Directory synch tool with office 365

[reggiep]

I really want to install the Directory Synch tool

 

Install or upgrade the Directory Sync tool

 

on our domain to synchronise our users and password BUT my one worry is will it hit them all in one go or can I switch users over gradually?

 

I don't want to suddenly have everyone coming and telling me that they can't get onto their email, but I do want to install it and get used to it before I start synching.

 

Has anyone else used this who can let me know if it is an all or nothing adventure?

 

Thanks

[uke]

I have tried using the 365 dirsync tool and only syncing one OU using a guide like this

 

Installing and Configure DirSync with OU level filtering for Office365 - Denotation - Site Home - MSDN Blogs

[reggiep]

I have tried using the 365 dirsync tool and only syncing one OU using a guide like this

 

Installing and Configure DirSync with OU level filtering for Office365 - Denotation - Site Home - MSDN Blogs

 

So just to clarify, by installing I'm not going to immediately change everybody's password?!?!

[uke]

We are new to dirsync as well and have only tested it to a certain ad group... All our other users were entered using a CSV file. When we have entered users in 365 it says the status is "In Cloud" whereas when synced it says its synced with AD.

 

I am not sure what will happen if you already have users in 365 who are also in AD, I presume it will not add anyone twice as the username is already there

[reggiep]

That's an interesting point. We do have all our staff already on, using the same naming convention for log on name and email address (well bit before the @ anyway)

Anyway I'm not going to do it today as OFTSTED inspection probably takes priority!

[Marshall_IT]

You need to add your email domain as a suffix in ad and assign it to add staff you want to sync otherwise they'll end up as @onmicrosoft.com addresses.

[fairm010]

Im in the same boat. All my users were uploaded using a CSV and ive had moans about too many passwords so I want to sync with my local AD. My only worry is overwriting existing mailboxes and potentially loosing all their stuff!

[snagrat]

Mailboxes will not be written over or lost, it's just the password that will be changed.

[FN-GM]

Dirsync has been put together really well. If you start syncing usernames and/or passwords when you don't already they will just update the existing records. It knows the user is a match from the UPN.

 

Also syncing the users doesn't mean they will be able to use Office 365. When you sync the users they won't have any licensee assigned. So if you want a slow roll out just assign the licences as you go. Just because you have dirsync doesn't mean all your users are setup in one hit.

[gpjt]

Also make sure that the users UPN is the same as your domain name your going to use on O365. E.g our students had @**.internal, therefore they synced to the default domain we created @onmicrosoft.com instead of .co.uk.

[reggiep]

Also make sure that the users UPN is the same as your domain name your going to use on O365. E.g our students had @**.internal, therefore they synced to the default domain we created @onmicrosoft.com instead of .co.uk.

 

Did you sort this out?

My users are all going on with the wrong domain @prentonhighschoolco.onmicrosoft.com instaed of @prentonhighschool.co.uk

 

I'm not sure what to change in my AD to fix this!!

[gpjt]

Yes the UPN (UserPrincipalName) field within A.D.

 

There is some software out there that can do bulk rename within A.D, i'm sure someone on here will point you in that direction.

Edited April 1, 2014 by gpjt

[Marshall_IT]

Yes the UPN (UserPrincipalName) field within A.D.

 

There is some software out there that can do bulk rename within A.D, i'm sure someone on here will point you in that direction.

 

Wisesoft bulk ad modify - a quick search should turn up results.

[reggiep]

Wisesoft bulk ad modify - a quick search should turn up results.

 

I love wisesoft bulk ad modify - used it countless times to save time or get myself out of trouble!

[reggiep]

Can you sync mail group using dirsync as well?

[FN-GM]

Can you sync mail group using dirsync as well?

 

Yep you can do that. Just do it the same way you would with accounts.

[reggiep]

Yep you can do that. Just do it the same way you would with accounts.

 

So do you just sync your OU with group in?

[Marshall_IT]

So do you just sync your OU with group in?

 

Yes. The only thing is, the group needs a display name and an email address.

[reggiep]

One more question! If I delete a user from AD will the user go into deleted users and allow me to recover it again?

Also, make this two questions, does it take quite a while to sync?

I have run sync and changes have not shown about 30 minutes later.

[Boredguy]

Sync normally happens about every 3 hours, as that is the default setting within the application, but you can alter it if you wish.

There is also a powershell command you can run on your server to manually perform the sync.

 

If your users had e-mail then once their AD account is deleted, the e-mail account does appear to go into the deleted users section and you can recover it either by recreating the AD user, or a 365 user with the same account name. Or at least that's working for us!