How to manage email during server switch

[biketech]

Hi there.

I'm a newbie administrator for a small non-profit organization. We have about 50 mail accounts on a remote POP server running RedHat 7/Ensim with sendmail. About 25 users are running MS Outlook, downloading messages via POP daily. Several other users using Squirrelmail on about a weekly basis.

Soon, we'll be switching to a new mail server with RedHat Enterprise/CPanel running Exim. My question is:

- Is there a simple way to handle the period during which DNS refreshes to the new server?

- Specifically, how can I deal with the users who have unread messages on the old server which are not read before the new server is up and DNS is already refreshed?

- Same goes for Outlook users - do I need to set up each person's Outlook to check both the old and new servers until the swith over period is over?

I guess I'm looking for a way to make sure all unread messages on the old server somehow make it to the new server and don't get lost in the shuffle.

Thanks for your help. If you know of an existing thread which addresses this, I'd be glad to check it out.

 

[AlexIT]

We upgrade our Exchange server sites this way:

1. Stop old server from receiving new mail (your ISP can usually "mailbag" your old IP addr for you.)

2. Give everyone X days (minutes, hours, years) to read and clean out their old mailbox.

3. Store old mail to tape.

4. Install new hardware, software.

5. Restore old mail to new machine.

6. Reconfigure clients to access new server.

7. Start outside mail delivery to new server (new IP addr.)

8. Flush mailbag to new server for X days (or until no new mail comes to old IP addr.)