Mail migration to office 365 optimizing the mail migration throughput part 3#4

Page 1 of 22 | Mail migration to Office 365 | Optimizing the Mail Migration throughput |

Part 3/4

Written by Eyal Doron | o365info.com | Copyright © 2012-2015

Mail migration to Office 365 |

Optimizing the Mail Migration

throughput | Part 3/4

In this article, we review the recommendation and “best practices” that can help us

to improve and optimize the results of the “moving our mail infrastructure to the

cloud” project.

Generally speaking, there are two factors that we can measure:

1. The mail migration throughput – the time it takes to transfer a specific amount

of data to the cloud (Exchange Online).

2. The amount of time required for completion of the mail migration.

For example, in case that the management instructs us to migrate of all the

organization mail infrastructure to the cloud in a period of no more than 10

days, can we accomplish this task?

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In the previous article (Mail migration to Office 365| Factors that impact mail

Migration throughput | Part 2/4) we have to review the factors that impacting the

performance and the result’s (data transfer rate) of the mail migration.

In this article, we review some of these factors and the options that are available to

us for improving and optimize the results of the mail migration throughput or the

time that we will need to accomplish the mail migration project.

Mail migration to Office 365 | Optimizing the Mail Migration

throughput | The article series

The article series includes the following articles:

Mail migration to Office 365 | Mail Migration methods | Part 1/4

Mail migration to Office 365 | Factors that impact mail Migration performance

| Part 2/4

Mail migration to Office 365 | Optimizing the Mail Migration throughput |

Part 3/4

Mail Migration to Office 365 | Measure and estimate Mail Migration

throughputs | Part 4/4

Factors that impact mail migration throughput

In the following section, we will review some of the factors that impact the

throughputs (transfer rate) of the mail migration and the options that are available





http://o365info.com/mail-migration-office-365-factors-impact-mail-migration-throughput-part-24


http://o365info.com/mail-migration-office-365-mail-migration-methods-part-14/

http://o365info.com/mail-migration-office-365-factors-impact-mail-migration-throughput-part-24/

http://o365info.com/mail-migration-office-365-factors-impact-mail-migration-throughput-part-24/

http://o365info.com/mail-migration-office-365-optimizing-mail-migration-throughput-part-34/

http://o365info.com/mail-migration-office-365-optimizing-mail-migration-throughput-part-34/

http://o365info.com/mail-migration-office-365-measure-estimate-mail-migration-throughputs-part-44/

http://o365info.com/mail-migration-office-365-measure-estimate-mail-migration-throughputs-part-44/


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for use to fine-tune or optimize these factors to improve the results of the mail

migration throughputs.

Network infrastructure

1. Communication line bandwidth

1.1 The “speed” (The bandwidth) of the organizational communication line

To be able to measure the performance of our communication line, we can use a

web tool that is provided by the ISP or use public tools such as speedtest

Using the results, we can get better understanding of the available resources that

we can use such as the Upload rate (when we are moving an organization mailbox

to the cloud, we use the “upload channel), the download rate and so on.

Based on the results that we get, we can decide if there is a need to Increase the

bandwidth of the existing communication line.





http://www.speedtest.net/


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In case that we want to get more detailed information about the load and

performance of the communication line during the day, week, etc.

Most of the ISP can provide this information (for free most of the time), by

accessing a web interface that will display daily, weekly and monthly results of the

communication line performance.

Personally, I like to use a product named: PRTG that enables us to get a very clear

and graphic view of the network performance.

1.2 Working hours and weekends

Office 365 native mail migration tools enable us to schedule the mail migration

process. In case we want to avoid a scenario, in which the mail migration will “load”

the organization communication line (and downgrade the network performance -

the communication lines available bandwidth) or in case that we want to use all the

available communication line bandwidth, we can consider scheduling the mail

migration process to “non-working hours” or implementing the mail migration on

the weekends.

1.3. Network devices performance and tuning

Firewall or Proxy load and performance

To be able to verify that the existing network device such as Firewall or Proxy, are

not the cause for the “Bottleneck” or slowing the performance of the mail

migration, the best practice is to implement a Pilot of mailbox migration and

monitor the load performance of the Firewall\Proxy to verify that the server

utilization is not high or causing the Firewall\Proxy to “reach their end limit.

Another important factor that can impact the performance of the mail migration is

configuration settings that restrict the maximum value of the “allowed sessions.”

Firewall\Proxy | passable restriction of the maximum allowed sessions

Check the Firewall\Proxy server to verify that the migration process session is not

blocked or restricted by the Firewall\Proxy policy.

