Note: This article was originally published in 2013. Some steps, commands, or software versions may have changed. Check the current Exchange 2010 documentation for the latest information.

In this step-by-step guide, you’ll learn move arbitration mailboxes in exchange 2010. Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 brought improvements in high availability with Database Availability Groups (DAGs), role-based access control, and enhanced Outlook Web App.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

  • Exchange Server 2010 SP3 or later
  • Exchange Management Console or Exchange Management Shell access
  • Appropriate administrative permissions

How to: Move Arbitration Mailboxes in (http://www.microsoft.com/exchange “Microsoft Exchange Server”)

When trying to demote my SBS 2011 one of the steps was to uninstall Exchange 2010 from the machine. As many of you will find out the uninstall process requires some work. I recommend reading the more detailed article on How to remove the default (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database “Database”) in Exchange 2010 in order to move all the information into your new Exchange Server, but for those who are already 90% of the way here is that 10% you were missing.

The (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Error_message “Error message”) you find when performing an uninstall from the (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphical_user_interface “Graphical user interface”) is the following:

Error: This mailbox database contains one or more mailboxes, mailbox plans, archive mailboxes, or arbitration mailboxes. To get a list of all mailboxes in this database, run the command Get-Mailbox -Database . To get a list of all mailbox plans in this database, run the command Get-MailboxPlan. To get a list of archive mailboxes in this database, run the command Get-Mailbox -Database -Archive. To get a list of all arbitration mailboxes in this database, run the command Get-Mailbox -Database -Arbitration. To disable a non-arbitration mailbox so that you can delete the mailbox database, run the command Disable-Mailbox . To disable an archive mailbox so you can delete the mailbox database, run the command Disable-Mailbox -Archive. Arbitration mailboxes should be moved to another server; to do this, run the command New-MoveRequest . If this is the last server in the organization, run the command Disable-Mailbox -Arbitration -DisableLastArbitrationMailboxAllowed to disable the arbitration mailbox. Mailbox plans should be moved to another server; to do this, run the command Set-MailboxPlan -Database .

If you are like me you already moved all your user mailboxes out of the database but you probably forgot about arbitration mailboxes. If you are curious about them you can read more about them here: (http://technology.bauzas.com/microsoft/servers/exchange/exchange-2010/exchange-2010-what-is-an-arbitration-mailbox/ “Exchange 2010: What is an arbitration mailbox?”). Anyway, the issue here is that the arbitration mailboxes get placed in the first mailbox database you create, hence your SBS Exchange machine. All you have to do is run the following command to move those mailboxes to your new database on a different server: Using the Exchange Management Shell execute the following

“Get-Mailbox –Arbitration | New-MoveRequest –TargetDatabase DatabaseName”

That should work fine most of the time, but if you want to be more specific you can run the following command:

Get-Mailbox -Arbitration -Database “Mailbox Database SOURCE ” | New-MoveRequest -TargetDatabase “Mailbox Database DESTINATION ”

The first command will get all the arbitration mailboxes across the enterprise while the second one will just pick from the database you specify (your SBS computer in my case). For most users it won’t matter which one you use but for a large enterprise it does make a world of a difference. Hope this helps!

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Summary

You’ve successfully learned move arbitration mailboxes in exchange 2010. If you run into any issues, double-check the prerequisites and ensure your Exchange 2010 environment is properly configured.