When it comes time for the migration our Partner will have provided a number of files in regards to the import.

IKANO will setup the domain in Google Apps, and then make the request to move the domain to Partner Edition. At the same time as the request, our partner will be provided with login information for the Google Apps Control Panel, and be sent an email about the domain being verified. Once the domain is on Partner Edition, the API will be enabled. 

The day before the migration IKANO will use the User Import file to import users into Google Apps. At this time dual delivery will also be enabled in the Control Panel with the IP address or hostname provided by the partner for the location of secondary mail delivery. The partner can then change MX records at any time. With dual delivery enabled and MX pointed at Google, all mail will then be delivered to Google and the second location set in dual delivery. An IMAP migration will also be started (When Requested) for the Partner, this IMAP migration will use a tool in the Google Apps Control Panel to import all the users mail currently hosted on the Partners local servers. The migration takes place via IMAP, and thus Partner servers have to be IMAP enabled.  The IMAP migration can take anywhere from 2 hours to a day. This is based on the amount of mail users currently store on the Partners mail servers.

IKANO will work with our Partner to ensure that the transition is as smooth as possible.  That being said, some issues do arise, here is a list of some issues that have been seen in past migrations:

• Dual Delivery Issues
• Some partners have experienced issues with dual delivery to their servers. To ensure that all mail is delivered correctly the Partner should whitelist, if possble, the Google IP's. In order to get a current list of IP's to allow this command can be executed:
  
• dig txt _spf.google.com | grep spf
• Another item that has arisen and there has been no fix for is the local delivery of mail. If a customer is still using the Partners local mail server to send mail, that mail will not deliver to the Google mailbox. Mailservers treat these emails as local and only deliver them to the local server. 
  
• Mail Client Settings
• Customers will be required to change their mail settings to check mail in Google. These changes can be found at http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=13287
• Mail Delivery Limits
• Google limits the email customers can send on a daily basis.  The number of messages for Partner Edition is limited to 100 from a client and 500 from webmail.