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How to Copy or Migrate MailEnable Configuration and Data from One Server to Another

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Revindex Solution
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2008-09-27

MailEnable Standard and Professional Editions store the majority of their configuration in flat files. The procedure for migrating the configuration and data from one server to another simply involves copying directories from one server to another.

MailEnable Enterprise Edition allows you to store configuration data in either tab delimited files or within a database.  If migrating an Enterprise installation, and using a database for configuration storage, you may either use the provider migration tool to convert back to using the flat files, or do a backup of the database on the legacy server and restoring the database on the new server (please consult the database documentation on how to perform a backup/restore). If the database application resides on another server then a backup/restore is not required, it requires using the provider migration utility and specifying the database server location. Alternatively, you could simply configure the new server to use the existing database as its configuration store. If you are migrating from Standard or Professional to Enterprise, the Enterprise version has to be configured to use the tab delimited files before the migration is done. After migration, the provider migration utility can be used to move the configuration data into a database.

The procedure for migrating follows:

1. Ensure that the appropriate version of MailEnable is installed on the target server. If downgrading the following KB article explains the downgrade procedure: Article ME020375. If you are migrating to a new server and the same version of MailEnable is to be used and require the same configuration settings for the MailEnable services then a backup of the MailEnable registry is required. To do this follow the steps below:

  • Open "regedit"
  • Navigate to the following location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Mail Enable
  • Select "file" in the top menu and select "Export registry file". Save the file as "MailEnable.reg"
  • Copy the .reg file to the new server and double click the file to import the saved MailEnable registry settings on the new server.

    • NOTE: If a different version of MailEnable is installed on the new server then do not perform the backup/restore of the MailEnable registry settings. 

    2. Stop all MailEnable services on the source server.
    3. Stop all MailEnable services on the destination server.
    4. Copy the following directories and subdirectories from the source server to the destination server:

    C:\Program Files\Mail Enable\Dictionaries (Optional - Professional and Enterprise only)
    C:\Program Files\Mail Enable\Config (Mandatory - contains configuration information)
    C:\Program Files\Mail Enable\Postoffices (Mandatory - contains postoffices and messages)
    C:\Program Files\Mail Enable\Bad Mail (Optional - contains Bad Mail messages)
    C:\Program Files\Mail Enable\Logging (Optional - contains log files)
    C:\Program Files\Mail Enable\Queues (Optional - contains messages queued for delivery)

    Note: If an alternate data directory has been specified in the installation of MailEnable, copy the respective directories from this location

    5. Database Considerations (Optional)

    If you are running the Enterprise edition and using a database to store the configuration data then the copy part of this document will be as follows:

    In general the procedure is the same and at this stage you should use the provider migration utility to ensure that the new server is configured to use a database rather than tab delimited files.

    If the database is on the existing machine you will need to do the following:

     

     

  • Install the database application on the new machine (if not already installed).
  • Backup the database from the old machine.
  • Copy the backup to the new machine.
  • Restore the backup.
  • Use the provider migration utility to configure MailEnable to use the new database.

    • 6.  Having migrated the datafiles to the new server, it may be necessary to ensure that any security settings associated with the migrated data have been reset. You need to ensure that the IME_ADMIN and IME_STORE_GROUP accounts have access to specific MailEnable directories. Enter each of the commands below in a command prompt on the destination server:

    CACLS "C:\Program Files\Mail Enable\Config" /t /e /g IME_ADMIN:F

    CACLS "C:\Program Files\Mail Enable\Queues" /t /e /g IME_ADMIN:F

    CACLS "C:\Program Files\Mail Enable\Postoffices" /t /e /g IME_ADMIN:F

    When migrating to version 3 servers or servers where the server lockdown hotfix has been applied (ME-10031 - http://www.mailenable.com/security/lockdown.asp) the following commands are also required:

    CACLS "C:\Program Files\Mail Enable\Queues" /t /e /g IME_SYSTEM:F

    CACLS "C:\Program Files\Mail Enable\Logging" /t /e /g IME_SYSTEM:F

    CACLS "C:\Program Files\Mail Enable\Bad Mail" /t /e /g IME_SYSTEM:F

    CACLS "C:\Program Files\Mail Enable\Backup" /t /e /g IME_SYSTEM:F

    CACLS "C:\Program Files\Mail Enable\Bin" /t /e /g IME_SYSTEM:R

    CACLS "C:\Program Files\Mail Enable\Config" /t /e /g IME_SYSTEM:F

    CACLS "C:\Program Files\Mail Enable\Post Offices" /t /e /g IME_STORE_GROUP:F

    7. If password encryption was enabled on the legacy server then you will need to export the following registry key in order to continue using the encrypted password configuration on the new server after performing the migration. Once exported copy the .reg file to the new server and double click the file to import the key.  

    Registry key required:

    Root: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Mail Enable\Mail Enable\Providers\Authentication
    Value Type: REG_SZ
    Value Name: Encryption Key
    Value: [Your Encryption Key]

    8. Start all services on the target server.
    9. Change any DNS MX entries to point to the new server.
    10. Ensure to start only the SMTP Connector service on the source server. If all the other services are enabled (MTA in particular), it will try and deliver all mail locally. 
    11. While the DNS MX entries propagate (usually within 48 hrs) you can periodically copy the contents of the SMTP "inbound" queue directory from the source server to the target servers "inbound" SMTP queue location.

    e.g. C:\Program Files\Mail Enable\Queues\SMTP\Inbound

    Reference: http://www.mailenable.com/kb/Content/Article.asp?ID=me020073