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Working with Migrations

In most cases, Document Central is set up with a new repository. If a previous version of Document Central was used with SharePoint On-Premise, Document Central provides a migration path to the new repository, SharePoint Online. Additionally, Document Central can migrate to Azure Blob Storage when using SharePoint Online as the repository.

Note

Please note that the process can be time-consuming depending on the volume of data and requires careful planning, regardless of the type of migration.

Working with SharePoint Migration

Sometimes a switch between SharePoint sites is necessary, such as from On-Premise to Online. In this case, documents need to be transferred from the old SharePoint to the new SharePoint. This can be done with the help of SharePoint migration in Document Central.

Scenario: The old Document Central interface was used with SharePoint On-Premise. The new Document Central interface is used with SharePoint Online.

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

  • Ensure that the target SharePoint repository is created and fully configured in Document Central.
  • Ensure that the app registration for the target SharePoint is correctly configured. Document Central will then use an app user for the upload during the migration.
  • Ensure that the structure of SharePoint On-Premise and Online is identical. All metadata values and content types are created in the target SharePoint exactly as in the source SharePoint.
  • Ensure that the target SharePoint repository is the active repository in Document Central.
  • Ensure that the task queue Document Central Job Queue – Migration is enabled and in the Ready status.

Steps: The migration occurs in the following steps:

  1. Fill out the migration list.
  2. Set up the source SharePoint.
  3. Define the structure of the source SharePoint.
  4. Optional: Translate content types and metadata.
  5. Check that the task queue Document Central Job Queue – Migration is enabled and has the status Ready. If necessary, start the task queue.
  6. Start the migration.
  7. Synchronize document libraries.

Info

For the migration to be successful, the content types and metadata from the source SharePoint must be present in the target SharePoint. If they are not present, you can map the source content types and metadata to the new target types.

To fill out the migration list, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate through the Document Central - Administrator role center.
  2. Click on Migration in the menu bar and perform the action SharePoint Migration.
  3. Perform the action Fill out migration list in the menu bar.
  4. The migration list will be populated from the configured document libraries in Document Central.

To set up the source SharePoint, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate through the Document Central - Administrator role center.
  2. Click on Migration in the menu bar and perform the action SharePoint Migration.
  3. Perform the action Enter source SharePoint in the menu bar.
  4. Specify the SharePoint URL in the SharePoint URL field.
  5. Specify the SharePoint field for the creation date in the SharePoint Field - Created (Optional) field.
  6. Specify the authentication mode in the Authentication Mode field.
  7. Specify the authentication type in the Authentication Type field.
  8. Enter the credentials in the Username and Password fields.
  9. Click OK to confirm the SharePoint source information.

To specify the SharePoint source structure, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate through the Document Central - Administrator role center.
  2. Click on Migration in the menu bar and perform the action SharePoint Migration.
  3. Specify the source document libraries in the Source Library Name field.
  4. Specify the subsite in the Source Subsite field.
  5. Specify the primary field in the SharePoint Field - Source Document No. field.
  6. Check the box Delete source if you want to delete the documents from the source SharePoint after migration.

To translate the content types, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate through the Document Central - Administrator role center.
  2. Click on Migration in the menu bar and perform the action SharePoint Migration.
  3. Perform the action Content Type Migration Matrix.
  4. Perform the action Import source content types to import all content types from the source SharePoint.
  5. Map the content types from the source SharePoint to those in the target SharePoint by specifying the target content type in the Target Content Type Name field.
  6. The content types are now mapped.

Caution

Content types that are present in both the source and target SharePoint are automatically mapped. You only need to map the content types that are not present in the target SharePoint. Documents with content types that are not present in the target SharePoint cannot be migrated.

To translate the metadata, follow these steps: 1. Navigate through the Document Central - Administrator role center. 2. Click on Migration in the menu bar and perform the action SharePoint Migration. 3. Perform the action Metadata Migration Matrix. 4. Perform the action Import source metadata to import all metadata from the source SharePoint. 5. Map the metadata from the source SharePoint to those in the target SharePoint by specifying the Target Metadata Name field. 6. The metadata is now mapped.

Caution

Metadata that is present in both the source and target SharePoint is automatically mapped. You only need to map the metadata that is not present in the target SharePoint. Documents with metadata values that are not present in the target SharePoint cannot be migrated.

