This is the guide for migrating folders and documents (emails, calendars and contacts) from one G Suite instance to another through the Gmail API endpoints. There are some tools and resources that will make the migration easier.
First migration?
We’ve created a guide on scoping, planning, and managing the migration process for your use. If this is your first migration, we recommend reading this guide carefully.
MigrationWiz
MigrationWiz is a migration tool, not a syncing tool. If changes are made at the source after migration, they will not sync to the destination, nor will changes made at the destination sync to the source. We do not have “live” monitoring of changes (as with a sync agent) and we cannot handle scenarios such as conflict resolution without user interaction.
MigrationWiz supports the capability to share migration projects across a Workgroup. When the Project Sharing feature is turned on, all Agents besides those who are Inactive can view all migrations projects.
We are not able to support migrations with a service account with two-factor or multifactor authentication.
The maximum file size for migration through MigrationWiz varies by migration type and environment, but may never exceed 60GB.
Migrated
- Inbox
- Folders/Labels
- Muted Email (as regular email)
- Contacts
- Calendars (including links for Google Hangouts within calendar meetings)
- Calendar Notifications
- Google Categories (i.e., the Google category flags: Social, Promotions, Updates, Forums)
Links for Google Hangouts are a new default feature added to Google Meeting. Microsoft 365 doesn't have the corresponding property to map. Therefore, when migrating to Microsoft 365, the links for Google Hangouts are added to the beginning of the meeting description body text on Microsoft 365.
Limitations
- When migrating from G Suite as a source, contacts in Contact Groups (which look like subfolders of the Contacts folder) will migrate to the top level contacts folder on the destination. Folders will be created for each group but the contacts will not be sorted into those folders.
- Calendars can have multiple Owners. An Owner is anyone with "Make changes and manage sharing" permissions, so shared calendars will be migrated to users with these permissions by default.
Not Migrated in Any Instance
- Calendar Reminders
- Google Spaces
- Google Spaces Chats
- Appointments
- Chat message attachments
- Google Groups for Business (including forums and collaborative inboxes)
Not Migrated As Source
- Calendar Attachments
- Calendar Reminders
- Tasks
- Chats and chat history
- Email attachments that are links to Google Drive
- Some calendar colors
Note: All color category meta tags are transferred over, but Microsoft 365 does not have direct color mappings from Google G Suite, and so certain colors do not get mapped over, thus the colors are not displayed in Microsoft 365 for the calendar entries.
Limitation
Relationship fields do not migrate fully from Gmail. The mappings are as follows:
Content.content |
contact body |
Description in the body |
Sensitivity |
Sensitivity |
|
Priority |
Importance |
|
Initials |
Initials |
|
Nickname |
NickName |
|
Name.FullName |
Subject |
|
Name.FullName |
FileAs |
|
Name.GivenName |
GivenName |
|
Name.FamilyName |
Surname |
|
Name.NameSuffix |
Generation |
|
Name.AdditionalName |
MiddleName |
|
Organization (primary) |
CompanyName |
Also stores name, department, title and job descriptions |
Organizations (non-primary) |
Companies |
Also stores name, department, title and job descriptions |
Emails |
EmailAddresses |
Only first 3 are stored. Rest are stored in overflow properties. |
IMs |
ImAddresses |
Only first 3 are stored. Rest are stored in overflow properties. |
Phone numbers |
PhoneNumbers Types:
|
If any number is already set, we append to overflow contact properties |
Postal Addresses |
Physical Addresses Types:
|
If any address is already set, we append to overflow contact properties. Also stores city, country or region, postal code, state and street |
Events |
Wedding Anniversary (only for anniversary) |
Rest are stored in overflow properties |
Relations (value = "assistant") |
AssistantName |
|
Relations (value = "child") |
Children |
|
Relations (value = "domestic-partner") |
SpouseName |
|
Relations (value = "manager") |
Manager |
|
Relations (value = "partner") |
SpouseName |
|
Relations (value = "spouse") |
SpouseName |
|
Relations (value = others) |
Others stored in overflow properties |
|
Mileage |
Mileage |
|
ContactPhotoInBytes |
Attachments |
|
User defined fields |
All stored in overflow properties |
|
Name.GivenNamePhonetics + Name.AdditionalNamePhonetics |
Stored as extended property |
|
Name.FamilyNamePhonetics |
Stored as extended property |
|
contactEntry.Name.NamePrefix |
Stored as extended property |
|
Birthday |
Stored as extended property |
|
Websites |
Stored as extended property |
|
With Google API Endpoint at Source
With this endpoint, all items listed above migrate as before. However, utilizing the API endpoint enables migration of the following items as well. The following items are not migrated via the IMAP endpoint.
