdlet which will clear the information from AD and System Mailbox.

New in Exchange 2010 Move Requests

Apart for the ability to perform moves online, here are more improvements that Exchange 2010 delivers:

• Move history and report information is saved into the mailbox so we can get details with the help of IncludeMoveHistory and IncludeMoveReport parameters of Get-MailboxStatistics cmdlet.

• Dumpster (Deleted Items retained as per retention settings) is moved along with the mailbox when moving between Exchange 2010 databases.

• Content Indexing start scanning mailboxes along with mailbox moves so fast search is available upon move mailbox completion.

Conclusion

In earlier Exchange versions, administrators had to move mailboxes during a scheduled outage window, perhaps during night time. However this was problematic when a firm is operational 24x7 and end users cannot tolerate mailbox unavailability. The new Exchange 2010 'Online Mailbox Moves' feature relieves administrators, allowing mailbox moves with near zero downtime.

References

Understanding Move Requests

Managing Move Requests

Move Requests Cmdlets