Migrations
Migrate mailboxes to Qboxmail by configuring migration sources, resources, runs, status, and import results.
What are migrations?
A migration is the operation that lets you transfer the content of one or more email accounts from a mail server to Qboxmail systems in bulk through a specially configured CSV file, making the message transfer procedure simpler and faster.
Migrations transfer all messages from the old server to Qboxmail and replicate the entire folder and subfolder tree.
Who can perform a migration?
Migrations can be performed by an Admin, a Team member, or a Manager authorized to manage domains.
What is needed to perform a migration?
To perform a migration, the source mail server must allow access to messages via IMAP, and you must prepare a specially configured CSV file.
Create a CSV file for a migration
To perform a migration, you need to create a dedicated CSV file specifying the usernames and passwords for the email accounts on the old server that you want to migrate.
You can add a maximum of 500 rows to the CSV file. Each customer can schedule a maximum of 5 migrations at the same time.
If you know the passwords of the email accounts you want to migrate, you can perform a standard migration.
If you do not know the users' passwords and your server supports IMAP Master User, you can transfer the content of the email accounts without knowing their password. In this case, you must create a CSV file by following the instructions for migration with Master User.
If you do not know the account passwords and your remote server does not provide the Master User feature, contact our technical support.
CSV file for a standard migration
To perform a standard migration, you must create a CSV file where each email account to import is defined by 4 fields, separated by the field separator ; (semicolon) and, if they contain a semicolon, enclosed by a text separator ” (double quote).
You must always specify the hostname or IP address of the remote IMAP server that Qboxmail systems will connect to in order to download messages.
Follow the specifications in the 0-ITA-LEGGIMI-MIGRAZIONI.txt file inside the Migrations.zip file.
We recommend always specifying an IP address, because the hostname may change after DNS changes.
| email@locale | Destination email account on Qboxmail systems |
| imap-server-remoto | Name of the IMAP server to connect to in order to download messages |
| email@remota | Remote email account from which to retrieve messages |
| pwdremota | Password of the remote mailbox from which to retrieve messages |
email@locale;imap-server-remoto;email@remota;pwdremota
If the remote server requires a username different from the email address, you can specify it in the CSV instead of the "email@remota" field.
Once the CSV file has been generated, we recommend always opening it with a text editor (e.g. Notepad) to verify that it is correct.
CSV file for a migration with Master User
Migration with Master User lets you transfer the content of email accounts without knowing their password. To perform a migration with Master User, you must create a CSV file where each email account to import is defined by 5 fields, separated by the field separator ; (semicolon) and, if they contain a semicolon, enclosed by a text separator ” (double quote).
You must always specify the hostname or IP address of the remote IMAP server that Qboxmail systems will connect to in order to download messages.
Follow the specifications in the 0-ITA-LEGGIMI-MIGRAZIONI.txt file inside the Migrations.zip file.
We recommend always specifying an IP address, because the hostname may change after DNS changes.
| email@locale | Destination email account on Qboxmail systems |
| imap-server-remoto | Name of the IMAP server to connect to in order to download messages |
| email@remota | Remote email account from which to retrieve messages |
| pwd-master-user | Password of the remote master user |
| master-user-name | Name of the remote master user |
email@locale;imap-server-remoto;email@remota;pwd-master-user;master-user-name
If the remote server requires a username different from the email address, you can specify it in the CSV instead of the "email@remota" field.
Once the CSV file has been generated, we recommend always opening it with a text editor (e.g. Notepad) to verify that it is correct.
Run a migration
To run a migration, click Migrations in the Control Panel sidebar, click the + Migration button, and complete the scheduling procedure steps.
- Select the type of remote server to migrate messages from (Standard, Gmail, Exchange, Office 365)> Access and IMAP settings vary between different providers and servers.
- Upload the CSV file you previously prepared.
- Set the date and time when the first migration should start.
- When the first run is complete, you will receive a confirmation email so you can change the MX records.> We recommend changing the MX records at the end of the first run so that the second run can transfer the remaining email messages that arrived on the old server in the meantime.
- Choose when to run the second migration (no more than 23 hours after the first).
You can set a date and time when the migration will start, or choose to run the migration immediately with the Run first migration as soon as possible option.
Messages in the following folders will not be migrated: Trash, Cestino, Spam, Posta indesiderata, Junk Email, and individual messages larger than 50 MB.
To complete the procedure, click the Migrate button. Once the scheduling procedure is complete, the migration will be visible in your migration list.
If the migration has been scheduled successfully, it will run at the scheduled time and you will receive a notification email when it is complete.
In case of errors, before scheduling a new migration, Qboxmail systems will connect to the IMAP server specified in the CSV file to attempt authentication. If authentication fails, an error message will appear and you will need to check for any issues with the accounts or with the remote server.
Migration errors are generally caused by an incorrect username or password, lack of IMAP protocol support by the remote server, or an incorrect IP address for the remote server.
Open the migration resource list to view the logs for each account for both runs.
Migration list
The migration list contains all migrations added to Qboxmail systems belonging to an Admin, with their detailed information. To view the migration list, click Migrations in the Control Panel sidebar.
Information shown in the migration list:
- Migration status.
- Name of the user who requested the migration.
- Migration code.
- Migration type.
- Number of resources to migrate.
- Scheduled date of the first migration.
- Scheduled date of the second migration.
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
 | Validating |
 | Valid migration |
 | Invalid migration |
By accessing the migration resource list, you can view all details of the accounts in the migration CSV file and their related outcomes or errors.
Delete a migration
To delete a migration from the migration list, click the Trash button next to the migration, then confirm the operation by clicking the Delete button in the modal.
You cannot delete a migration in progress. Contact our technical support for more information.
Migrations older than 30 days are deleted automatically.
When to change MX records
By scheduling migrations at least 4/8 hours apart, you will have time to change your domain's MX records and prevent messages received by the accounts during the first migration from being lost.
At the end of the first migration, Qboxmail systems will send you a notification email so you can change the MX records and direct the accounts to Qboxmail servers. This way, when the second migration runs, it can retrieve the messages on the old server that were received during the procedure.
Migrate from MS365
This procedure applies to MS365 accounts protected with OAuth2 authentication.
To migrate from MS365, you need to create an App Registration. You can then contact our technical support and provide the CSV file, to which you will have added two additional fields:
| client_ID | 'Application (client) ID' related to the App Registration created |
| client_secret | the value of the 'client secret' |
The CSV file will therefore have the following form:
email@locale;imap-server-remoto;email@remota;pwdremota;client_ID;client_secret