[Dovecot] migrating mailboxes on dovecot
Hello all,
I want to ask about something I never did before. I have a dovecot/XMail/LAMP/Horde installation on a CentOS 5.5 32-bit system with two domains : domainA and domainB
All the users used to have their mailboxes on domainA. However the personell dept decided that 90% of the users will have to have their mailboxes set to domainB and the other 10% will stay at domainA.
So, I need to migrate those mailboxes from domainA to domainB. The only thing is I haven't done that ever. The directory structure is :
"/var/MailRoot/domains/domainX/Username/Maildir/"
and under there the usual suspects :
cur (directory) dovecot.index.cache (file)
dovecot-keywords (file)
dovecot-uidvalidity (file)
new (directory)
tmp (directory) dovecot.index (file)
dovecot.index.log (file)
dovecot-uidlist (file)
dovecot-uidvalidity.4cc055c6 (file)
subscriptions (file)
Using dovecot v1.2.15
Any help would be appreciated. Iam supposed to do this today !! :-)
Thank you all,
s.
"I merely function as a channel that filters music through the chaos of noise"
- Vangelis
On 3/25/2012 3:24 AM, Spyros Tsiolis wrote:
The directory structure is :
"/var/MailRoot/domains/domainX/Username/Maildir/"
You can probably just:
- Do something to prevent the user from logging in, and any deliveries from happening, e.g. delete the user.
- Kick any existing connections.
- Just move the Username directory from domainA to domainB.
- Create the new user in the new domain
Test the procedure first.
Don't let a client log in to a mailbox and see something he's not supposed to see, like an empty mailbox. It can cause the client to drop its local cache and possibly other data.
On 25-03-2012 10:23, Gedalya wrote:
On 3/25/2012 3:24 AM, Spyros Tsiolis wrote:
The directory structure is :
"/var/MailRoot/domains/domainX/Username/Maildir/"
You can probably just:
- Do something to prevent the user from logging in, and any deliveries from happening, e.g. delete the user.
- Kick any existing connections.
- Just move the Username directory from domainA to domainB.
- Create the new user in the new domain
Test the procedure first.
Don't let a client log in to a mailbox and see something he's not supposed to see, like an empty mailbox. It can cause the client to drop its local cache and possibly other data.
i would also setup a forward from domainA to domainB for all the users that have moved, at least until most people who do send email know the 'old'address has changed.
On 25-03-2012 10:23, Gedalya wrote:
On 3/25/2012 3:24 AM, Spyros Tsiolis wrote:
The directory structure is :
"/var/MailRoot/domains/domainX/Username/Maildir/" You can probably just:
- Do something to prevent the user from logging in, and any deliveries from happening, e.g. delete the user.
- Kick any existing connections.
- Just move the Username directory from domainA to domainB.
- Create the new user in the new domain Test the procedure first. Don't let a client log in to a mailbox and see something he's not supposed to see, like an empty mailbox. It can cause the client to drop its local cache and possibly other data.
i would also setup a forward from domainA to domainB for all the users that have moved, at least until most people who do send email know the 'old'address has changed.
Hi chaps and thank you for your replies,
Sorry forgot to mention. Most of the users use thunderbird. And yes, thank you for the forwarding issue of old e-mail accounts to the new ones. However, that is not my problem.
Let me suggest something . . . :
What if :
- I setup the new accounts
- Users log on normally from thunderbird
- While they are using thunderbird, I get rid of their old e-mail address, create the new one (in thunderbird)
- I make sure that the newly created address syncs with dovecot
Wouldn't that be enough to migrate "on-the-fly" so to speak their existing directory tree structure and related messages to their new e-mail account ?
Any ideas ?
Cheers,
spyros
"I merely function as a channel that filters music through the chaos of noise"
- Vangelis
On 2012-03-25 8:53 AM, Luuk@dovecot dovecot@vosslamber.nl wrote:
i would also setup a forward from domainA to domainB for all the users that have moved, at least until most people who do send email know the 'old'address has changed.
I would only do that for a few days at most, otherwise it just turns into a crutch that will 'enable' lazy people to wait 'forever' until they change their address book.
What I do is set up the alais for a few days, then convert it to a custom reject, informing the sender of the new email address.
--
Best regards,
Charles
Thanks Charles,
s.
"I merely function as a channel that filters music through the chaos of noise"
- Vangelis
From: Charles Marcus CMarcus@Media-Brokers.com To: dovecot@dovecot.org Sent: Sunday, 25 March 2012, 17:01 Subject: Re: [Dovecot] migrating mailboxes on dovecot
On 2012-03-25 8:53 AM, Luuk@dovecot dovecot@vosslamber.nl wrote:
i would also setup a forward from domainA to domainB for all the users that have moved, at least until most people who do send email know the 'old'address has changed.
I would only do that for a few days at most, otherwise it just turns into a crutch that will 'enable' lazy people to wait 'forever' until they change their address book.
What I do is set up the alais for a few days, then convert it to a custom reject, informing the sender of the new email address.
-- Best regards,
Charles
participants (4)
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Charles Marcus
-
Gedalya
-
Luuk＠dovecot
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Spyros Tsiolis