Information Technology

E-mail Conversion Updates

Sunday, April 6, 2008


Our e-mail conversion was successful.  The web version is working very well, please try it.  We found some changes in the documentation for using the clients; Thunderbird, Outlook and Mac Mail.  We've updated the instructions so please look at them before making the changes.  If you cannot get logged in with either client or web, please contact IT at 477-2603.  Thanks.

New Instructions for Thunderbird - Thunderbird Upgrade Instructions

New Instructions for Mozilla - Mozilla Mail Instructions

New Instructions for Mac Mail - 


Thursday, April 3, 2008

We are going to attempt our conversion from our old mail server to our new servers and software this weekend. Because of the unexpected time it was taking last weekend, I cancelled the conversion and we reverted back to the old e-mail system. We've had conference calls with hardware and software vendors in an effort to shorten the time, but have not been very successful. When converting millions of records, it simply takes time.

Therefore, starting at 6:00 pm tomorrow, Friday, April 4, 2008 we will shut down our current e-mail servers and start the conversion again. Based on what happened last weekend, I expect the process to take 24 hours. Again we will queue all incoming e-mail and deliver it after conversion is done. Conversion includes copying all e-mail messages, folders, address books, user IDs and password from our old e-mail server the new servers. Once that is done, we have to do some testing to make sure everything was copied. We will then start delivering mail in our
queue and finally will allow logins to the new system.

The instructions for clients such as Thunderbird, Mozilla and Outlook for Windows computers remain the same.

The instructions for Macintosh OS X Mail remain the same. You can find these instructions at http://www.mnstate.edu/it/emailconversion.cfm Thanks for your continued patience with this process.

Here is the current status of our e-mail messages.

E-mail is operational. This means that new messages are being delivered and received from both on-campus and off-campus. We know we have messages from the weekend that have not been delivered to inboxes. We are working very closely with our hardware and software vendors to deliver those as soon as possible. We have not lost any e-mail messages. Some messages have not yet been delivered.


Monday, March 31, 2008


  • At 4:45 am on Monday, March 31, we stopped the e-mail conversion.  At that point in time, we still had almost 1, 000 inboxes to be converted.  At 5:30 am Monday, we restarted our old mail system and started delivering messages from the weekend queue.  We have about 400,000 valid e-mail messages in the queue waiting to be delivered.  Those messages along with all new messages will be delivered today to the old e-mail system.  Delivery of those messages may take most of the day. 


  • How do I import my address book to DragonMail from Thunderbird?

 

  • What is the preferred client for Windows?
    We recommend Thunderbird for Windows, or you may use the web without a client.

  • What is the preferred client for Macintosh?
    We recommend using Mac OS X Mail for Macintosh users or you may use the web without a client.

  • If I’m not running Thunderbird, how can I change to Thunderbird?
     - Thunderbird Upgrade Instructions

  • Will earlier versions of Mozilla work with the new e-mail system?  If so, what changes do I have to make?
    Yes, but it will not be supported.  We recommend moving to Thunderbird.
     - Mozilla Mail Instructions
     - Mozilla Thunderbird Instructions

  • If I'm on a Mac running Leopard what changes do I need to make?
    - Zimbra Changes for Mac OS X Mail for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Users


  • If I'm on a Mac running Panther or Tiger what changes do I need to make?
    - Zimbra Changes for Mac OS X Mail for Mac OS X 10.3 Panther and 10.4 Tiger Users

  • Will Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2007 work with the new e-mail system?  If so, what changes do I have to make?
    Yes, both will work with our new e-mail system.
     - Outlook 2003 Instructions
     - Outlook 2007 Instructions

  • Will Netscape work with the new e-mail system?  If so, what changes do I have to make?
     - Netscape will not be supported.  We recommend that you upgrade to Thunderbird.

  • Will Pine be available for me to read my e-mail?  If not, what choices do I have?
     - Pine is not support in the new e-mail environment.  Please upgrade to Thunderbird or use the web version.

  • If I only use the web e-mail, also called DragonMail, also called FelaMiMail do I have to make any changes?
    You will not have to make any changes in the way you read e-mail.

  • If I use only the web version of e-mail, what browser should I use?
     - Any current browser should handle the new web e-mail system.

  • I have files, other than e-mail files, stored on mail.mnstate.edu.  What should I do about those?
     - Please email Information Technology at support@mnstate.edu.

  • Will the new e-mail system have SSL security?
     - It will not when we roll out the system, but will have before the end of spring term 2008.

  • Will I have to change my password immediately after the conversion?
     - No, we will set password expiration to 180 days, per MnSCU guidelines.  The count down starts the day of conversion.

  • What will be the password requirements on the new e-mail system?
     - When changing your password, it must be at least 8 characters long with at least one alpha and one numeric character.  You will not be able to reuse passwords.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

We continue to test the new e-mail system, Zimbra.  We are experiencing some problems with the conversion and want to make sure we can convert all e-mail messages, inboxes and folders before we switch.  I do not want a situation similar to what MnSCU encountered a couple weeks ago.  They had the opportunity to roll back to an older version.  With e-mail, we don't have that option, once we go to Zimbra, Zimbra is how we receive e-mail.  Our date for conversion is Sunday, March 23, 2008.  This is a long weekend for faculty and students so we should have fewer connections to e-mail.  That will make the conversion faster.

We have scheduled a couple different demonstrations to show the campus the new e-mail system.  On Wednesday, March 19 at 10:00 am and at noon, in CMU 205, Jeanne Alm and I will be demonstrating the Zimbra web access to e-mail and will show how the new e-mail appears using Thunderbird and Mac OS X Mail.  Also, between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm, Craig Beckerleg, probably with student employee help, will be showing our students the new web access to e-mail.  Craig will be in the CMU Main Lounge area.

For everyone who uses Thunderbird or the web to access e-mail, I believe the conversion will work well.  There is a small group of employees who connect to our current e-mail systems via ssh or terminal mode.  We believe all e-mail and e-mail folders will convert.  However, if you are one of these users and have  files stored on mail.mnstate.edu, please contact me about moving those files.

Macintosh users will be able to configure Max OS X Mail to work with Zimbra the same way Windows Thurderbird users do.

Our next e-mail message will include instructions on how to setup your Thunderbird client to work with Zimbra e-mail.  I will also send estimates of e-mail down time.

We created a web page with E-mail conversion updates at http://www.mnstate.edu/it/emailconversion.cfm