Office 365 – Getting Started
Migrating from any one system to another is a technical challenge that requires training, preparation, testing and a good plan. That is, if you want a stress free migration. The difference between a stress free or 'boring' migration and a very bad experience is simple. How well can you respond to the unexpected? Do you know the product and technologies you're working with? Can you creatively find a solution by leveraging that knowledge? Migrating to Office 365 is no different. The most common problems encountered during migrations are easily mitigated and well defined. I see days or even weeks of migration time lost due to an issue that end up being a misconfiguration or misunderstanding -- In other words, lack of preparation. I'm frequently asked if I can share any guides, documentation or training opportunities to help someone who is a beginner or just getting started with either Exchange Online or Office 365 as a whole. This blog post attempts to accomplish that. Whether you're just getting started or an old veteran, the websites and guidance below should be in your toolbox.
Update - 5/11/2015 - Added new link for Office 365 URLs and IP Address Ranges.
Update - 5/11/2015 - Office 365 Knowledge Base Library
News, Blogs and Important URLs
These URLs are great places to frequent to stay up to date on Office 365 news and updates.
Exchange Team Blog: This should be your homepage. Really, it should. Is it your homepage yet? https://aka.ms/ehlo
Office 365 Community Portal: Community Portal site with a wealth of knowledge and self-help. Always check here second! https://community.office365.com/en-us/default.aspx
Office 365 Blog Site: Another fantastic resource allowing you to stay current on Office 365. https://blogs.office.com/?filter=true&filter-product=office-365
Office Updates: News about security updates, public updates, service packs and product lifecycle from the Microsoft Office sustained Engineering team. https://blogs.technet.com/b/office_sustained_engineering/
Exchange Server Updates: A patched Exchange Environment is a happy one! https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh135098(v=exchg.150).aspx
IP Addresses and URL firewall exclusions: Microsoft publishes a list of URLs and IP addresses that MUST be allowed through your firewall. This list is updated frequently and I highly suggest you keep an eye on this. The URL has changed -- Office 365 URLs and IP address ranges I suggest subscribing to the RSS feed and note you can now access the IP addresses programmatically... via XML.
Office 365 Knowledge Base Library - Wow. Really... wow.. Thanks to Patrick Murray for the link! https://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/13276.office-365-knowledge-base-library.aspx
Training
Office 365 Guide on Office Ignite Online: Short, topic specific training sessions. https://officeignitelabs.cloudguides.com/Office%20365%20Guides.htm
End User Training Resources for Office 2013 and Office 365: You wanted resources? Here you will find TONS. https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj871004.aspx
Office 365 for IT Pros: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/office/dn788774.aspx
Deployment and Troubleshooting
Guided walkthroughs for Exchange, Lync, SharePoint, and Office 365: https://support2.microsoft.com/kb/2934107
Office 365 DIY Troubleshooter: https://community.office365.com/en-us/p/troubleshooting.aspx#31609269-0
Office 365 Deployment Center: Another great place to start for general information if you're just starting out. https://deploy.office.com/
Office 365 System Requirements: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office-365-system-requirements.aspx
Office365 Deployment Guide: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh852466.aspx
The Cloud On Your Terms: The Exchange Team Blog (EHLO) posted this fantastic overview for a hybrid deployment. Part II talks about managing your Hybrid deployment. https://blogs.technet.com/b/exchange/archive/2012/09/20/the-cloud-on-your-terms-part-i-deploying-hybrid.aspx
Autodiscover: This is not a deployment guide, guided walkthrough nor is it a troubleshooter. However, a functional and healthy Audosicover configuration is critical should you want that stress free migration. Know Autodiscover. Ensure your Autodiscover implementation works. Here is a great article that describes client connectivity and how Autodiscover plays a role in it. https://blogs.technet.com/b/exchange/archive/2014/03/12/client-connectivity-in-an-exchange-2013-coexistence-environment.aspx
Exchange Deployment Assistant: The Exchange Deployment Assistant allows you to plan deployments and upgrades. It's a fantastic troubleshooting tool. REPEAT, it's a fantastic troubleshooting tool. Use it as a baseline reference to check health or configuration during a break/fix situation. It also provides great references through each step should you have more questions regarding the step details. https://aka.ms/exdeploy
** The following tools are available from your tenant within the Office 365 Admin Center under "Tools"
Office 365 Best Practice Analyzer: Check your on-premises Exchange Server with the Office 365 Best Practices Analyzer (beta). https://community.office365.com/en-us/w/deploy/office-365-best-practices-analyzer-for-exchange-server-2013.aspx
Office 365 Readiness checks: The readiness checks for Office 365 are part of an automated tool that gathers configuration requirements for the services you want to set up and performs readiness checks against your on-premises environment to ensure that requirements are met. https://community.office365.com/en-us/w/deploy/office-365-readiness-checks.aspx
ECPA Exchange Client Performance Tool: You can use the Exchange Client Performance Analyzer (ECPA) tool to identify issues that affect performance between your company's client PCs and Office 365. https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/Dn774958(l=en-us,v=EXCHG.150).aspx
Microsoft Connectivity Analyzer: The Microsoft Connectivity Analyzer Tool is a downloadable client program that is used to identify connectivity issues that occur between email clients and a server that is running Microsoft Exchange Server. The tool can also be used to identify connectivity issues between email clients and Office 365. The tool can be used both by email users, to identify common problems, and by IT Administrators, to troubleshoot issues that are affecting their Exchange Server deployments. https://technet.microsoft.com/library/jj851141(v=exchg.80).aspx
Common Questions
Q: We use Forefront Threat Management Gateway. Do I have to configure it for Exchange Online and Office 365?
