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Someone in the forums recently asked about ways to migrate individual accounts from one ZCS instance to another, so thought I’d share the enlightenment with all. Whether you are going from an on-premise install to a hosting provider, want to create handy archives of old employee accounts, or just need to duplicate mailbox contents of a user; the syntax in this article proves remarkably useful, and applies to all editions.

There are a multitude of comparable RFE’s on addressing this need via different approaches. (Bugzilla entries 19630, 29573, 28443 & 30163 to name a few.) Some want graphical tools to browse data and selectively migrate certain things, while others would be happy with a cross LDAP zmmailboxmove.

Depending on your situation, several backup tools can take care of a large portion of your daily needs; and there are ways to do Zimbra-to-Zimbra migrations using the Network Edition’s backup and restore capabilities - however they require admin abilities on both systems. Meanwhile, most of the frequently used open source backup solutions are simply an “all accounts at-once” approach. So what to do when you need to move from your personal setup to a hosting provider? Or if you’re a hosting provider, move a tiny handful of accounts to a separate infrastructure? Before diving into the wiki on user migration for info on Imapsync, REST exports, CURL imports, etc; there’s a handy way to avoid the “one item type at-a-time” transfer methods.

In ZCS 5.0.9+ you can export an entire mailbox with:
/opt/zimbra/bin/zmmailbox -z -m user@domain.com getRestURL “//?fmt=tgz” > /tmp/account.tgz

Next transfer via rsync, scp, sftp, etc. You’ll also need to create the account on the 2nd server if the desired account doesn’t exist at your destination server yet.

Then import with:
/opt/zimbra/bin/zmmailbox -z -m user@domain.com postRestURL “//?fmt=tgz&resolve=reset” /tmp/account.tgz

The resolve= paramater has several options:

• “skip” ignores duplicates of old items, it’s also the default conflict-resolution.
• “modify” changes old items.
• “reset” will delete the old subfolder (or entire mailbox if /).
• “replace” will delete and re-enter them.

‘Reset’ will be a bit faster on an empty destination mailbox because it skips most dupe checks.

Note: There were some duplication fixes and additional issues (mainly sync related) corrected with the tar formatter in 5.0.10.

Not a Zimbra Admin? Users can get the same zip/tar formatter on REST URL’s by visiting:
http:// server.domain.com/home/user?fmt=zip&query=is:anywhere

The zip format has been around for a long time, but doesn’t contain account & item metadata like the tar formatter automatically does:
http:// server.domain.com/home/user/?fmt=tgz

Infact, this same technique is currently used in Zimbra Desktop’s alpha backup solution.

If this approach doesn’t scale performance wise for your situation, or you simply don’t want to have everyone hit a REST URL for 30GB mailboxes all at the same time, here’s a collection of helpful scripts and other ways to systematically migrate:

Mysqldump & rsync with an interesting blob management technique: Zimbra2Zimbra

Imapsync for mail + postRestURL for contacts, calendar & filters: ZimbraMigrate (Expand the concept for tasks, documents, and briefcase items.)

Another method that could be extrapolated upon for migrations: Per User Mailbox Backup (OE Version - Zimbra :: Wiki)

Most of these solutions aren’t going to respect share permissions, but when pulling an account out of an environment that’s to be expected.

Zimlet spin-offs:
- Mail backup options for end users (.eml)
- Zimlet to save email in a txt file (.txt or html)

The above Zimlets are aimed at making quick self-copies & not for restores, but there are many methods for putting messages back into Zimbra, including tools like zmmailbox addMessge, zmlmtpinject, CURL, etc; for more info checkout these threads: Recover data from store folders & Moving Folders between users

If moving your entire server, I’m a huge fan of the install.sh -s trick when using NE backups to do so isn’t an option.

MySQL 5.1 is almost ready for prime time, but in the meantime some brave users have already started putting it to work in production environment. MySQL wants to hear from these intrepid souls. The MySQL 5.1 use Case competition is under way. We want feedback from users who have found a practical usage for 5.1 features, and also from the ones who have met usability challenges.

Two articles have already been published from the competition submissions. One showing a popular soccer team using MySQL 5.1 and one proposing a creative way of managing large storage. More articles will come with your feedback

If you are using MySQL 5.1 in production, please let us know!

We timed our Use Case Competition to coincide with summer holidays, and are now prolonging the duration of the Use Case Competition with one month, until 30 September 2008.

