Tag Archives: step-by-step

Exchange, Office365

Exchange 2013 Hybrid Configuration Wizard (Part II)

21 Comments

In my previous blog post I explained about an Exchange 2013 hybrid configuration, and what the prerequisites are for such a configuration and how to implement and configure one (or more) Exchange 2013 Hybrid servers.

In this blog post we’ll continue with the Hybrid Configuration and we will run the Hybrid Configuration Wizard (HCW) to actually create the Exchange 2013 Hybrid configuration.

Note. For simplicity I assume your Exchange 2013 is fully operational without any (certificate) issues on the Internet, which means you have configured all your Virtual Directories, Outlook Anywhere and Autodiscover. Everything must be working correctly to prevent any issues during configuration, possibly resulting in a misconfigured and not working hybrid configuration.

Run the Hybrid Configuration Wizard

Configuring Exchange 2013 is relatively easy and can be started from the Exchange Admin Center (EAC). The wizard that’s used here is known as the Hybrid Configuration Wizard (HCW) and in my experience a very stable (although there have been some glitches with the HCW in earlier CU’s of Exchange 2013) and efficient wizard, providing you have met all prerequisites of course.

Login to the Exchange 2013 Hybrid server and start the Exchange Admin Center locally. The reason for doing this locally on the server is that during the wizard some additional software needs to be installed for the OAuth part of the Hybrid configuration.

In the Exchange Admin Center in the navigation pane select hybrid. In the hybrid setup window click the enable button to initially enable the hybrid mode in your organization. The option My Office 365 organzation is hosted by 21Vianet should be left unchecked. Office 365 in China is hosted by 21Vianet so this option does not apply to us (unless you are in China and your organization is hosted by 21Vianet of course).

image

Continue reading Exchange 2013 Hybrid Configuration Wizard (Part II) →

Office365

Implementing Directory Synchronization

3 Comments

Updated: November 11, 2015,
Updated: April 20, 2018

In an earlier blog I explained the differences between Cloud Identities, Linked Identities and Federated Identities. The source of authority (i.e. where the accounts are managed) for Cloud Identities is Microsoft Online and for Linked and Federated Identities the source of authority is your on-premises Active Directory. To get these accounts in Azure Active Directory (Office 365) you have to setup a directory synchronization between Active Directory and Azure Active Directory.

As explained earlier I prefer to use a dedicated DirSync server instead of installing DirSync on your Domain Controller (which is possible and supported). When using a dedicated DirSync server, you can keep your Domain Controllers identical and work on your Domain Controllers while not affecting your DirSync server. We now will build a configuration like this:

Implemented DirSYnc server

There are two options when setting up Directory Synchronization between your on-premises Active Directory and Windows Azure Active Directory:

  • DirSync as a tool that can be downloaded from the Microsoft Online Portal. This is the ‘original’ DirSync tool which can be installed on a Domain Controller or on a dedicated DirSync server. This tool will be decommissioned somewhere in the (near) future.
  • Microsoft Azure Active Directory (WAAD) Sync Services, the new DirSync tool that can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=44225. This tool has the option to synchronize a multi-forest topology with one tenant in Office 365.

Note. On June 24, 2015 Microsoft has released the Azure AD Connect & Connect Health. Azure AD Connect is the latest version of the Directory Synchronization. This blog is based on the previous Azure AD Sync, but I strongly recommend you look into the Azure AD Connect tool (there are a lot of similarities) which you can download from the Download center.

Added note on April 20, 2018. Azure AD Connect is now the only supported version for implementing directory synchronization. It is updated on a regular basis and available via the Azure AD Connect download. If you perform a default installation, Azure AD Connect will automatically update itself when a new version is available.

Continue reading Implementing Directory Synchronization →

Uncategorized

Upgrade Lync 2013 to Skype for Business 2015 Step-by-Step

37 Comments

Now that Microsoft has released Skype for Business 2015 it’s time to have a look at the upgrade possibilities. I’m running Lync 2013 Standard Edition in my environment (Lync 2013 Front-End Server, Lync 2013 Edge server and Lync 2013 Mediation server), and lucky enough there is an in-place upgrade possibility. A downtime if required, but when scheduling off business hours this should not be a problem. In this blog post I’ll discuss a step-by-step upgrade from Lync 2013 Standard edition to Skype for Business 2015.

Requirements

Before the servers can be upgraded to Skype for Business 2015 a number of requirements need to be met, depending of the underlying Operating System:

  • Microsoft Lync Server 2013 CU5 (February 2015 update) or above
  • PowerShell RTM version (6.2.9200.0) or later
  • SQL Server 2012 SP1 or later
  • Kb2533623 Windows Server 2008 R2
  • Kb2858668 Windows Server 2012
  • KB2982006 Windows Server 2012 R2

I’m running Windows Server 2012 R2 on all my servers, so the only updates I have to apply is the Cumulative Update for Lync (to be safe, the May 2015 Cumulative Update (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3051949) and the SQL Server 2012 SP1 update.

Continue reading Upgrade Lync 2013 to Skype for Business 2015 Step-by-Step →

Office365

Manage Domains in Office 365 step-by-step

4 Comments

In a previous blog post I explained how to create a new organization (tenant) in Office 365. After the initial creation there’s one (administrative) account and you can start working with that account almost immediately. For example, when you logon to https://outlook.office365.com/owa and use the credentials you entered when creating the new tenant you logon to OWA and you can start sending email, there’s not much to see though at this point 🙂

image

When you send an email your email address will be admin@inframan.onmicrosoft.com, not nice but it works. Continue reading Manage Domains in Office 365 step-by-step →

Exchange, Office365

Move mailboxes using MigrationWiz

1 Comment

If you don’t want to use the standard Microsoft tools for migrating Mailboxes to or from Exchange Online you have to use a 3rd party solution. One online solution is MigrationWiz from BitTitan. There are a number of advantages of using MigrationWiz over the standard Microsoft tools, especially when using a Cutover Exchange Migration (CEM) or a Staged Exchange Migration (SEM). A Cutover Exchange Migration is basically a big bang scenario where you switch all services at the same time and gradually migrate all the Mailbox content. There’s no way to schedule anything here and this is much better when using MigrationWiz.

MigrationWiz is using Exchange Web Services to login to your on-premises Mailbox and to your online Mailbox to move all the content between the two platforms.

Continue reading Move mailboxes using MigrationWiz →