A: Yes, you sure do! More details can be found here: https://community.office365.com/en-us/w/exchange/1042.how-to-configure-tmg-for-office-365-exchange-hybrid-deployments.aspx
If you want more information on Reverse Proxies with Office 365 here is the droid you seek: https://blogs.technet.com/b/exchange/archive/2013/07/19/reverse-proxy-for-exchange-server-2013-using-iis-arr-part-1.aspx
Q: How do I migrate Mailboxes?
A: Use the following resources to get you started.
Q: What is ADFS and Single Sign On or should I use Directory Sync (Dirsync)?
A: This really varies depending on your organization's needs. See the following for more information.
- Overview of single sign-on for Office 365 - https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh852486.aspx
- Checklist: Use AD FS to implement and manage single sign-on - https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj205462.aspx
- Prerequisites for SSO - https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj151786.aspx
- Deployment Options - ADFS -- https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj573653.aspx
- Install and Configure - https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj205462.aspx
Q: What attributes are synchronized when Dirsync runs?
A: Check out the following link. I want to note a handy reference at the bottom of the page. Direct your attention to the section noted: 'How directory synchronization determines what isn't synced from the on-premises environment to Windows Azure AD'. Here are some defined methods where object filters are applied. This is a great thing to know when troubleshooting and say you want to exclude an object from the next synchronization schedule. https://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/19901.dirsync-list-of-attributes-that-are-synced-by-the-azure-active-directory-sync-tool.aspx
Q: How do I initiate a full Directory Sync from PowerShell and is there a GUI for Directory Sync?
A: For a full synchronization from PowerShell execute:
Import-Module DirSync
Start-OnlineCoexistenceSync –FullSync
To access the GUI for Azure Active Directory Sync, you will want to create a shortcut for the following:
"C:\Program Files\Windows Azure Active Directory Sync\SYNCBUS\Synchronization Service\UIShell\miisclient.exe"
Q: How do I connect to Azure Active Directory with PowerShell?
A: Details can be found here: https://aka.ms/aadposh
First install both the Microsoft Online Services Sign-In Assistant for IT Professionals (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=286152) and Azure Active Directory Module for Windows PowerShell (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?linkid=236297).
Once you have read the information above and installed the two pre-requisites, open Microsoft Azure Active Directory Module for Windows PowerShell and type:
$msolcred = get-credential
connect-msolservice -credential $msolcred
Let's test. The following example will list all unlicensed users in Azure Active Directory.
Get-MSOLUser | where {$_.Islicensed –eq $false}
Q: How do I connect to Exchange Online with PowerShell?
A: Details can be found here - https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj984289(v=exchg.150).aspx
Open Windows PowerShell and execute the following:
$UserCredential = Get-Credential
$Session = New-PSSession -ConfigurationName Microsoft.Exchange -ConnectionUri https://outlook.office365.com/powershell-liveid/ -Credential $UserCredential -Authentication Basic –AllowRedirection
Import-PSSession $Session
Let's test by listing some of our Office 365 Mailboxes.
Get-mailbox
That's it for now!
Comments
- Anonymous
January 01, 2003
Wow that's a very comprehensive set of info! Questions anyone? Great resource page, thank you for posting - Anonymous
March 10, 2015
Thanks - Anonymous
April 08, 2015
Great information - Anonymous
May 07, 2015
Nice doc Brandon. Thanks.