To recap, here’s the original posting (with an updated deadline):

With 5.1 having officially been in Release Candidate status since September 2007 and soon approaching GA status, the MySQL Community Team launches a competition for the users of new features of MySQL 5.1:

Submit your MySQL 5.1 Use Case Report to community(at)mysql.com by 30 September 2008 and have a chance of winning one of our prizes:

• 1st-3rd prize: A MySQL Conference & Expo 2009 Pass, including a dinner with MySQL co-founder Michael “Monty” Widenius
• 4th-10th prize: MySQL Community Contributor T-shirts
• 11th-20th prize: A Sakila mascot (MySQL’s pet dolphin)

You may phrase your MySQL 5.1 Use Case Report freely, but the more colour you give it, the better your chances of winning.

By submitting the report, you also volunteer for appearing in our upcoming Use Case articles. We will consider any data you submit in your Use Case Report as public and quotable in our reports. However, you may ask us to anonymise certain aspects of your use case, should you otherwise not be able to participate in our competition.

This is the desired format of your submissions:

From: <you>
To: Community(at)mysql.com
Cc: <any of your colleagues you wish to inform>
Subject: MySQL 5.1 Use Case Report: <Feature> / <App Name>

MySQL Community Team,

At <company/organisation> we've used <new 5.1 feature> since <date>.

We're now on MySQL 5.1.<n> and we started development using
<new 5.1 feature> with MySQL.5.1.<m>.

Purpose of our appication:

Reason we need <new 5.1 feature>:

Development environment, OS, language:

Deployment environment, OS, hardware:

Relevant metrics on size/type of application:

Our comment on how <new 5.1 feature> meets our needs:
- comments on usability of feature
- comments on clarity of documentation
- comments on performance
- comments on bugs encountered [1]

Our greetings to the MySQL Engineering Team:

Name and email of submitter / developer:

Name of organisation:

Geographic location (city, country):

MySQL Enterprise customer: (YES/NO)

[1] If you’ve found bugs, then please follow our bug reporting instructions and share bug numbers from bugs.mysql.com in your use case report.

We’re looking for Use Cases on all new MySQL 5.1 features, but especially on

• Partitioning: Doc * Forum * Articles JonS & PeterG, RobinS, RS2, Giuseppe
• Row-Based Replication: Doc * Forum
• Event Scheduler: Doc * Forum
• Logs on demand / Table logging: Doc * Forum * Article Giuseppe
• Plugin API: Doc
• XML functions: Doc * Article: Bar & PeterG
• but also other improvements: Doc *Article Jay

Links:

• MySQL 5.1 Article Recap: http://dev.mysql.com/tech-resources/articles/mysql-5.1-recap.html

“Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon and welcome to this presentation regarding the acquisition of the company MySQL AB by Sun Microsystems.”

Since my speech on Sun / MySQL integration for about 400 people in Beijing last week, I have been asked a few times about what it’s like to give a speech in Chinese. Well, I wouldn’t really know, as all I did was read aloud a text for 8 minutes. I remembered what passage was about what topic, and I had noted which words to stress, when to raise my hand etc. But of the actual words, I understood perhaps 5-10 % (based on them being repeated often enough). So I know I am a fuzongcai (Vice President) with Sun Microsystems, I know the difference between a kèhù (customer) and a yònghù (user). I live in Munihei (München), but I am not deguoren (German), I am fenlanren (from Finland). And, nüshìmen, xianshéngmen, that’s Ladies and gentlemen.

So far, hen hao.

I read aloud from this paper (no, not the Chinese characters, just the pinyin).

But the ambition level could really be a bit higher. Not stressing every syllable. Speaking a bit faster. Repeating the tones once (ok, five times) more. And I could memorise more words, not 5-10 % but perhaps 25%. That would be more enjoyable for both the audience, and for myself.

That said, giving a speech in Mandarin was a very positive experience, even at my level of delivery. My ambition was for at least 70% of my message being understandable from a pronunciation standpoint, and I heard estimates of the outcome being 80% to 90%. And I got interrupted by applause at least five times, and laughter at least once (even at the intended spot). So I’m happy. And I recommend using Chinese for more than the mere greetings, for any non-Chinese wishing to be well received in China.

Xìexìe, thank you, xìexìe.

