Migrating to Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 from Novell GroupWise can be a daunting task if you are not familiar with both operating systems. GroupWise has evolved from a stand-alone desktop library program from WordPerfect in 1986 to its current full-featured version 5.5 messaging platform that it is today. Previous versions of GroupWise include 5.0, 5.2 and 4.1.
The Novell GroupWise messaging
The
Novell GroupWise messaging architecture is very similarly to the shared
file system (SFS) architecture of Microsoft Mail. Both systems use
multiple post offices that move mail between them through the use of
message transfer agents (MTAs).
A basic GroupWise system consists of a single domain with one post
office, a document library, and one or more users. Each GroupWise user
has a mailbox in the post office; users run the GroupWise client to
access their mailbox and to send mail to and receive mail from other
users. The GroupWise agents deliver messages between users' mailboxes in
a post office, and route messages between post offices in a multiple
post office system.
In a basic GroupWise system like the one shown above, it is fairly easy
to see why the post office, client, and agents are necessary. The reason
for the domain, however, may not be as clear. Basically, the domain
serves two purposes:
• In a multiple-post office system, it organizes post offices into a
logical grouping for addressing and routing purposes. Each user in the
domain has an address that consists of the domain name, the user's post
office name, and the user's GroupWise ID.
• It functions as the main administration unit for the GroupWise system.
When adding GroupWise information (such as other domains, post offices,
and users) through NetWare Administrator, it is stored in NDS and the
GroupWise domain database. From the domain database it is distributed to
each post office database. Users then get their information, such as
user addresses, from their post office database.
The domain structure does add additional overhead, however, this
GroupWise architecture allows for the ability to scale to larger than a
single post office installation.
Moving GroupWise Users to Exchange
Users can be migrated from Novell GroupWise v4.1x and 5.x to Microsoft
Exchange Server using the Novell GroupWise source extractor. The source
extractor copies information from Novell GroupWise to migration files.
The migration files are imported into Microsoft Exchange Server via the
Migration Wizard.
The Migration Wizard lets the administrator select users to be migrated
from Novell GroupWise to Microsoft Exchange. Recipient mailboxes can be
created using the Migration Wizard. If Microsoft Exchange Server custom
recipients have previously been created for Novell GroupWise, users'
recipient mailboxes are created on the Microsoft Exchange Server by
converting the existing custom recipients to Microsoft Exchange Server
mailboxes. See the following table for connectivity and migration
features available for Exchange Server 5.5.
GroupWise to exchange migration
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