On Exchange versions 2013, 2016 and Office 365, before creating first level public folders, public folder mailbox must be created. This mailbox will be used to store all items which will be stored in Public Folders which are part of this mailbox. One Exchange server can have multiple Public Folder Mailboxes and one Public Folder can belong to only on Public Folder Mailbox.
Quick links:
Microsoft Exchange 2013 and 2016
Exchange Control Panel
Log on to Exchange Control Panel from any web browser and click on Public folders:
Click on Public folder mailbox and then on the + sign to create a new mailbox
New public folder mailbox window will open, in it specify the name for your public folder. Example is using PublicFolderMailbox for the name but it can be any friendly name as long as it doesn’t contain any unsupported characters. It can contain spaces, and if that is the case the primary email for it will be saved as that name without spaces (e.g. Name: Public Folder Mailbox, PrimarySmtpAddress: PublicFolderMailbox@yourdomain.com) but this email address can’t be used to send any emails to it as Exchange Server will automatically reject them. Email addresses are set for each Public Folder individually and they will be copied over during the migration.
This mailbox can be saved in any Organizational Unit within Active Directory. Click on Browse in Organizational unit line to select desired Organizational Unit where you want Public folder mailbox to be stored. This mailbox, like any other user mailbox, can be moved later.
In last line select in which Mailbox Database would you like to store this mailbox. This can be same database where all your other mailboxes are stored, or a dedicated one for public folders. At the end hit on Save to create this mailbox.
Exchange Management Shell
These commands can be run on Exchange Management Shell directly on the server of from Power Shell if you are using remote Power Shell connection.
New-Mailbox -Name "Public Folder Mailbox" -PublicFolder -Database PublicFolderDatabase -OrganizationalUnit "CMP2016.local/CMP2016/PublicFolders"
Where:
- "Public Folder Mailbox" is the name of the folder for which you want to create
- PublicFolderDatabase is the name of the mailbox database in which you want to store this mailbox
- "CMP2016.local/CMP2016/PublicFolders" is the name of the Organizational unit where you want this mailbox to be saved in your Active Directory
Only parameters -Name and -PublicFolder are required. If -Database and -OrganizationalUnit are not specified it will put them in default Database/Organizational Unit.
To locate where your Public Folder Mailbox is stored, run this command:
Get-Mailbox -Identity "Public Folder Mailbox" -PublicFolder | select name,organizationalunit,database
Where:
- "Public Folder Mailbox" is the name of the folder for which you are trying to get the information.
Office 365
Exchange Control Panel
Go to portal.microsoftonline.com from any web browser and log in as some user which has admin privileges within your organization:
Once you are logged in, from the menu on the left-hand side, expand Admin centers and select Exchange
Click on Public Folders on the left-hand side
Click on Public folder mailbox and then on the + sign to create a new mailbox
New public folder mailbox window will open, in it specify the name for your public folder. Example is using PublicFolderMailbox for the name but it can be any friendly name as long as it doesn’t contain any unsupported characters. It can contain spaces, and if that is the case the primary email for it will be saved as that name without spaces (e.g. Name: Public Folder Mailbox, PrimarySmtpAddress: PublicFolderMailbox@yourdomain.com) but this email address can’t be used to send any emails to it as Exchange Server will automatically reject them. Email addresses are set for each Public Folder individually and they will be copied over during the migration. Hit on Save to create this mailbox.
PowerShell
Open PowerShell on your local computer and type in these commands to connect to Office 365 and enter your admin credentials when prompted:
$UserCredential = Get-Credential
$Session = New-PSSession -ConfigurationName Microsoft.Exchange -ConnectionUri https://outlook.office365.com/powershell-liveid/ -Credential $UserCredential -Authentication Basic -AllowRedirection
Import-PSSession $Session
To create public folder mailbox use:
New-Mailbox "Public Folder Mailbox" -PublicFolder
Where:
- "Public Folder Mailbox" is the name of the folder for which you want to create
CMP Internal (Migrated deleted Agent)
Comments