References:

• Kaj Arnö speaks Chinese to the Sun/MySQL crowd: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3036893738929286405&hl=en
• Wikipedia: Pinyin (Chinese spelling): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinyin

Who’s Barton George?

Barton is a colleague from Sun, who “looks after Sun’s relationships with the various GNU/Linux communities as well as our relationship with the FSF” according to his blog. I spent time with him at the MySQL Users Conference last week. He is a fun guy to be around, and isn’t as US-centric as his remark “Last year, my family and I emigrated from Silicon Valley to Austin, TX.” would lead one to believe.

Barton is also an avid blogger. And, on top, a diligent podcaster.

As for blogging, he has recent MySQL relevant entries on partying (with Mårten of MySQL, and with Jonathan & Rich of Sun at the Pre-Conf Community Dinner), and with pics from the UC.

As for podcasts, he has already posted four entries from the MySQL UC, i.e. interviews with Mårten Mickos, with Zack Urlocker, with Baron Schwartz of Maatkit & Community Award fame, and with Jennifer Venable of Red Hat.

The podcasts are about 10 minutes each. To help you decide whether you want to spend those 10 mins or not, his blog entries provide tips on the contents, such as this one about the Zack blog:

• Exceeding expectations at the MySQL conference
• The availability of MySQL’s 5.1 later this quarter and all the cool new features
• The GA of Workbench - a modeling tool for DBAs
• The morning’s keynotes (here is the video Zack shot)
• The challenges that Werner Vogels, Amazon’s CTO, faces
• Sun’s performance tuning team and how it helps MySQL shine
• Zack’s impressions of his first six weeks at Sun

Barton tells me there will be more podcasts posted soon, with Brian Aker of MySQL, and with Erica Brescia, CEO of BitRock.

References:

• Barton George’s blog: http://blogs.sun.com/barton808/
• MySQL Conf Kicks off with Parties at Marten’s and Pedro’s: http://blogs.sun.com/barton808/entry/mysql_conf_kicks_off_with
  
• Pics from MySQL Conference ‘08: http://blogs.sun.com/barton808/entry/pics_from_mysql_conference_08
• MySQL Conf08 - Chattin’ with Zack Urlocker: http://blogs.sun.com/barton808/entry/mysql_conf08_chattin_with_zack
• MySQL Conf08 - Marten Mickos tells all: http://blogs.sun.com/barton808/entry/mysql_conf08_marten_mickos_tells
• MySQL Conf08 - My Interview with Jennifer Venable of Red Hat: http://blogs.sun.com/barton808/entry/mysql_conf08_my_interview_with
• MySQL Conf08 - Talkin’ to Baron Schwart, Community Award Winner: http://blogs.sun.com/barton808/entry/mysql_conf08_talkin_to_baron

Identity 2.0: A world that’s simple, safe and secure.

Who is the Dick on My Site? by Dick Hardt (Sxip Identity Corporation)

Quotes:
“Really, data is about people. It’s really identity data.”

“Identity helps you predict behavior.”

“Identity is who you are.”

“Identity is also what you like.”

“Identity enables you to uniquely identify somebody.”

“There are things that other people say about you, too.”

“Modern identity is about photo IDs so you can prove your identity.”

“Identity is a complicated issue….Everyone has a different idea of what it is.”

Identity transactions are:

• party identification (who)
  
• authorization (permission)
  
• profile exchange (info about that person)
  
• NOT record matching
  

Identity transactions can be: (more…)

There’s a reason for Sheeri winning the Community Advocate of the Year award. Her activity level is hard to beat.

If you want a chance to beat Sheeri for 2009, you need to master multitasking. Not only is Sheeri listening to Mårten presenting his keynote. She’s preparing for some vlogging, i.e. recording Mårten’s presentation. And she’s blogging at the same time. And (although she doesn’t know it until three seconds after the picture was taken) she’s getting ready for getting up on stage to receive her 2008 award.

Ah, myself I’m only listening, and taking the odd picture. (Some of them very odd).

Hi there!

I arrived at Santa Clara yesterday, just in time for the MySQL Community dinner (check this post on Arjen’s blog). It was a lot of fun, not to mention the opportunity to talk to developers and other folks from MySQL/Sun.

Unfortunately, I forgot to pack in my luggage a card reader or a proper cable for my camera, so pictures will have to wait a few days. To mitigate this problem, I’ll try to hunt down more posts from other guys, but in the meantime, you might want to check the 2008 MySQL Users Conference & Expo group at Flickr.

