The script created and used in step 2, by design, does not create every folder in the hierarchy. The Structure Sync is used to fill out the missing parts of the hierarchy before processing the contents of folders.
The Structure sync is performed by the ‘PF to PF Data Sync’ option of the Priasoft PF Toolbox application. The creation of this sync job operates like a wizard and will ask several questions about details of how the sync should operate. A structure sync job is created by answering YES to the questions about skipping contents and permissions tasks in the sync job.
The structure sync job uses MAPI (which comes from an installation of some version of Microsoft Outlook) and is able to use a combination of multiple processes and multiple threads per process to process the public folder hierarchy. The combination of multiple threads and MAPI allows for this task to take less time than doing the same thru Exchange PowerShell. However, if the remaining folders is in the 10s of 1000s, even this process can take many hours or a day or more to complete. Patience is an important element to have with public folders.
Similar to step #2 this action will create a “dust cloud” as a result and one which the same rules regarding “dust settling” should be applied. If the Structure Sync will also create 1000s of folders and there are many public folder mailboxes, it may take hours or days for the hierarchy synchronization to complete.
No further action should be made until the entire hierarchy is synchronized across all mailboxes. The same process to check synchronization progress would be used here – using the Get-PublicFolderMailboxDiagnostics command mentioned in step #2.
