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hippygold's avatar
hippygold
Copper Contributor
May 16, 2025

Entra AD Connect to Entra Cloud Sync migration (hard cutover)

We have a very simple setup on AD Connect (Entra AD Connect) - just syncing user objects with password writeback. We want to switch to Entra Cloud sync and to this end we have installed the agent on a new Win 2020 server. We have some test users in an OU which is now excluded from the Entra AD Connect sync and an Entra ID cloud sync config for the test OU only. This works, password changes in AD are honoured in O365 etc and password changes made via SSPR are honoured in AD.

We now want to do a hard cut over of the sync cutting out the Entra AD sync. I did plan on stopping the Entra AD sync and disabling the sync cycle and then amending the Entra ID config to include all users.

We will then decommission the server running Entra AD connect and add a second agent to another Win 2020 box.

There are a lot of posts about adding inbound rules to the Entra AD connect box etc. but this seems overly complicated and we wonder whether anyone has also done a simple hard cut over ?

Thanks for taking the time to read this and for any thoughts you might have.

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  • Kidd_Ip's avatar
    Kidd_Ip
    MVP
    May 17, 2025

    Referring to this:

     

    1. Confirm System Requirements
      Ensure that your environment complies with all prerequisites for Entra Cloud Sync, including supported configurations and licensing.
    2. Secure Configuration Backup
      Before initiating any changes, create a backup of your Entra AD Connect settings to facilitate rollback if necessary.
    3. Disable Sync Scheduler
      Prior to transitioning, deactivate the Entra AD Connect sync cycle to prevent synchronization conflicts between the two services.
    4. Refine Synchronization Rules
      Modify existing sync rules within Entra AD Connect to exclude user objects from synchronization before fully integrating Cloud Sync.
    5. Deploy Additional Sync Agents
      Implement a secondary Cloud Sync agent on another Windows Server 2020 instance to enhance redundancy and operational stability.
    6. Monitor and Validate Migration
      After enabling Cloud Sync for all users, continuously monitor synchronization logs to verify functionality and address potential issues proactively.

     

    Migrate Microsoft Entra Connect to Microsoft Entra Cloud Sync - Microsoft Entra ID | Microsoft Learn

     

     

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