Migrated
- Google Categories (Category flags, i.e. Social, Promotions, Updates, Forums)
- Snoozed and Scheduled emails - these are migrated like regular emails to custom destination labels. Their properties are not migrated.
Preparing the Source
The G Suite (Gmail API) source endpoint requires your tenant service account to be set up and that Google APIs be enabled.
Prerequisites
- Subscription to Google Cloud Platform.
- Google Super Administrator account.
- Ability to set up a service account on the G Suite tenant.
- Service account must be set up before the MigrationWiz project is created.
- All accounts being migrated must be in Active status in the tenant. Users that are set to a status of Inactive will not be able to fully migrate and will fail in the project.
Create a Google Project
- Go to the Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Console and sign in as a super administrator. Choose one of the options below:
- If you haven't used the Google Cloud Platform Console before, agree to the Terms of Service and click Create Project.
- If you have used Google Cloud Platform Console before, at the top of the screen next to your most recent project name, click Down to open your projects list. Then, click New Project.
- Enter a project name and click Create.
If you are not able to create a project here, it may be that the ability to create projects has been disabled for your tenant. To check this, navigate to the Google Admin Center and click on Apps > Additional Google Services and select the Google Cloud Platform. Once there, you should see a setting that can be toggled in order to allow users to create projects.
Enable APIs for Service Account
- From the Google Cloud Platform Console, click Menu (
) > APIs & Services > Library.
- Enable the following APIs by selecting the specific API and clicking Enable. Repeat for each API:
- Google Drive API
- Google Calendar API
- Gmail API
- Contacts API
- People API
- Admin SDK
Make sure that the Gmail, Calendar, and Contacts services are enabled within the Google tenant. You can control services for your users using the instructions on this page: Control who can access G Suite and Google Services.
Create Customer Tenant Service Account
- From the Google Cloud Platform Console, click Menu (
) > API & Services > Credentials > CREATE CREDENTIALS > Service account
- Click Create Service Account and enter a name.
- Click Create.
- Assign the role of Owner to the new Service Account by selecting Owner from the Role Dropdown menu.
- Click Continue.
- Click Done.
- Click on the service account and select ADD KEY > Create new key.
- Make sure that JSON is selected and click Create.
- Make sure that you download the key as a JSON file and make a note of the name and location of the file. This JSON file will be used when setting up the migration endpoint in the Mailbox Migration project.
- The JSON file must contain information in the following fields: “type”, “private key”, and “client email”. If these mandatory fields are empty the file upload during endpoint creation will fail.
- Click Close.
Setting the Scopes for the migration
- From the Google Cloud Platform Console, click Menu (
) > API & Services > Credentials >
- Find the service account that was set up in Step 3.
- Find the Unique ID field for that service account and copy the ID number. This is the Client ID number that will be used in a later step.
- This field often needs to be added to the view. Click on the Column display options button (
) and add a checkmark to Unique ID, then click OK.
- This Client ID should be considered similar to Administrator account passwords and handled securely.
- This field often needs to be added to the view. Click on the Column display options button (
You will now have one of two options, depending on if the Google UI has been updated for your tenant.
Old Google Tenant:
Go to the G Suite admin page at google.com
Click Security.
Click Advanced Settings.
Click Manage API Client Access.
OR If your account shows the latest UI updates from Google:
Go to the G Suite admin page at google.com
Click Security > Access and Data Controls > API Controls.
Under ‘Domain-wide delegation’, click Manage domain-wide delegation.
On the Manage domain-wide delegation page, click Add new.
Once these steps are complete:
- In the Client Name field, paste the Unique ID copied above.
- In the scopes field, paste all scopes listed below:
https://mail.google.com/, https://www.google.com/m8/feeds, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/contacts.readonly, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/admin.directory.group, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/admin.directory.user, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive, https://sites.google.com/feeds/, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.settings.sharing, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.settings.basic, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/admin.directory.group.readonly,https://www.googleapis.com/auth/admin.directory.user.readonly,https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar.readonly,https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.readonly, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/contacts.other.readonly
- Click Authorize.
