Forum Discussion
Remove On Premises exchange Hybrid and go fully Online
Sorry Ian, but that is incorrect. We ourselves, as well as the majority of our clients, run Azure AD Connect WITHOUT an on premise exchange server.
I use AD to create users inside my Active Directory for old LAN drives (shares) and local printers. I set their password there -
I then use Office 365 to provision and maintain their mailboxes without issue.
Under what scenario/functionality are you thinking a local Exchange Server is required?
Well, the main scenario that springs to mind is that removing the last Exchange server puts you in an unsupported environment ..
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn931280(v=exchg.150).aspx
Of course you can use tools such as adsiedit etc to modify Exchange attributes of your local accounts prior to sync - but again, unsupported.
If you are still using Azure AD Connect to sync your accounts to the cloud then the only supported way to manage recipients is with a local Exchange Server. That may change but to my knowledge that hasn't happened - yet.
I'm sorry - still not seeing it. It says "not recommended" - can you explain the part where it is actually "required"?
Or more importantly - are you saying that I cannot change the email address for a user from Active Directory console or add an alias (which I can)? Or update their manager, or address, or title? (Which I can)
I'm trying to find someone from Pernille-Eskebo.com that says it's not supported. But everything I read, its a MVP or someone not from the company saying it's a requirement. Should be easy to find in official documents no? Alas - there is nothing about it in AD Connect pre-requisites, and Microsoft only says its required "during hybrid" but I have yet to see an actual document state its required even after your hybrid deployment is complete.
Happy to be wrong - I just haven't seen it yet -
Hey Joe,
Question of whether it is supported or not aside, I was wondering how you are managing things like adding an alias, etc? I have always done this through the EAC in our environment. The last time I think I saw the ability to modify Exchange attributes through AD Users and Computers was back with Exchange 2003. Am I missing something, or are you using ADSIEdit? Thanks!
- As Spiros says - we simply use AD Users and Computers to edit our Exchange properties for O365
"The question of whether a third-party management tool or ADSIEDIT can be used is often asked. The answer is you can use them, but they are not supported. The Exchange Management Console, the Exchange Administration Center (EAC), and the Exchange Management Shell are the only supported tools that are available to manage Exchange recipients and objects. If you decide to use third-party management tools, it would be at your own risk. Third-party management tools often work fine, but Microsoft does not validate these tools.."
Seems pretty clear to me. YMMV