1

Hi All,

I’m reviewing the process of creating DirSync’d User/Mailboxes / making sure the process we are following is current/correct - I am no Exchange/O365 Expert… This subject/area of IT has fallen on my lap/radar.

Environment: AD / Azure AD Connect / O365. We recently decommissioned our on-prem-exchange and now create mailboxes fully in the cloud (online-exchange).

From what I can see the process is:

  1. Create AD User Object & populate
  2. Wait/force sync up to create an instance of the user in O365
  3. Slap a license on/wait for mailbox to be created.
  4. The Mailbox & AD object are tied together (DirSync’d)

Question 1: In point 1 should we be manually adding the SMTP/smtp’s in the ‘proxyaddresses’ attribute within AD? And if so does the @domain.mail.onmicrosoft.com need to be added, at all? Can someone briefly explain the importance of this address?

Update 15/03/19 - Have just read an article suggesting that the ‘@domain.mail.onmicrosoft.com’ address was purely for onboarding/migrating mailboxes to Exchange-Online (O365) which makes a lot of sense. So I don’t need this address anymore?

Question 2: Previously & currently, we manage migrated/DirSync’d mailboxes via on-prem Exchange Admin Center (EAC) but I am unable to manage mailboxes created in the cloud the same way thus meaning I have to manage the mailboxes via AD User Object Attributes… if that makes sense? It’s as if EAC cannot see any mailboxes created online…

Appreciate any direction/tips 'n tricks.

4 Spice ups
2

Q1,

If you local domain is exactly like you public domain, I don’t think you would weed to put any value in the SMTP proxy,

But, say your public domain is DOMAIN.COM, and you on-prem AD domain is AD.DOMAIN.COM, you will need the proxy, otherwise when you create your user on the AD it will be pushed to the O365 with the (.onmicrosoft.com) domain

Zoom,

1 Spice up
3

Do you deploy hybrid?

Since you have enable directory synchronization, you need to create the remote mailbox in local Exchange server. And Microsoft suggest keep one on-premises Exchange server for user management.

  1. Yes, you could add the SMTP/smtp’s in the ‘proxyaddresses’ attribute within AD manually. And do not need to add @domain.mail.onmicrosoft.com. This address is used for syncing the messages during mailbox migration.

How to use SMTP matching to match on-premises user accounts to Office 365 user accounts for directory synchronization

  1. As I mentioned, you need to create remote mailboxes in local Exchange server. or create the mailbox in on premises Exchange server, then migrate it to Exchange Online.
1 Spice up