To start the migration, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate through the Document Central - Administrator role center.
  2. Click on Migration in the menu bar and perform the action SharePoint Migration.
  3. Perform the action Start Migration in the menu bar.

Info

After completing all steps, the migration begins. It runs in the background. Please note that the duration of the migration process depends on the number and size of the documents in SharePoint. You can stop the migration by clicking the action Stop Migration. This stops the background session of the ongoing migration. If you want to restart the migration, you can either start over or continue from the point where you stopped. If you want to start the migration from the beginning, you need to reset the migration entry. You can reset a migration entry by clicking the action Reset Migration Entry. This only clears the status of the migration entry and the state in which it was stopped. When you restart the migration, it starts from the beginning. If you want to restart the migration for all documents from the beginning, you need to press the action Delete Migration Entries. Otherwise, the migration will not upload documents that were previously uploaded successfully. Error entries will continue to be uploaded even if this is not pressed.

To synchronize the document libraries, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate through the Document Central - Administrator role center.
  2. Click on Repository in the menu bar and perform the action Synchronize Document Entries.
  3. Perform the action Fill out Synchronization in the menu bar.
  4. Select the document libraries to synchronize and click on the action Start Synchronization in the menu bar.
  5. The synchronization will be executed for the selected document libraries.

Important

  • To ensure successful synchronization, standard mappings must be configured in the document libraries. These mappings are included in the default setup. If a manual setup has been made, this must be taken into account.
  • The server instance can process up to 10 background sessions per tenant simultaneously. All requests exceeding this limit will be queued until a slot becomes available.
  • Only documents with the filled primary key (Include in query) field in the repository will be synchronized with Document Central.

Working with Azure Blob Storage Migration

If the repository needs to be changed from SharePoint Online to Azure Blob Storage, Document Central provides a standard migration process.

Scenario: The SharePoint Online repository is to be changed to an Azure Blob Storage repository.

Prerequisites: Before starting the migration, ensure that the following requirements are met: - Ensure that the target and source repositories are created and fully configured in Document Central. - Ensure that the source SharePoint repository is the active repository in Document Central. - Ensure that the app registration for the source SharePoint is correctly configured. - Ensure that all content types, metadata, and document libraries are synchronized between Document Central and SharePoint. You can synchronize all data in the module setup with the action Update Repository. - Ensure that all documents are available in the SharePoint repository. Otherwise, perform the document entry synchronization to synchronize the entries before migration.

Steps: To migrate from SharePoint to Azure Blob Storage, proceed as follows:

  1. Start in the Document Central - Administrator role center.
  2. Click on Setup in the menu bar and perform the action Repository.
  3. Select the Azure Blob Storage repository and perform the action Set as Active Repository. A confirmation dialog will appear asking if the user wants to migrate the documents.
  4. Confirm with Yes to open the migration wizard.
  5. Click on Start to begin the migration wizard.
  6. Specify the user context to be used for the migration process in the User field. The user must be authenticated, and these user credentials will be used to retrieve the documents from SharePoint.
  7. Specify whether the source data should be deleted. You can also specify whether the migration date should be transferred from the SharePoint metadata (Use Migration Date).
  8. If the Use Migration Date option is enabled, select the metadata field to be used for the migration date and time.
  9. Ensure that Migrated From and Migrated To are correct.
  10. Click on Finish to start the migration.

Caution

Deleting previous entries will delete all documents in the document entries and in SharePoint. The migration will be processed in the background. Please note that the duration of the migration process depends on how many documents are in SharePoint and how large the documents are.

Use Migration Date:

When this option is enabled, Document Central reads the migration date from the SharePoint metadata during migration and transfers it to the metadata of the migrated documents in Azure Blob Storage.

  • The selected Metadata Field determines in which field the migration date will be stored.
  • If no field is selected or no date is available in SharePoint, the upload date from Azure Blob Storage will be used automatically.

Benefits:

  • Migration date from SharePoint metadata can be transferred.
  • Consistent application of retention policies and lifecycle management in Azure Blob Storage.
  • Precise filtering, sorting, and searching by migration date after migration.
  • Reduced effort for subsequent adjustments to document data.
  • Integration into the existing migration process.