You should now see your specific Unique ID and the scopes listed, similar to what is shown below:
Preparing the Destination
Create users on G Suite
Google provides clear, step-by-step guidance for this project.
Service account
The G Suite (Gmail API) destination endpoint requires your tenant service account to be set up and google APIs be enabled. You can either create separate service account for destination, or use the same service account setup for source.
-
Different service account for destination: Follow the steps outlined in Set Up Google API before configuring the destination endpoint in MigrationWiz.
OR -
Shared service account between destination and source : If you are sharing the service account already setup for the source endpoint, then only the following additional steps are required to enable scopes for destination:
-
Log in to your Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Console. Click Menu (
) > API & Services > Credentials >
-
Find the service account that was set up for source.
-
Find the Unique ID field for that service account. If the Unique ID column is not displayed, Click on the service account and then copy the Unique ID value. This ID should be considered similar to Administrator account passwords and handled securely.
-
Go to the G Suite admin page at admin.google.com click on Security > Advanced Settings > Manage API Client Access.
OR
If your account shows the latest UI updates from Google, Go to the G Suite admin page at admin.google.com click on Security > Access and Data Controls > API Controls. Under ‘Domain-wide delegation’, click Manage domain-wide delegation > On the Manage domain-wide delegation page, click Add new. -
In the Client Name field, paste the Unique ID copied above.
-
In the scopes field, paste the following scopes:
https://mail.google.com/, https://www.google.com/m8/feeds, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/contacts.readonly, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/admin.directory.group, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/admin.directory.user, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive, https://sites.google.com/feeds/, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.settings.sharing, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.settings.basic, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/contacts
-
Click Authorize.
-
You should now see your specific Unique ID and the scopes listed.
Create a Mailbox Migration Project
-
-
From the MigrationWiz dashboard, click Go To My Projects.
-
Click Create Project.
-
Select a Mailbox migration type.
-
Click Next Step.
-
Enter a project name and select a Customer from the list.
-
If the customer hasn’t already been created, you can do so now.
-
To create a new Customer, click New, provide the required details including Primary Email Domain and Company Name, and click Save.
-
-
Click Next Step.
-
Select the G Suite (Gmail API) endpoint from the source drop-down menu. If an endpoint has not been created, click New, enter a name in the "Endpoint Name" field, select G Suite (Gmail API) from the Endpoint Type drop-down menu, and provide the requested information in the endpoint creation flyout window.
-
Select the G Suite (Gmail API) destination endpoint from the destination drop-down menu. If an endpoint has not been created, click New, enter a name in the "Endpoint Name" field, select G Suite (Gmail API) from the Endpoint Type drop-down menu, and provide the requested information in the endpoint creation flyout window.
-
Set the Endpoints
If you have not previously created endpoints, the following steps will guide you through the process.
-
When creating the project on your Source Settings or Destination Settings tab, click New.
-
Fill in the fields below. Once the endpoint has been saved in the project, it will automatically be assigned to the customer that was selected in the Project Information tab when creating the project.
-
Endpoint Name: Type any name you want for the endpoint. This is case and character specific.
- Select service provider.
-
Endpoint Type: Click the Endpoint Type drop-down, and then click the ‘G Suite (Gmail API)’ endpoint type in the list. When you select the endpoint type, the form will expand so that you can provide additional connection information and credentials.
-
Provide the Google service account credentials using the JSON file: Upload the JSON file for your service account setup.
-
If separate service accounts are set up for source and destination, please ensure that the correct JSON file is uploaded respectively for source & destination endpoints.
-
If a service account is shared between source and destination, then the same JSON file can be used for both source as well as destination.
-
Administrator Username: Provide a valid administrator email address for your G Suite account.
-
Support Options
The following Support Options are the most useful for this scenario.
StoreOverflowGooglePropertiesInNotes=1
StoreOverflowGooglePropertiesInNotesPrefix="enter your text here"
-
Click Save and Go to Summary.
Add Accounts (Items)
In MSPComplete, add the accounts that will be migrated, also referred to as items, to a project using one of the following options:
Quick Add: This option allows you to add items one at a time. Provide an email address for source and destination for each.
Bulk Add: This option allows you to add multiple items at once by copying and pasting from a spreadsheet or by importing a CSV file. The domain names at the source and at the destination might be different. Make sure to provide the right information in the project. If they are different, it's best to modify these in your CSV file, and then use the Bulk Add feature to import the users into the dashboard.
