Overview

When migrating Kerio Connect from the old server (macMini, Windows Server 2012 R2, etc) to the new server (Ubuntu VM, Windows Server 2016, etc), the whole Configuration and MailStore should be transferred.

As a best practice, the transfer between different locations should be completed using a full backup on the source server and restoration on the target data center server. The alternative way is to move the internal files manually.

 
Prerequisites

 
Before starting the migration process, ensure that the following requirements are met:

• A valid Server License (located in the License section of the dashboard)

• Full OS access on the source and target servers

• The same Kerio Connect architecture (32-bit or 64-bit) on both servers

• The same version of Kerio Connect on both servers (download older versions if needed)

• A data transfer channel - a portable storage device, FTP (File Transfer Protocol), or SCP (Secure Copy Protocol)

• Both the source and target servers need to be offline.

• A full backup may take many hours (depending on the Storage occupied) and an incremental backup is needed for a complete restore of the source server.

Note: For Kerio Connect 9.0.4 and older versions, it is recommended to upgrade the source server to the latest version, or you can install the old version (from the source server) on the target server, transfer the data, and then upgrade the target server. This is required because the MAPI properties DB structure has changed in Kerio 9.1.

Solution

Recommended Method

1. On the source server, stop all Kerio Connect services to disable mail flow during the migration.
   
   
   

   Note: Failing to stop the mail flow before beginning the migration can result in a data discrepancy between the source and target servers, as the backup content will lose any items received or deleted/moved/edited by users during the migration.

2. On the source server, perform a full backup.
3. Copy the backup files to the target server.
4. On the target server, perform the data recovery process. 
   • Windows 
   • Mac OS
   • Linux
     • Please note that if the target server has data within, the mail store will be overwritten with the contents of the backup.
5. After the recovery process is complete, modify the mailserver.cfg file to use the appropriate paths on the target server.

Manual Method

1. On the source and target servers, stop Kerio Connect:
   • Windows
   • Mac OS
   • Linux
2. On the source server, navigate to the Kerio Connect installation directory.
   
   

   Operating System	Location
   Mac OS	/usr/local/kerio/mailserver/
   Red Hat/SuSE	/opt/kerio/mailserver/
   Windows	C:\Program Files\Kerio\MailServer\

3. Locate and copy the following files and folders: 

   • mailserver.cfg – Stores the Kerio Connect configuration.

   • users.cfg – Stores users, groups, and aliases.

   • sslcert – Contains the private key used for SSL connection.

   • settings – Contains specific settings (SMTP rules and domain footer images).

4. On the target server, stop Kerio Connect. 

5. Navigate to the installation directory.

6. Paste the items (copied in Step 2) to the target server.

7. On the source server, locate and copy the mail store. This directory is defined in the administration interface under Configuration > Advanced Options > Store Directory.

8. On the target server, paste the mail store directory to the desired location.

9. Modify the mailserver.cfg file to use the appropriate paths on the target server.

Note: It is possible to use your existing Kerio Connect license on a new test server without stopping the old server, as long as the new server is of the same OS type as the old server and the Download Limit for your license has not been reached. Please review the Registering Kerio Connect Trial Version article for information on how to properly register a trial license. You can only install a trial license on a new server that doesn't contain data from another server (i.e. a blank server).

If the new server has a different OS, you will need to follow the steps in Changing the Operating System of Kerio Connect License Key first before registering it in the new server. Do note that some error messages are expected and for a short while, this is fine. As long as you don't keep both servers running at the same time for an extended period, no issues will arise.

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Verification and Final Steps

• Register your license on the new server.
• If your users are logging in via Active/Open Directory, make sure to add the server to the domain.
• If your server's IP address has changed, make sure to update all relevant DNS records.
• If you are moving from Mac OS X to a different OS, you must rebuild accounts that use Exchange Web Services (EWS). This means that you need to remove and re-create the account that is configured as an Exchange Account in the email client application (e.g., Outlook, Apple Mail). This does not apply to iOS and Android devices because they only use IMAP or ActiveSync.
• After restoring the Kerio Connect configuration from backup it will overwrite the current Kerio Connect settings with settings from the backup, so after restoring from the backup you will have to use the admin password from your source server to login to the new Kerio Connect. It's recommended using the same admin password and settings as on the source server when deploying new Kerio Connect to prevent confusion after restoring settings from the backup.

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