AAD Sync Beta 2: Selective sync, improved password reset & exchange hybrid support.

[Alex Simons (AZURE)]

First published on CloudBlogs on Jul, 28 2014
Howdy folks, Continuing our investments in identity synchronization we have released a second beta of the new AAD Sync Service. We hope you'll download the latest version, and give us feedback by signing up to the Azure Active Directory Sync Services connect program . While customers were evaluating the first preview we were busy finishing this new set of scenarios, improving stability, completing the experience and adding troubleshooting tools. We have also been listening closely to feedback, fixing reported issues and adding the key capabilities that customers and partners requested. The requests we heard most frequently included:

• Selective synchronization which enables you to only sync attributes required for the services you want to enable.
• AD password reset with multi-forests.
• Exchange hybrid deployment in multi-forests environments which enables you to have mailboxes in Office 365 as well as in your on-premises exchange.

The new AAD Sync beta supports all of these, you can configure hybrid exchange and selective synchronization through optional features:

Fig 1: AADSync optional features

For selective synchronization you can then select the applications you want to enable:

Fig 2: AAD Sync selective synchronization

When you select an application, we configure the sync system to synchronize only the attributes needed for the apps you've selected. This gives you a constrained set of data in the cloud while assuring the right attributes are available for the apps you use. As always, we're looking forward to your feedback and suggestions. You can reach us through the AAD Sync Microsoft connect preview or the Windows Azure AD Forum .   Best regards, Alex Simons (Twitter: Alex_A_Simons ) Director of Program Management Active Directory