Microsoft 365 to Microsoft 365 migration (self-hosted)

System Requirements

Environment

• 64 bit Operating system: Windows Server 2016+ (Clean build recommended)
• Microsoft .NET Framework 4.8
• Recommended system specification - Primary Server:
  • 3GHz 8 Core Processor or better
  • 200+GB Disk space
  • 16+GB Memory
• Recommended system specification - Secondary Server(s):
  • 3GHz 4 Core Processor or better
  • 100GB Disk space
  • 8+GB Memory

 

If you are looking to complete a 'large migration' (a migration of more than 25,000 users or 10 million objects), refer to the following articles for additional considerations:

• "Large Migration Infrastructure"
• Running SQL Server or Redis on an Independent Server
• Existing SQL Server Database Configuration

If you are storing Drive document mappings and running a large migration, contact the support team.

 

Required ports

Both primary and secondary CloudM Migrate servers communicate with source and destination platforms, and the CloudM Migrate licensing platform using HTTPS.

Typically, it is ports 80 and 443, but that can depend on the source platform and local network configuration.

There is also the following to consider:

• You may need to whitelist our license server: portal.thecloudmigrator.com
• SQL server runs on TCP 1433 and UDP 1434 
• Redis runs on port 6379
• Microsoft Message Queue on port 1801
  

 

Basic installation for single-server migrations

If you are completing a multi-server migration, skip to the Multi-Server Installation section of this guide.

 

Installation

Basic installation installs all components to a single machine and is suitable for performing migrations from a single server or as the main server in a multi-server migration. 

If you have specialised requirements, have a pre-existing SQL Server instance you would like to use, or will be performing multi-server migrations using a server farm, you should also review the advanced installation documentation.

The following components makeup and are used by CloudM Migrate:

• Web Application and Primary Service
• Secondary Service
• SQL Server Express 2017
• Redis

 

To start the installation:

1. Open a web browser, download the latest x64 CloudM Migrate executable and launch the installer as an administrator: CloudM Migrate Changelog and Download Link
2. Review and accept the license terms by checking the checkbox.
3. Click 'Next'.
4. All relevant fields will be selected / populated by default (with the exception of your web access credentials). To select an alternative installation directory: 
   • Click the ellipsis button (...) to the right of the 'Installation Path' field and browse to the required install destination. 
5. Set up your web access credentials with an email username and a password of your choice (which you will need to use to log in to the web application).
6. Click Install to proceed. This installation process can take some time.
7. Start CloudM Migrate by loading the web interface. Alternatively, the interfaces are available in the Start menu, under CloudM.

8. If you have any issues regarding the installation, refer to the next section of this article.
9. If the installation was successful, skip to Launching CloudM Migrate

 

Installation problems

If you have any issues when installing CloudM Migrate:

• Ensure that you have no pending Windows updates waiting to install. If you have Windows updates waiting to install, please install them and reboot.

• Check the following in the System Requirements:
  • You must be running a 64bit version of Windows.
  • You must be running Windows 8, 10, Windows Server 2016 or Windows Server 2016 R2.

• Try clearing your computer's temporary directory. This can be done using the disk cleanup application installed with Windows or by navigating in a Windows explorer window to %TEMP% and deleting the files from this directory.

• Check if any security or antivirus software may be preventing installation. CloudM Migrate needs to install custom firewall rules and make other system changes that some security packages may prevent. It is recommended to uninstall any non-Windows security software.
• Verify the checksum on your CloudM Migrate installation package to be sure the download is not corrupt. The latest checksums can be found on the CloudM Migrate Changelog page and files can be verified using CertUtil. MD5 and SHA1 checksums are provided.

• If the installer fails on the 'Prerequisites' package, and for any reason you have uninstalled SQL Server Express before an upgrade or reinstallation, make sure to delete the database files. These are in the following location by default:
• C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL12.POWEREDBY\MSSQL\DATA\PoweredBy.mdf
• C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL12.POWEREDBY\MSSQL\DATA\PoweredBy_log.ldf

 

Log Files

If you encounter any problems during the installation of CloudM Migrate, you will be presented with a message box outlining the error encountered, or you will be shown the failed installation dialog. 

