Cross-tenant migration batches are hugely beneficial when you want to transfer mailboxes or data between your Microsoft 365 organization and another Microsoft 365 organization. This feature primarily targets organizations that have undergone mergers, acquisitions, or divestitures.
Creating a Cross-Tenant Migration Batch:
We will outline the steps involved to create a new migration batch:
- From the Exchange admin center, navigate to “Recipients” > “Migration”.
- Click on the “+” sign and select “Migrate to Exchange Online.”
- Pick the appropriate option depending on whether you are migrating mailbox content or an IMAP migration.
- Depending on your choice in step 3, specify the details such as the number of mailboxes, users, IMAP servers, or preferred options.
- Add the users into the migration batch through a CSV file. This file should contain the necessary information such as email address, username, or password, depending on the type of migration batch.
- Select your preferred setting for the migration endpoint, then click “Next”.
- Define the name of the migration batch, then specify the desired options related to target delivery domain, synchronization, and report-to email.
- Click on “New” to officially create the migration batch.
Managing a Cross-Tenant Migration Batch:
After successfully creating a migration batch, you will need to also manage it effectively. Here are some of the actions you can perform:
- Start, stop or delete a migration batch: From Exchange admin center, go to “Recipients” > “Migration”, select the migration batch you want to manage, and then click “…” to access the options.
- Download migration reports: You can download the status of your migration batches by selecting “Download the report for this user” while selecting a specific user from a migration batch list. You can also click “…” > “Download the migration report” to get a complete report.
- View migrated users: By clicking on the name of a migration batch in the Migration dashboard, you can access a detailed list of the users included in that particular batch and their migration status.
Remember, effective cross-tenant migration needs careful planning and precise execution. Make sure all the prerequisites are in place and validated for a smooth transition. For a more custom migration batch, Microsoft provides PowerShell cmdlets that can provide in-depth control for power users.
Undoubtedly, the cross-tenant migration feature of MS-203 Microsoft 365 Messaging is an essential tool for many organizations undergoing structural changes. By understanding the creation and management of batch migrations, IT professionals can ensure data transitions seamlessly between different Microsoft 365 organizations.
Practice Test
True or False: Cross-tenant migration batch allows you to move mailboxes in batch from one Microsoft 365 or Office 365 organization to another.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: The cross-tenant mailbox migration feature is used when mailboxes have to be moved from one Microsoft 365 or Office 365 organization to another.
Single Select: Which cmdlet allows you to create a new batch for cross-tenant migration?
- a) New-MigrationBatch
- b) Create-MigrationBatch
- c) Add-MigrationBatch
- d) New-TenantMigrationBatch
Answer: a) New-MigrationBatch
Explanation: The New-MigrationBatch cmdlet is used to create a new batch for cross-tenant migration.
Multiple Select: Which of the following cross-tenant migration batch stages happen in order?
- a) Validating
- b) Syncing
- c) Completing
- d) Created
Answer: d) Created, a) Validating, b) Syncing, c) Completing
Explanation: The stages of a cross-tenant migration batch are Created, Validating, Syncing, and Completing.
True or False: You can pause a cross-tenant migration batch during validation.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Pausing a cross-tenant migration batch during validation is not permitted.
Single Select: In the context of cross-tenant migration batch, what does the ‘Syncing’ status mean?
- a) The batch is being validated
- b) Initial sync is in progress
- c) Email messages are being moved
- d) The migration is completed
Answer: b) Initial sync is in progress
Explanation: ‘Syncing’ status means that the initial synchronization of mailbox items is in progress.
True or False: The command Start-MigrationBatch is used to start the migration process in cross-tenant migration.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: The Start-MigrationBatch command is used to start the migration process included in the batch.
Single Select: When a cross-tenant migration batch has completed, the status of the batch will be displayed as __________.
- a) Completed
- b) Synced
- c) Ended
- d) Finished
Answer: a) Completed
Explanation: When the migration batch has finished, the status of the batch will be ‘Completed’.
Multiple Select: Which of the following commands are useful in managing cross-tenant migration batches?
- a) New-MigrationBatch
- b) Set-MigrationBatch
- c) Remove-MigrationBatch
- d) Add-MigrationUser
Answer: a) New-MigrationBatch, b) Set-MigrationBatch, c) Remove-MigrationBatch
Explanation: The New-MigrationBatch, Set-MigrationBatch, and Remove-MigrationBatch commands are used to create, manage and remove migration batches, respectively.
True or False: It is possible to finalize a migration without any administrator intervention.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: An administrator must run the Complete-MigrationBatch cmdlet to finalize the migration.
Single Select: The command _______ is used to remove a cross-tenant migration batch.
- a) Delete-MigrationBatch
- b) Revoke-MigrationBatch
- c) Remove-MigrationBatch
- d) End-MigrationBatch
Answer: c) Remove-MigrationBatch
Explanation: The Remove-MigrationBatch command is used to delete a migration batch after it has completed.
Interview Questions
What is a cross-tenant migration batch in Microsoft 365?
A cross-tenant migration batch is a migration process that moves mailboxes from one Microsoft 365 tenant to another. This is typically used during mergers, acquisitions, or divestitures.
What are the pre-requisites to create a cross-tenant migration batch?
The pre-requisites include: both source and target domains must be in Microsoft 365, target domains must have necessary licenses, identity matching must be in place, migration endpoints must be created, and the necessary permissions must be granted.
What permissions are needed to manage a cross-tenant migration batch?
At minimum, you need the ‘Mail Recipients’ role in the security & compliance admin center and the ‘Migration’ role in the Exchange admin center to manage a cross-tenant migration batch.
What is the purpose of creating a migration endpoint?
A migration endpoint describes the settings for the source email system and contains the connection settings for the source mailboxes that you’re migrating.
How can you monitor the progress of a migration batch?
You can monitor the progress of a migration batch by going to the Exchange admin center, then navigate to Recipients > Migration. You can then view the status of the migration batch.
What is the role of identity matching in cross-tenant migration?
Identity matching ensures the mapping of users between the source and target Microsoft 365 tenants based on attributes like UserPrincipalName and Mail.
What types of items are migrated in a cross-tenant migration batch?
Most types of mailbox data are migrated, including e-mail messages, contacts, calendar items, tasks, notes, and mailbox folders.
What can cause a migration batch to fail?
A migration batch can fail due to a variety of reasons such as insufficient licenses in the target tenant, a problem with network connectivity, or authentication errors.
How do you resolve a migration batch that failed?
The resolution process would depend on the error message received. This could range from acquiring more licenses, troubleshooting network issues, or resolving authentication problems.
What should be done before deleting a migration batch?
You should first ensure all users and data have been successfully migrated and that the batch has a status of ‘Synced’ or ‘Completed’ before deleting a migration batch.
How do you pause a migration batch in progress?
You can pause a migration batch by navigating to the Migration dashboard in the Exchange admin center and click on the migration batch that you want to pause, then click on Suspend.
Does the source mailbox become disabled after successful migration?
No, the source mailbox will not be automatically disabled or deleted. It’s a manual process that needs to be done carefully to avoid data loss.
How long does it take to migrate a batch?
The migration time can vary widely depending on the amount of data, the speed of the network, and the performance of the source mail server.
What happens to the target mailbox if it already exists?
If the target mailbox already exists, a cross-tenant migration will merge the mailbox data without deleting existing data. However, it’s a good practice to backup data to avoid any data loss.
Can you perform a staged migration for cross-tenant migration?
No, staged migration is not supported for cross-tenant migration. You can however migrate the mailboxes in smaller batches.
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