The following post includes many useful links to articles, videos and tools that relate to the Directory synchronization server\service in an Office 365 environment.
The Directory synchronization was created for enabling a synchronization of the on-Premises Active Directory to the Windows Azure Active Directory.
Directory synchronization in Office 365 environment
For medium and large organizations, the task of managing two separate users directory can consider as complicated and non-efficient.
The Directory synchronization enables us to mimic a “one directory environment” by replicating the on-Premises Active Directory objects such as users, group contact, etc. to the cloud.
The outcome is that the user and group management is implemented via the on-Premises Active Directory and, all of the updates are replicated to the cloud (Windows Azure Active Directory).
The installation of the Directory synchronization server (Windows Azure Active Directory Sync tool) is quite simple, but it’s very important that we understand how this “thing” work and what the logic of the Directory synchronization is.
In a scenario in which we did not implement the required preparations such as: adding the organization public domain name to the on-Premises Active Directory and, set the required UPN (User Principal Name) for the on-Premises Active Directory users, the results could be a wrong synchronization process and the process of “fixing the problem” could be quite complicated and no so simple.
My point is that like each of the rest of the Office 365 service and component, we will need to allocate the required resources for learning about the Directory synchronization server\service, plan headed for the Directory synchronization installation, implement the pre-requirements, learn of to monitor the synchronization process, deal with a troubleshooting scenarios of synchronization problems and so on.
To be able to save your precious time, I have collected many relevant sources of information that relate to Directory synchronization.
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Directory synchronization (DirSync) | Plan
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Migration to Office 365 | General information | |
Planning Directory Synchronization | |
Prepare for directory synchronization | |
The Directory Sync tool can now be installed on a Domain Controller! | |
Directory synchronization roadmap |
Directory synchronization (DirSync) | Pre deployment tasks
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Directory synchronization (DirSync) | Deploy | Pre deployment tasks | |
Add User Principal Name Suffixes | |
User names of users in your organizational account such as Office 365, Windows Azure, or Windows Intune don’t match the on-premises UPNs |
Directory synchronization (DirSync) | Deploy
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Directory synchronization (DirSync) | Deploy | Download and install | |
Manage Windows Azure AD using Windows PowerShell | |
Install or upgrade the Directory Sync tool | |
Download and Install DirSync – Microsoft Download Center | |
Installing and configuring Active Directory Synchronization |
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Directory synchronization (DirSync) | Deploy | Soft Match | |
How to use SMTP matching to match on-premises user accounts to Office 365 user accounts for directory synchronization | |
Soft Match with new domain |
Directory synchronization (DirSync) | Management
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Directory synchronization (DirSync) | Deploy | Post deployment tasks | |
How to force directory synchronization with Azure Dirsync? | |
Synchronizing your directory with Office 365 is easy |
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Directory synchronization (DirSync) | Management | Filtering | |
Configure filtering for directory synchronization | |
User soft-delete and Dirsync filtering enabled | |
Installing and Configure DirSync with OU level filtering for Office365 |
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Directory synchronization (DirSync) | Management | Password Synchronization | |
DirSync/Windows Azure AD Password Sync Frequently Asked Questions | |
Implement Password Synchronization | |
New Azure Active Directory Sync tool with Password Sync is now available |
Directory synchronization (DirSync) | Troubleshooting
Azure Active Directory Connect (Azure AD Connect)
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Azure AD Connect: One simple, fast, lightweight tool to connect Active Directory and Azure Active Directory | |
Azure AD Connect & Connect Health is now GA! |
For your convenience, I have created a document that That include many useful link that relate to Office 365 infrastructure named:
Office 365 Deployment RoadMap
You are welcome to download it and use it.
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