 

Clicking on the Log link in the above screen will open a zip file. The number of files in this zip file can vary depending on the installation mode (e.g Install, Update or Uninstall) components being installed and the error encountered.

If you have a problem installing CloudM Migrate and the tips above do not help, start by reviewing the logs. If you are still unable to diagnose or solve the issue, please report it to our support team with a copy of the installer logs.

Clicking Close will close the installer. 

Installation zip files can be also found in the following directory and prefixed with 'CloudM Migrate' or "CloudMigrator" followed by the date and time:

• %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Temp

 

Multi-Server Installation

Virtual Machines are not mandatory and installations can be performed locally.

If you are not setting up Virtual Machines, and: 

• Using Windows Server, skip to Step 1 in the Installing CloudM Migrate section.
• Not using Windows Server, skip to Step 2 in the Installing CloudM Migrate section.

 

Installing and configuring Virtual Machines

Refer to the Microsoft Azure (Windows Azure) articles for instruction.

There are several other methods that you can use to set up your servers, including using Google Cloud Platform.

CloudM recommends setting up Virtual Machines using Microsoft Azure when migrating to Microsoft (and Google Cloud Platform when migrating to Google) to limit network traffic costs.

 

Installing CloudM Migrate

1. If using Windows Server, open Server Manager and:

• Select Local Server (1).
• Select On next to IE Enhanced Security Configuration (2).
• Set the radio button to Off for Administrators (3).
• Select OK (4).

2. Open a web browser, download the latest x64 CloudM Migrate executable and launch the installer as an administrator: CloudM Migrate Changelog and Download Link
3. Agree to the terms and conditions, select Next:

4. For primary server installations: Leave the default installation options and enter the email address and password that will be used to log in to the CloudM Migrate web interface, and then select Install:

• Normally, you should use the default SQL Server Express Instance that is included with CloudM Migrate when installing a primary service. Using an existing SQL Server Instance should only be considered in large migrations, where you may expect to exceed the default SQL Server Express database size limit of 10GB.

5. Once the installation completes, select Export Details to take note of the database details of the primary server (which will be needed when creating a secondary CloudM Migrate server), and then select Close:

6. For secondary server installations: Install only the ‘Secondary Migration Service’ and enter any email address and password that will be used to log into the CloudM Migrate instance. Select “Use Existing SQL Server” and enter the Data Configuration details from the Primary Server, then select ‘Install’:

 

Launching CloudM Migrate

1. CloudM Migrate can be configured using the local web interface on the primary server. This can be found in the Windows start menu > CloudM > CloudM Migrate Web, or by navigating to http://cloudmigrator.local/ in your web browser.
2. Sign-in using the web interface credentials entered during installation:

 

Platform prerequisites

General prerequisites for Microsoft 365 (your source destination)

You will need

• The credentials (email and password) of a Global Administrator account within your Office 365 environment. Please note that Multi Factor Authentication must be disabled for the specified admin accounts when migrating Microsoft Teams.
• If migrating files from OneDrive, you must have the Sharepoint Admin URL, which will be in the following format: https://tenant-admin.sharepoint.com.

For information about migrating Office 365 Public Folders, please see Migrating Exchange Public Folders

 

Destination Platform prerequisites

The following prerequisites are for migrations that use Modern Authentication as the Authentication Method. Modern Authentication is the recommended method as Basic Authentication is being deprecated.

• Ensure that you have an Admin User in your Azure AD account. The Global Admin Role is recommended, but not mandatory. Please note that Multi Factor Authentication must be disabled for the specified admin accounts when migrating Microsoft Teams.
• Ensure that a Test User has a license with a mailbox.

 

Start a new configuration project

1. Login to CloudM Migrate,
2. Select Projects in the Functions column on the left side of the screen,
3. Select the Add button (+ icon) to prompt the section to expand,

4. Select the Create a new project option,
5. In the pop-up box, select Microsoft 365 as the Destination platform (the platform that you want to migrate all of your users and data to) and enter the Domain Name (the destination domain you are migrating to), a Configuration Name of your choice and License Key.

6. Select Check License to ensure that the license entered is valid for the destination platform that you want to migrate to.
7. Select Continue.
8. The project will now be displayed in the domain drop down menu at the top of the screen. Make sure that the project is selected.

