Administrators who have been using the tried and true DirSync utility from Microsoft will be pleasantly surprised by the upgrade / replacement by the Windows Azure AD Connect utility for password sync with Active Directory or Hybrid configurations. Here are the basics on an upgrade for a site with only password sync enabled:
Office 365 Azure AD Connect Upgrade
The way to see if your organization is ready for the upgrade is to check under Admin > Users > Active Users > Active Directory Synchronization > Manage in the Office 365 portal.
Click on the Upgrade link which will redirect to the download site for the Microsoft Azure Active Directory Connect utility.
Download and run the utility as administrator which will bring up the following welcome screen which requires agreement to continue the conversion process.
The tool will then examine the current DirSync setup for your organization.
Once done it will present you with the option to continue with the upgrade.
Enter your organization's Office 365 global administrator credentials.
Enter local domain administrator credentials
Then there is the option to enable hybrid configuration or start a manual first sync. Choose the first sync and continue.
After much labor on the part of the tool it will finish successfully.
Finally a couple notes to make life easier. First is to add a shortcut to the Synchronization Service Manager on the desktop pointing to the following:
%systemdrive%\Program Files\Microsoft Azure AD Sync\UIShell\miisclient.exe
Second is to create a powershell script to start a manual sync as follows:
This will then begin to use the Azure AD Connect utility to run the password sync to Office 365 from local Active Directory domain. If you company needs any help with Office 365, Exchange or Active Directory then don't hesitate to contact us for assistance.
