How the IDs for Azure AD Sync’s service accounts are created

Azure AD Connect is Microsoft’s latest tool to support your latest hybrid identity scenarios and synchronize object information from an on-premises Windows Server Active Directory environment to Azure Active Directory. One of its components is Azure AD Sync, responsible for the synchronization itself. Azure AD Connect became generally available on June 24, 2015. Azure AD … Continue reading "How the IDs for Azure AD Sync’s service accounts are created"

Ten things you should know about Azure AD Connect and Azure AD Sync

Azure Active Directory powers Microsoft Online Services, ranging from Office 365 to Intune, in terms of identity. While this compels to organizations in a strong way, Microsoft even offers hybrid identity options to organizations running on-premises Windows Server Active Directory  to stretch their identity layer to the cloud. The tool from Microsoft to support its … Continue reading "Ten things you should know about Azure AD Connect and Azure AD Sync"

From the Field: the Case of the non-replicating Domain Controllers on Cisco UCS Blades

This morning I was asked to troubleshoot a situation where, in an environment with ten Active Directory Domain Controllers, two Domain Controllers would no longer replicate with each other. They would replicate with other Domain Controllers just fine, just not between themselves. I troubleshot the problem, and I am sharing my experience in case you … Continue reading "From the Field: the Case of the non-replicating Domain Controllers on Cisco UCS Blades"

Knowledgebase: You receive Event-ID 1539 and ‘This device does not allow its write-caching setting to be changed’ warnings on virtualized Generation 2 Domain Controllers

When I was in training as an Active Directory admin, I was taught that the disk(s) where the Active Directory database and Active Directory transaction logs reside are automatically configured with write-back caching disabled. Today, roughly 15 years later, I found out that although my teacher was right, things have changed and might be counter-intuitive … Continue reading "Knowledgebase: You receive Event-ID 1539 and ‘This device does not allow its write-caching setting to be changed’ warnings on virtualized Generation 2 Domain Controllers"

Exchange Server 2016 is available! Now what?

Today Exchange Server 2016 for on-premises installations became available! Some important links: Exchange Team Blog: Exchange Server 2016: Forged in the cloud. Now available on-premises. Direct download (without a valid license key this is an 180 day evaluation) Exchange 2016 Unified Message Language Packs Technical Documentation Release Notes Product guide (feature glance) Before you rush with installing … Continue reading "Exchange Server 2016 is available! Now what?"