For example, you can read the following article that describes and issue that exists

when using TMG server and performing a mail migration: Office 365 Move Mailbox

fails with transient exception





http://www.paessler.com/

http://community.office365.com/en-us/w/exchange/office-365-move-mailbox-fails-with-transient-exception.aspx

http://community.office365.com/en-us/w/exchange/office-365-move-mailbox-fails-with-transient-exception.aspx


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1.4. Geographic location of the organization’s network

One of the factors that affect the mail migration throughput to Exchange Online is

the “physical distance” between the organization network and the Office 365 data

centers.

Technically, is not easy to measure or assess the quality of the communication path

from point A (organization network) to the destination (Office 365 data center) but,

the good news is that Microsoft provides a nice Web-based tool named: Office 365

Network Analysis Tool, that can help us to get a detailed information about the

performance of the communication channel between a specific organization

network and the Office 365 data center that hosts the organization mailbox.

The Office 365 Network Analysis Tool is a Java based tool and implemented as a

web application.

To be able to get the required results we will need to choose the suitable URL for

the Office 365 data center that hosts the organization mailbox, specify our Public

domain name that is registered at Office 365 and the tools will start to collect

information and on the next step, display detailed results.

North America: http://na1-fasttrack.cloudapp.net

EMEA: http://em1-fasttrack.cloudapp.net

APAC: http://ap1-fasttrack.cloudapp.net

To be able to use the Office 365 Network Analysis Tool, we will first need to

download and install the java client.

In case that try to use the tool and get the following error “application blocked by a

security setting“, go to the control panel, look for the icon named: Java, and in the

security tab change the default settings to: medium





http://na1-fasttrack.cloudapp.net/

http://em1-fasttrack.cloudapp.net/

http://em1-fasttrack.cloudapp.net/


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In the first screen, we will need to provide the domain name that is hosted in Office

365.






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When the scanning process is completed, we can browse by selecting the different

tabs to get a detailed information about a specific section of the Findings






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When choosing the speed tab, we can see a graph that include information about

the download and the upload speed.






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When choosing the capacity tab, we can get more details about the download and

upload performance.






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1.5. Using a QOS (quality of service) product

Most of the time, the important question is not -“what is the bandwidth of the

communication line”? but instead, “what is the utilization of the communication line

or what is the “free percentage’” of the communication line?.

The process of mail migration considers as demanding because, most of the time

we “transfer” a large amount of data from the organization’s network to the cloud.

In case that your organization uses QOS product, the best practice is to allocate a

predefined percentage of the network bandwidth for the task of the mail migration

or prioritize communication that relates to the mail migration.

1.6. Plan for the required communication line bandwidth

When relating to the concept of “Plan for the required communication line

bandwidth”, one major phase is the bandwidth that is required for the mail

migration (the mailbox data that will be transferred from the Exchange on-Premises

server to the cloud), and additionally, we will need to plan ahead for the required






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communication line bandwidth that will be allocated to the communication

between the organization users who access their Exchange Online mailboxes.

To be able to estimate the required network bandwidth is recommended to use

tools such as: Exchange Client Network Bandwidth Calculator

The Exchange Client Network Bandwidth Calculator is based on excel shit.

On the first screen, we need to provide some general information about our mail

infrastructure.

The second tab will help us to display a clear picture of the requirements that

reacted for the Network bandwidth for each of the different types of mail clients.





https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Exchange-Client-Network-8af1bf00


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Additional reading

Exchange Client Network Bandwidth Calculator

Exchange Client Network Bandwidth Calculator v2

Plan for Internet bandwidth usage for Office 365

Exchange On-Premise infrastructure

1. Data source (Exchange Server) – Performance

The migration process is going to put a heavy load on the Exchange on-Premises

servers who host the user’s mailboxes or in case that we use hybrid configuration

of the Exchange on-Premises hybrid server.

Before we start the migration process, the best practice is to ensure that the

existing Exchange on-Premises servers have the require resources (RAM, CPU,

Storage, etc.) that will enable this server to perform in an optimal way.





http://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Exchange-Client-Network-8af1bf00

http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/MEC/2014/DMI303

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh852542.aspx


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Q: How can I know if the migration process is overwhelming the Exchange on-

Premises server?

A: Start low as 10 and then increase this number while monitoring the data source

performance to avoid end-user access issues.

In my opinion, the option of “upgrading existing Exchange on-Premises server

hardware” is most relevant in case that the Exchange on-Premises server is based

on a virtual machine because, in this scenario, the hardware upgrade process is a

“one-click procedure.”

Hybrid migration | Server performance

In case that you use a Hybrid server that will use as a “Router” for the mail

migration process, the best practice is to use powerful server-class physical

machines instead of virtual machines for the Exchange 2013 and 2010 hybrid

servers.

Additional reading

Server Health and Performance

Understanding Exchange Performance

Monitoring Mailbox Servers

2. Tuning the MRSProxy resource allocation

The MRSProxy is the Exchange server component that is responsible for

implementing a mailbox move (in our scenario mailbox move from Exchange on-

Premises server to Exchange Online).