 

Create a new configuration

• If you are migrating Microsoft Teams, please ensure that you have read the information in the Microsoft Teams section. 

 

To create a new configuration:

1. Select the Create a new configuration to get started option.
2. In the pop-up box, select Microsoft 365 as the Destination platform (the platform that you want to migrate all of your users and data to), use the dropdown menu to specify the Migration Phase, and enter a Configuration Name.

3. Select Continue. 
4. The configuration will now be displayed in the Configuration Overview.

 

Once the configuration is created, it will be displayed in the Configuration Overview table. Select Configure, enter a CloudM license key and select Apply to start the configuration process. 

 

Configure Source Platform Settings - Microsoft 365

Basic Platform Settings

Choose Microsoft Office 365 as the migration source and enter your Microsoft Office 365 settings into CloudM Migrate and then click Next.

• All Advanced Settings are set to a default value, designed to ensure that your migration will work without additional configuration. You should only edit the Advanced Settings if instructed to by CloudM Support or in a CloudM Knowledge Base article.

 

Set the following settings:

• Office / Microsoft 365 Plan - Set to Office 365
• Authentication Method - Choose the authentication type that will be used with the server. For Microsoft 365, set to Modern.
• Domain Name - The domain name of the Exchange domain. This should be the internet domain of the Exchange system and not the local domain name.
• This might be the part after the @ in your administrator email address. 
• If migrating from several different domains, several migrations will be needed.
• Admin Username - The email address of a global administrator within your Microsoft 365 environment. Please note that Multi Factor Authentication must be disabled for the specified admin accounts when migrating Microsoft Teams.
• Admin Password - The password for the global administrator account specified earlier.
• Test Username - The email non-admin user who is already present in the system to test connections.
• Specify a primary SMTP email address (or just the part before the @ symbol and the domain name will be appended). The test user must have an active mailbox.

 

If you have Multi Factor Authentication (MFA) enabled:

Authenticate using the Powershell Script (as detailed in the Modern Authentication for Microsoft 365 article). You will not be able to use the web application to authenticate due to logging in issues caused by MFA. 

Once the Powershell process has been completed, click Next to trigger a connection test.

 

If you do not have Multi Factor Authentication (MFA) enabled:

1. Click the Create Azure AD Application button, and click the button again in the popup.

2. The Client ID, Certificate Path and Certificate Password fields should now be set. Click the Next button to test the connection.

 

Migrate files from Microsoft 365

If you want to migrate files from Microsoft 365, you will also need the Sharepoint Admin URL. The URL will look similar to the URL below:

• https://tenant-admin.sharepoint.com. 

To input the URL, click Advanced Settings and locate Sharepoint Admin URL under the OneDrive for Business/SharePoint settings.

 

Connection test

Once you have configured the Platform settings, click on Next. CloudM Migrate will now perform a small connection test to verify that the details you have entered are correct.

If this fails, you may have entered something incorrectly. If you still cannot resolve the issue, please contact CloudM Support.

 

Configure Destination Platform Settings - Microsoft 365

Basic Platform Settings

Choose Microsoft Office 365 as the migration source and enter your Microsoft Office 365 settings into CloudM Migrate and then click Next.

• All Advanced Settings are set to a default value, designed to ensure that your migration will work without additional configuration. You should only edit the Advanced Settings if instructed to by CloudM Support or in a CloudM Knowledge Base article.

 

Set the following settings:

• Office / Microsoft 365 Plan - Set to Office 365
• Authentication Method - Choose the authentication type that will be used with the server. For Microsoft 365, set to Modern.
• Domain Name - The domain name of the Exchange domain. This should be the internet domain of the Exchange system and not the local domain name.
• This might be the part after the @ in your administrator email address. 
• If migrating from several different domains, several migrations will be needed.
• Admin Username - The email address of a global administrator within your Microsoft 365 environment.
• Admin Password - The password for the global administrator account specified earlier.
• Test Username - The email non-admin user who is already present in the system to test connections.
• Specify a primary SMTP email address (or just the part before the @ symbol and the domain name will be appended). The test user must have an active mailbox.

 

If you have Modern Factor Authentication (MFA) enabled:

Authenticate using the Powershell Script (as detailed in the Modern Authentication for Microsoft 365 article). You will not be able to use the web application to authenticate due to logging in issues caused by MFA. 

