14Apr2019
09Nov2017
Migrate from Windows Server Essentials with Azure AD integration to Windows Server Standard and Azure AD Connect
I have a love-hate relationship with Windows Server Essentials. It's a great product with a lot of goodness baked in, but there are some real limits to it as well. On the one hand, Remote Web Access, Client PC backup, the Azure Recovery plugins, and so on, add a TON...
09Feb2017
CRUD: When to use Create, Replace, Update or Delete in Group Policy Preferences?
I have to admit: I don't use Group Policy Preferences as much as I probably should. Historically, when I migrate clients from a legacy system such as Windows Server 2003 or 2008 to something newer, I tended to leave well enough alone, so to speak, and just update existing logon scripts, batch files...
19Jan2017
FAQ: Office 365 Exchange Online Hybrid Migrations
I think I get more traffic and questions about this topic than just about any other. A lot of people send in comments or contact requests asking about things that I know I have already written about. But, apparently I haven't done a good job of capturing this information in...
12Jan2017
How to: Express Migration to Office 365 Exchange Online
For a long time, I have been advocating for hybrid style migrations from Exchange On-premises to Exchange Online with Office 365, regardless of whether you are a small, medium or larger-sized enterprise. The reason being, it is a much better end user experience, and does not require manual reconfiguration of...
05Jan2017
How to migrate mailboxes from Office 365 to… Office 365?
Mergers and acquisitions are probably the most common source of IT headaches in the world. Whenever you have to deal with the complexities of merging two disparate information systems, you know you're going to run into a number of obstacles. And when both organizations are already on Office 365, in...
15Dec2016
Office 365 Offboarding: Reverse Hybrid Migration to Exchange 2016 On-premises
Why would anyone want to off-board mailboxes from Office 365 to Exchange On-premises? Isn't that a bit like moving backwards? Well, I tend to think so, yes--at least in the SMB. But what happens when a mid or larger-sized enterprise organization eats a smaller-sized business through acquisition? In this scenario, it...
26Nov2016
Summary post: How to migrate from SBS to Office 365 & Server 2016
I had a series of posts on the topic of migrating from SBS to Office 365 and Windows Server a while back, and I've been getting a number of requests for a "summary" post with links to all the articles. I get a few people each week emailing me about...
16May2016
How-to Upgrade DirSync to Azure AD Connect (and move to a new server at the same time)
Many a small business using Exchange Online, Office 365 or other Microsoft cloud services has opted to enable Directory Synchronization--this means you can have the same credentials on-premises and in the cloud. Most commonly, this synchronization was achieved with a tool called DirSync. And wouldn't you know it, that tool is now being...
14Jan2016