The tasks that are executed by the MRSProxy described as: connections.

The default value for the maximum number of connections is 100 but, we have the

ability to “tune” these values based on our needs.

Scenario 1: Exchange server overwhelmed by the migration load

in case that we find that the migration process impairs the performance of the

Exchange on-Premises server, we can reduce the maximum number of connections

that the MRSProxy will be able to use.

Scenario 2: in case that the existing Exchange on-Premises server has sufficient

hardware resources, and we want to expand more resources to the MRSProxy, we





http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/library/jj150551(v=exchg.150).aspx

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd351192.aspx

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb201689(EXCHG.80).aspx


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can increase the default number of connections that will be available for the

MRSProxy and by doing so, optimizer that mailbox migration transfer rate.

The PowerShell command that we can use is:

PowerShell

Set-WebServicesVirtualDirectory -Identity "EWS (Default Web Site)" -

MRSMaxConnections <number between 0 and unlimited; default is 100>

3. Exchange on-Premises server throttling policy

In case that you have an implementation of Exchange on-Premises server throttling

policy, that could slow or “downgrade” the performance of the mail migration

process, consider stopping or disabling these settings while the mail migration is

running.

You can read additional information in the following article: Throttling Policy

Associations in Exchange 2010 SP1

Using Hybrid migration if passable

Using the option of Hybrid migration decreases the amount of data related to mail

migration.

In the previous article (Mail migration to Office 365| Factors that impact mail

Migration throughput | Part 2/4), we describe the difference that exists between

Hybrid migration versus stage migration and Cutover migration regarding the

amount of data that is involved in the mail migration process.

Just a short recap: when using the option of Hybrid migration, we don’t have to

configure a new Outlook mail profile but instead, we can use the same Outlook mail

profile and the existing OST file. By doing so, we are avoiding from the need to

“download back” of the mailbox content to the user desktop.

Note – I’m not familiar with each of the third party mail migration tools that exists

and if there are third party mail migration tools that “know,” how to use the local

Outlook OST instead of downloading all the mailbox data at a new OST file.





http://blogs.technet.com/b/exchange/archive/2010/08/02/3410563.aspx

http://blogs.technet.com/b/exchange/archive/2010/08/02/3410563.aspx




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Using the option of: Hybrid migration minimum is based on the minimum

requirements of Exchange 2010 SP3 on-Premises server. In a scenario in which the

organization mail infrastructure is based on older Exchange on-Premises server

such as: 2003, 2007, I would suggest you consider the option of installing a

“temporary Exchange 2010 on-Premises server” for the mail migration project.

The Interesting fact is that you don’t even need to pay for a license. Microsoft

enables an organization that wants to install Exchange 2010 on-Premises server

only as a hybrid server (without using the mailbox rule option) to get a free license

for this server.

Attached a link which leads you to the required license enrolment process:

Self-service Hybrid Edition product key retrieval for customers

Exchange multiple site infrastructure

Mid and large organization will usually have more than one Exchange site.

In case that your organization uses more than one Exchange site (Multiple

Exchange sites) and in case that each of these Exchange sites has a “public

presence” that enables to external hosts to connect the Exchange on-Premises

server who “represent” the Exchange site, we can significantly improve the mail

migration throughputs.

When relating to the subject of mail migration to Office 365 and multiple mailbox

migrations (concurrent mailbox moves), we can use the famous saying “the more

the merrier”

Note – is assumption is correct provided that the mail\communication line

infrastructure can provide the required resources.

For example, in our scenario, we need to migrate 300 hundred mailboxes from the

organization Exchange on-Premises servers to the cloud.

We have a very narrow time window for completing this task and, we would like to

shorten or to expedite to the process of the mail migration.

In the following diagram, we can see that by using the concept of implementing a

mail migration from a multiple Exchange site at the same time (parallel), we can

multiply or triangles the amount of mailboxes that we can migrate at the same

time.





http://aka.ms/hybridkey


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Multiple Exchange site’s infrastructure and AutoDiscover

In a scenario of Multiple Exchange site’s infrastructure, we can rely on the

AutoDiscover service for implementing a mail migration from a multiple Exchange

sites at the same time, based on the location of the user mailbox (the Exchange site

and the Exchange server who hosts the user mailbox).

The pre-requirements is that each of the Exchange sites will have a public presence

that includes “Public name” (URL) that can be accessed from a public network.






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To be able to understand better this process let’s use the following example:

An organization named: o365info have two Exchange sites.

One site is located in New York, and additional site is located in Los Angles.