Once the Powershell process has been completed, click Next to trigger a connection test.

 

If you do not have Modern Factor Authentication (MFA) enabled:

1. Click the Create Azure AD Application button, and click the button again in the popup.

2. The Client ID, Certificate Path and Certificate Password fields should now be set. Click the Next button to test the connection.

 

Migrate files to Microsoft 365

If you want to migrate files to Microsoft 365, you will also need the Sharepoint Admin URL. The URL will look similar to the URL below:

• https://tenant-admin.sharepoint.com. 

To input the URL, click Advanced Settings and locate Sharepoint Admin URL under the OneDrive for Business/SharePoint settings.

 

Connection test

Once you have configured the Platform settings, click on Next. CloudM Migrate will now perform a small connection test to verify that the details you have entered are correct.

If this fails, you may have entered something incorrectly. If you still cannot resolve the issue, please contact CloudM Support.

 

Select which items to migrate

It's now time to add which items you'd like to migrate.

 

To add the items from that you want to migrate from your source platform to your destination platform, select Add items to migrate drop down menu and click on one of the following options:

• Get Items from source - Get a full list of all items in the source platform.
• Bulk add / import items - Upload a CSV file to bulk add users.
• Add User / Resource / Public Folder / Office (Microsoft) 365 Group / Team Site (Sharepoint Document Library) / Microsoft Team - Manually add an item of the selected item type.

Selecting a Star next to any specific user or users will prioritize their migration. When a migration starts, threads will be assigned to any starred user first so that their migration can start immediately. 

At this point you can choose what to migrate for each user, you can migrate Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Tasks, Classic Sites, Notes and Channels.

Enter your user's full email address within the Export Name field. If you have already created your Microsoft 365 users, then you will just need to enter their username.

Please note that Multi Factor Authentication must be disabled for the specified admin accounts when migrating Microsoft Teams.

 

Select how much content to migrate

CloudM Migrate lets you decide how much content to migrate to your domain by specifying required date ranges. 

If you are changing your email address as part of the migration you can verify that the domain names are correct here. You can also specify specific Address Replacements in the respective section of the advanced settings.

For files, it is possible to select whether the modified or created date is used in conjunction with the date range. Select Advanced Settings > Document and then set the Filter Date Type as required.

 

 

Environment Scan

Environment Scan allows you to plan and prepare your migration by performing analysis of your source file and mail environment and reporting important information such as item counts, data volume, permissions, and folder depth.

Reports are produced which can be exported and analysed. Using the information provided you can estimate your migration's duration more accurately, and address any potential issues before your migration even begins.

 

Selecting Scope of Scan

Items

Depending on your source platform, you can choose to scan files, emails, or both sets of items.

• Leaving the Report on File Permissions setting unchecked will speed up the Environment Scan process.
• In order to include Report on File Permissions in the process, you will need to check this setting AND enable Document Sharing (or a setting related to document sharing) in the Source Platform settings. If either is not enabled, the Environment Scan will not scan or report on File Permissions.

 

Users

Your CloudM Migrate userlist is used to define the scope of the scan. You can choose to scan all accounts from your list, or restrict the scan to users selected for migration.

 

How to run an Environment Scan

After entering your source and destination server settings, populating your userlist, and configuring your settings, you will be prompted to run an environment scan. It is optional, but recommended, for all file platforms.

Click Start and then confirm by selecting Start Environment Scan on the pop-up box to begin the scan. CloudM Migrate will connect to your source environment and capture file and / or mail information. This can take up to several hours, depending on the amount of data present.

 

Once the scan completes, the data is reported on the Environment Scans page and can be exported to file, using the Export Scan Results option.

 

Start your migration

We know that you may want to start your migration in the middle of the night, or over the weekend, but we don't expect you to stay up in order to do so. With CloudM Migrate, you can decide to schedule exactly when you'd like the migration to occur.

If you want to start the migration straight away, select Start.

 

Review your migration results

During the migration process, CloudM Migrate will report back in real time exactly who is being migrated and the items being processed. All you now need to do is sit back, relax and wait for your migration to complete.

Check the progress of your migration.

Once complete you can download a full report for your migration.