Install and Upgrade the Microsoft Online Services Directory Synchronization tool

• Install the Directory Synchronization tool
  
• Upgrade the Directory Synchronization tool
  
• Update the Directory Synchronization tool using a different computer
  

Before you install the Directory Synchronization tool, you must activate directory synchronization, and then run the Microsoft Office 365 Deployment Readiness Tool. For more information, see Activate Directory Synchronization.

Caution:
Do not install the Directory Synchronization tool on the same computer that has Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) 2.0 installed on it.

To install the Directory Synchronization tool, follow these steps from the Office 365 portal.

1. In the header, click Admin.
   
2. On the Admin page, in the left pane, click Users.
   
3. At the top of the Users page, click the link next to Active Directory synchronization.
   
4. Under step 4, select either Windows 32-bit version or Windows 64-bit version, click Download, and follow the instructions to save the installation file on your computer. If necessary, copy the installation file to the computer that it will be installed on.
   
5. On the last page of the installation program, select Start Configuration Wizard now, and then click Finish.
   The Microsoft Online Services Directory Synchronization Configuration Wizard starts.
   

You may need to upgrade the Directory Synchronization tool if the computer running the tool enters an unrecoverable state, or if you are running the 32-bit version of the Directory Synchronization tool and you now want to run the 64-bit version.

Note:

The functionality of the 64-bit version of the Directory Synchronization tool is identical to the 32-bit version. But the underlying SQL database schema is different. As a result, a standard upgrade cannot be done. To upgrade your 32-bit installation of the Directory Synchronization tool, you must first uninstall it, and then install the 64-bit version of it on a new computer by using the following the procedure.

When you install a new instance of the tool, it finds and matches objects in the cloud with on-premises objects. The new instance of the tool, however, won’t find and match objects in the cloud if on-premises object deletions occurred when the original instance of the Directory Synchronization tool was not functioning.

If you aren’t upgrading to 64-bit and if you believe that you deleted on-premises objects while the Directory Synchronization tool wasn’t working, you should instead Update the Directory Synchronization tool using a different computer.

1. On the computer that the Directory Synchronization tool is installed on, open the Control Panel, select Add and Remove Programs, and then uninstall the Directory Synchronization tool.
   

   Note:
   If a synchronization session is in progress, a warning message appears when you try to remove the Directory Synchronization tool. If you receive this warning, wait until synchronization is complete, and then repeat this step.

2. Install the latest version of the Directory Synchronization tool installation file. To do this, sign in to the Office 365 portal, click Admin in the header, click Users under Management in the left pane, click Set up in the Users pane, select either Windows 32-bit version or Windows 64-bit version, and then click the Download button for step 4: Install and configure the Directory Synchronization tool.
   
3. On the last page of the installation program, select Start Configuration Wizard now, and then click Finish.
   The Microsoft Online Services Directory Configuration Wizard starts.
   

If you uninstall and then reinstall the Directory Synchronization tool on your local computer (or move the tool from one computer to another), items deleted on your computer during the time that the Directory Synchronization tool is uninstalled will not be deleted from Office 365.

In some instances, such as when there are a large number of objects, you may want to install the latest version of the Directory Synchronization tool on a second computer to help ensure that there are no breaks in synchronization and that no updates are lost.

To update the Directory Synchronization tool using a different computer, follow these steps.

1. Log on to the current directory synchronization computer, click Start, click Control Panel, open Administrative Tools, and then, in Services, stop the Microsoft Online Services Directory Synchronization Service.
   
2. On a different computer, download and run the Directory Synchronization tool installation file as usual, and then run the Configuration Wizard.
   
3. On the last page of the Configuration Wizard, select Synchronize directories now, and then click Finish. This resets the synchronization service password, breaks the synchronization relationship with the old computer, and establishes a synchronization relationship with the new computer.
   
4. When the Event Viewer on the new directory synchronization computer shows that synchronization is complete, log on to the old directory synchronization computer, run the Configuration Wizard, and force synchronization. This identifies and synchronizes any objects that were deleted while directory synchronization was stopped.
   
5. On the new directory synchronization computer, run the Configuration Wizard again, and force another synchronization. This resets the synchronization service password and reestablishes the synchronization relationship.
   
6. Uninstall the Directory Synchronization tool from the old directory synchronization computer.
   

Caution:
Installing the Directory Synchronization tool creates the MSOL_AD_SYNC account in the standard Users organizational unit of the local Active Directory directory service. This account is used by the Directory Synchronization tool to read the local Active Directory information. Do not move or remove this account. Moving or removing this account will cause synchronization failures.

After you have installed the Directory Synchronization tool on the correct computer, you are ready to Synchronize your directories. You can run the Configuration Wizard immediately after installing the tool by selecting Start Configuration Wizard now on the Finished page of the installation wizard.

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