This article discusses Content migration to Sharepoint Online and OneDrive for Business. You should also review the following related articles:
- How to optimize Sharepoint Online migration performance
- SharePoint Online migration design considerations
Content migration overview
Moving to SharePoint or OneDrive? There are several tools and methods you can use; what is best for you and your organization depends on a number of factors. What is the size and amount of content you need to move? Where does it currently reside? Taking the time to plan your migration, including taking an inventory and assessment of your data, is key to a successful migration. When you migrate your content to SharePoint Online or OneDrive, you are copying the files. Your source files are not deleted. Performance factors to be taken into conderation regarding Sharepoint Online and OneDrive for Business content migration are analyzed in the following article: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointmigration/sharepoint-online-and-onedrive-migration-speed
Microsoft offers the migration options shown in the table below.
| Tool/method | Description | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft FastTrack | Microsoft FastTrack services can help you get started with your migration to the cloud. | When you need assistance to help you get started on your migration project. |
| SharePoint Migration Tool | The SharePoint Migration Tool (SPMT) can migrate your files from SharePoint on-premises document libraries, lists or regular files shares. Download either the current release or the latest public preview: SharePoint Migration Tool (current release) or SharePoint Migration Tool Public Preview | Ideal for migrating SharePoint Server 2010 & 2013 environments or smaller file shares. |
| PowerShell | Using the PowerShell version of the SPMT. See Migrate to SharePoint Online using PowerShell. | SPMT is ideal for migrating SharePoint Server 2010 & 2013 environments or smaller file shares via PowerShell. |
| Migration Manager (preview) | Available in the SharePoint Admin center, Migration Manager provides a centralized way of connecting servers, creating tasks, and automatically distributing your migration tasks. To learn more, see: Get started with Migration Manager | Ideal for customers migrating large file shares. |
| Mover | Service for cloud to cloud migration. To learn more, see: Mover | Ideal for migrating data from other cloud service providers into OneDrive or SharePoint. Mover supports migration from over a dozen cloud service providers, including Box, Dropbox, Egnyte, and Google Drive. Mover can also be used to migrate from one SharePoint tenant to another, or from OneDrive consumer or OneDrive.com. |
| Azure Data Box | The Microsoft Azure Data Box is a service that lets you order a device from the Microsoft Azure portal. You can then copy TBs of data from your servers to the device, ship it back to Microsoft, and your data is copied into Azure. Once your data is in Azure, use SPMT to migrate content to SharePoint. To learn more, see Migrate using the Azure Data Box | Ideal when you want remove the dependency on your WAN link to transfer data. |
| OneDrive sync app | After installing the OneDrive sync app and syncing your library, you can drag and drop files to a folder on the computer and the content will automatically sync with either OneDrive or SharePoint. To learn more, see: OneDrive Sync client | Ideal for individuals wanting to move files. |
| Manual upload | Uploading files one at a time from the SharePoint Online tenant. | Best for smaller files. |
| SharePoint Assessment Tool | A tool to assess and identify issues with SharePoint Server content prior to migration. To download: SharePoint Migration Assessment Tool | Ideal for assessing SharePoint Server 2010 and 2013 content prior to migration. |
Sharepoint Migration Assessment tool (SMAT)
The SharePoint Migration Assessment Tool (SMAT) is a simple command line executable that will scan the contents of your SharePoint farm to help identify the impact of migrating your server to SharePoint Online with Office 365. It also includes the SharePoint Migration Identity Management Tool, that performs identity mapping by scanning SharePoint, Active Directory, and Azure Active Directory.
As the tool is designed to run without impacting your environment, you may observe the tool requires one to two days to complete a scan of your environment. During this time, the tool will report progress in the console window. After the scan is complete, you can find output files in the Logs directory. This is where you will find the summary and more detailed insights into the scenarios that could be impacted by migration. If the tool is not able to connect to the internet to report this information, the tool will still function as otherwise expected.
The following sections provide a description of the most frequently used methods for Sharepoint Online and OneDrive for Business migration.
Microsoft 365 migration manager
The Migration Manager helps you manage enterprise-scale migrations of network file shares to Microsoft 365. Follow these steps to get started:
- Install the agent on each Windows computer or virtual machine you want to use as a migration agent. Download and install the setup file for each agent. The agent must be a Windows computer or virtual machine.
- Create tasks to start your migration.
Migration method options in Microsoft 365 migration manager
Select how you want to migrate your files. If you have only a few file shares to migrate, select the single source and destination method.If you are migrating content from a large number of file shares, create a CSV or JSON file and then select bulk migration.Single source and destinationFollow the prompts to enter specific file share source and destination.Bulk migrationUpload a CSV or JSON file that lists multiple sources and destinations. Instructions on how to construct the CSV/JSON file are available at: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-US/sharepointmigration/mm-bulk-upload-format-csv-json.
The Microsoft 365 migration manager is available for download from the Sharepoint Online Admin Center.
Microsoft Sharepoint Online Migration Tool (SPMT)
The SharePoint Migration Tool (SPMT) lets you create and manage your migration tasks from a single computer or VM. For large file share migrations spanning multiple computers or VMs use Migration manager. SPMT is best for:
- Moving content from SharePoint Server 2010 or SharePoint Server 2013
- File share migration from a single computer or VM
- Migrating content to SharePoint Online, OneDrive and Teams
The tool is available for download from the Sharepoint Online Admin Center.
Details on how to install and configure the Sharepoint Online Migration tool are available at:
- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointmigration/how-to-use-the-sharepoint-migration-tool
- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointmigration/introducing-the-sharepoint-migration-tool
Mover
With mover you can migrate from:
- Amazon WorkDocs
- Box
- Dropbox
- Egnyte
- Google Drive
You can also migrate from one SharePoint tenant to another.
Mover is available at https://app.mover.io/login (Log in with your Microsoft account).
Sources
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointmigration/migrate-to-sharepoint-online
