migrating voicemails from one Unity server to another server

[Tommer Catlin]

I just want to move voicemails from 4.05 to a 4.2 unity server in a different. Is there a documented Cisco way of doing this? I know the microsoft way that is documented of migrating Exchange servers.

Is there a tech doc for this?

Thanks!

[lindborg]

If you're moving the entire install including messages, you'd use DiRt for this - in your case you'd need to do a DiRT backup of 4.0(5), restore it to a new 4.0(5) server and then upgrade to 4.2(1). This is documented in the migration and reconfiguration guid here:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/voicesw/ps2237/products_upgrade_guides_book09186a0080222fdf.html

if you're just moving messages then your only real option is Microsoft's ExMerge (which is what DiRT uses in the background anyway - it just scripts it via INI file commands and such).

[Tommer Catlin]

So there is no real option to do this for migrating messages, other then ExMerge. It would be great if we could run DiRT, and have options just to export the voicemails and not everything. Then we could move voicemails from one verion to another version.

Thanks Jeff.

[lindborg]

As noted, DiRT is just using ExMerge to create the PST files. DiRT backups that include messages spend very lttle time backing up the rest of the system - the vast majority of that time is message backup. Providing an option to skip the couple minutes of SQL and registry setting backup and jumping right to the message backup doesn't seem worth the cost.

You can either do this or just run ExMerge directly on your own - it ammounts to the same thing (The PST files of the mailboxes are identical in either case).

[Tommer Catlin]

But using DiRT, I will not be able to import just the ExMerge information to the new Unity server... DiRt will bring it all back in?

Thanks Jeff

[lindborg]

DiRT uses ExMerge to create the .PST files for user's mailboxes. Those PST files can be imported using ExMerge - they are not DiRT special somehow - there's nothing whatsoever stopping you from doing a DiRT backup and then just grabbing the .PST files in the message backup folder, firing up Exmerge on the target system and importing the messages.

Again, DiRT is _not_ doing anything at all special or custom or proprietary with the message backup - that's all just scripted ExMerge work there. You can import the messages using DiRT restore if you like or you can use Exmerge manually or you can go to Outlook and import messages into a mailbox with the .PST files if you like.

[Tommer Catlin]

I can see how I can export to PST. If I wanted to import them to accounts I have already created with new alias, could I simply rename the pst file and import them back in to the new server with DiRT? Or do I need to update the Subscriber Info DB and edit the table there?

Thanks!

[Tommer Catlin]

So I watched your videos on this.... great by the way.

I came up with my own solution. I'm going to run DiRT to export all the mailboxes to PST on my old server.

On my new server, I am going to create new mailboxes and accounts with the correct Alias we wish to use for this.

I can copy the PSTs over to the new server, rename the PSTs to the new Alias on the new server and import them in.

Now, I can go into Unity and create their new accounts and activate their Unity VM account.

Question is, will Unity see in these new accounts the messeges with voicemail, and be able to read "old" messeges through the TUI? I have not tried this yet.

thanks