- Select the Project for which you want to perform the bulk import.
- Click Add.
- Click Bulk Add.
- Follow the instructions on the page.
Purchase and Apply UMB Licenses
Licenses are required to run a migration project in MigrationWiz. To obtain license pricing information, or to purchase licenses, click the Purchase button in the top of your MigrationWiz dashboard.
Payment: We accept credit cards, and wire transfer in certain situations.
-
When purchasing with a credit card, payment is immediately processed during checkout. If successful, licenses are granted to your account instantly.
-
Wire transfers are available for purchases of 100 or more licenses. If you are purchasing at least 100 licenses, you will be presented an option to purchase via wire transfer during checkout. A wire transfer checkout will generate an invoice with wiring information for your accounts payable department and bank. Once the funds are received by our system, the licenses are granted to your account immediately.
For this project type, we recommend using our User Migration Bundle licenses.
-
These licenses enable you to perform multiple migrations of User mailboxes, documents, and in-place archives.
-
Further information on User Migration Bundle Licenses:
-
User Migration Bundle Licenses have unlimited data available per license.
-
User Migration Bundle Licenses are applied to the customer's users, for whom you'll be performing migrations, and are valid for one year.
-
Apply UMB Licenses
- Sign in to MigrationWiz at https://migrationwiz.bittitan.com.
- You can either sign in and make sure to select the MigrationWiz button above the email field or sign into MSPComplete page, then click the All Products button and select MigrationWiz.
- Select the correct workgroup on the top of the left navigation pane. This is the workgroup that the customer and migration project were created under. Your account must be part of the workgroup and project sharing must be enabled, if the project was not created under your account.
- Click the project that requires licenses to be applied. For more information see Add and Edit Workgroups and Project Sharing in MigrationWiz.
- Check the box to the left of the email for the user(s) to whom you want to apply a User Migration Bundle license.
- Click the More menu (3 stacked lines) at the top of the project page.
- Click Apply User Migration Bundle License.
Run Migration
The following sections will guide you through running your migration. Each header is one step, with its component steps below. Follow these steps in order, and read the notes for important information about dependencies or best practices.
Run Verify Credentials
-
Open the Project containing items you wish to validate.
-
Select the items you wish to validate.
-
Click on the Start button in your dashboard.
-
Select Verify Credentials from the drop-down list.
-
Once complete, the results of the verification will be shown in the Status section.
Notify Users
Send out the final notification that the migration is beginning. Include when the migration will start, expected duration, any usage instructions during migration, and any expected steps or notifications for the post-migration timeline.
Pre-Stage Pass
-
Select the users
-
Click the Start button from the top, and select Pre-Stage Migration
-
Under the Migration Scheduling section, from the drop-down list, select 90 days ago
-
Click Start Migration.
MX Record Cutover
On the DNS provider's portal, change the primary MX record to reflect the DNS settings for the destination G Suite tenant.
Full (Delta) Pass
-
Select the users.
-
Click the Start button from the top.
-
Select Full Migration.
-
Select/ Deselect check boxes (for Contact, Calendars, Mails) based on your migration need.
-
Click Start Migration.
This migration should complete quickly since most data is migrated during the Pre-Stage migration.
Run Retry Errors
Each error logged represents an item that was not migrated. MigrationWiz contains a mode in which you can resubmit the migration to retry failed items. This mode of operation is always free of charge. You may only submit mailboxes in this mode only if they satisfy all of the following conditions:
-
The last migration completed successfully.
-
The mailbox contains at least one error.
If your mailbox does not satisfy these conditions, you will receive a warning when submitting the migration in this mode and your request will not be fulfilled.
To submit one or more mailboxes in retry mode, perform the following steps:
-
Click the Go To My Projects button.
-
Select the project that contains the mailboxes that you want to retry.
-
Select the mailboxes that have migration errors.
-
Click on the Start button.
-
Select Retry Errors from the menu.
-
Click the Retry Errors button.
When errors are repaired, they will disappear from the error log. Some errors may not disappear if the Source item was not reprocessed (due to filters, for example), has been deleted or moved, or if the item failed again.
Post Migration
Click the bar chart icon in the MigrationWiz dashboard to receive an email containing all the project migration statistics.