Yesterday was the “Tutorials Day”. I’ve been to many of them. The subjects were so interesting I just couldn’t stay put for the whole session so, I kept jumping from one to the other. A few quite interesting sessions: MySQL Proxy, the complete tutorial. A very interesting session on hacking and adjusting it to fit your needs. It was held by Jan Kneschke (main author and developer) and Giuseppe Maxia (testing).

MySQL Cluster, with Stewart Smith. An amazing and thorough session on MySQL Cluster - all day long. There’s nothing better than learning from the guys that actually are writing the code, right? If you are curious, his blog can be found here.

In the afternoon, there were two very interesting sessions, but I had to pick only one of them. SQL Antipatterns (by Bill Karwin) was quite interesting, but I ended up at the Ask Bjørn Hansen’s session, called Real World Web: Performance & Scalability, MySQL Edition. This must have been one of the best sessions, ever (mostly because we’ve been giving the exact same advice to our clients for some time now).

This morning started with a keynote from Mårten Mickos (who used to be MySQL’s CEO, but his “job title” must have changed after the acquisition by Sun). His speech was followed by Jonathan Schwartz’s (CEO of Sun) and after that, we heard from Werner Vogels (CTO of Amazon.com). Quite interesting, but I’m not about to repeat everything they’ve said. Instead, I’m linking Colin Charles’s post, Ahead in the Cloud by Verner Vogels.

I’m running to another session now, so… keep tuned: more news will follow!

As followers of Free / Open Source Software know, there are several ways of being free.

As for free as in speech, look for Wednesday’s keynote at the MySQL Users Conference here in Santa Clara on the US West Coast. It’s by Rick Falkvinge, party leader of the Swedish Pirate Party. Or download MySQL Community Server, it’s free as in speech.

As for free as in beer, sure, again, just download MySQL Community Server, install it, and use it. Old news.

But what if you’re lazy enough not to want to download and install MySQL Server? What if you just want to use an instance of MySQL Serer, installed and provided by someone else, with a simple command like

mysql -h db4free.net -P 3307 -u [username] -p[password] ?

Well, in that case, register for a free MySQL 5.1 plus a free MySQL 6.0 at http://www.db4free.net/

Like it says on DB4Free’s first page:

The db4free project provides a platform for database users and developers from all over the world to exchange experiences, give hints to each other or to discuss. This offer also gives you the chance to learn to deal with databases without having to rent a server for money.

You just create an account, perhaps browse the db4free.net blog, and off you go.

You can run MySQL 5.1 (now in RC) and MySQL 6.0 (still in Alpha; includes Falcon).

Thanks for the beer, Markus Popp!

The MySQL Users Conference is coming up — April 14-17 in Santa Clara, California, USA.

This was forwarded to me from a colleague:

Are you interested in attending the 2008 MySQL Conference & Expo? I’m happy to announce that LinuxQuestions.org is able to give away one pass to the event. Visit this link for additional information. Good luck.

And I as well wish you good luck! If you would rather get a surefire deal instead of taking a chance, e-mail me and I can send you a 20% speaker’s discount code — I am speaking, so you get a discount!

For a change, let me remind you of the upcoming MySQL Users Conference in Santa Clara. It’s less than two months from now; it’ll be from Monday 14 April 2008 to Thursday 17 April 2008. Same place as last year: Santa Clara, California, USA.

My reminder is triggered by the fact that tomorrow is the last day for Early Registration, by which conference participation costs 1299 instead of 1499 dollars (or, if you skip the Monday tutorials, 999 instead of 1199 dollars). In short, early registration saves you 200 dollars.

I do think the UC is at least as interesting as last year, and I’m very happy about our line-up of keynoters, which includes Sun’s CEO Jonathan Schwartz, MySQL’s CEO Mårten Mickos, Werner Vogels (Amazon.com), Rick Falkvinge (Swedish Pirate Party), Dick Hardt (Sxip), and Jacek Becla (Stanford Linear Accelerator Center). For those of you who didn’t go to OSCON 2007, Rick Falkvinge may be an unknown name, but boy, did he have the full attention of the audience with a message that wasn’t exactly the average conference keynote.

Links:

• MySQL Conference & Expo: http://mysqlconf.com
• Registration: https://en.oreilly.com/mysql2008/public/register