The Exchange mail server in the New York site uses the following public name:

Mail.Ny-o365info.com

The Exchange mail server in the Los Angles site uses the following public name:

Mail.La-o365info.com

We are using the option of Hybrid migration, and we are creating a new migration

batch based on a CSV file that includes a list of users whom we want to migrate to

the cloud (Exchange Online). The CSV users list includes a “mixture” of users from

the booth of the organization site.

In our example: User1 and User2 mailboxes are located in the New York site

and User3, andUser4 mailboxes are located in the Los Angeles site.

In our scenario, the AutoDiscover record of o365info.com, is pointing to the

additional Exchange server who is not located on the company site.

When we start the migration batch, Exchange Online uses the AutoDiscover service

for getting the required information about the mail infrastructure etc.

In the following diagram, we can see that Exchange Online ask about the Exchange

server (The CAS server) that can provide information and access to the mailbox

data [email protected]

The origination Exchange server provides an “answer” by redirecting the Exchange

Online to additional server: Mail.Ny-o365info.com

In the second step, Exchange Online will try to connect to the Mail.Ny-

o365info.com and “ask for a permission” to copy the mailbox data of User1.






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Exchange Online creates a new migration endpoint using the connection settings

that were successfully discovered or that you provided manually. We recommend

that you create migration endpoints whose connection settings were automatically

discovered rather than creating endpoints whose settings you entered manually.

This is because the Autodiscover service will be used to connect to each user

mailbox during the migration. If manual settings are used, Exchange Online won’t

use the Autodiscover service, but will connect to a specific source server using the

connection settings you manually entered. If you use manual settings and have

multiple on-premises Exchange servers, you may need to create different migration

endpoints that correspond to each server.

[Data source: Exchange Online Migration Performance and Best Practices ]

Additional reading

Create Migration Endpoints

New-MigrationBatch

Create Migration Endpoints

How to migrate mailbox data by using the Exchange Admin Center in Office

365





http://technet.microsoft.com/library/dn592150(v=exchg.150).aspx

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj874458(v=exchg.150).aspx



http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2798131/en-gb

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2798131/en-gb


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Office 365\Exchange Online factors

1. Office 365\Exchange Online Throttling policy

The Throttling policy that relates to mail migration described as: Migration-service

throttling. This policy was designed to limit the maximum migration concurrency.

The good news is that we can easily increase the default value and by doing so,

Increase the number of mailboxes that can be migrated.

In my option, the default value of: “maximum 20 mailboxes at the same time” was

not created to protect the Exchange Online server performance because

theoretically, there is no limitation to the resources that allocated to the Exchange

Online server.

The attention was to protect the Exchange on-Premises server from a scenario of

“overwhelming”. In case that we put too much load on the Exchange on-Premises

server, the load of the migration process, could impact other Exchange on-Premises

server services.

So, in case that you are considered to increase the value of the Migration-service

throttling, please verify that your Exchange on-Premises server, have the required

resources for supporting the amount of mailboxes that will be migrated to

Exchange Online.

After you create a migration batch, you can use the following Windows PowerShell

command to increase this to a maximum of 100.

PowerShell

Set-MigrationEndPoint <Identity> -MaxConcurrentMigrations <value between 1 and

100>

2. The maximum number of concurrent moves for a Migration Endpoints

There is a limit of 100 concurrent migrations for each type of migration endpoint.

For example, your organization could have five Outlook Anywhere migration

endpoints and each endpoint could be configured for 20 maximum concurrent






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migrations. Or you could have two IMAP migration endpoints, with each end point

configured to support 50 maximum concurrent migrations.

[Data source: Create Migration Endpoints ]

In the following screenshot you can see that when we try to use a value bigger than

100

The result is the following error:







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Just a friendly advice: the fact that Office 365 enables us to “extend” the value of a

concurrent mailbox move doesn’t mean that you should automatically use this

option.

A high value of concurrent mailbox moves can overload your network bandwidth

and you Exchange on-Premises servers.

The Number of mailboxes to migrate simultaneously field specifies the number of

connections to your on-premises mail server used during migration. The more






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connections you have to your on-premises mail server, the more mailboxes you can

migrate at one time. While this reduces the amount of time it takes to migrate

mailboxes, these additional connections can consume your Internet bandwidth,

negatively affecting network performance and users’ ability to access Internet

resources.

[Data source: Increase the Number of Mailboxes to Migrate Simultaneously ]

Additional reading

Maximum Number of Connections to Your Mail Server

can I create more then one migration end point to speed up the process for

cutover migration





http://help.outlook.com/en-us/140/hh692405.aspx

http://help.outlook.com/en-us/140/ms.exch.ecp.migrationwizard_maxconnections.aspx

http://community.office365.com/en-us/f/156/t/234986.aspx

http://community.office365.com/en-us/f/156/t/234986.aspx

Documents

Mail migration to office 365 optimizing the mail migration throughput part 3#4