Setting up Azure AD Connect in Your Lab Environment: A Step-by-Step Guide

In this blog post, I will guide you through the process of setting up Azure AD Connect in your lab environment, which is a requirement for testing Microsoft Office 365 federation along with Microsoft Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS). Before we begin, make sure you have the following prerequisites in place:

1. An active Azure AD tenant.

2. An on-premises Active Directory domain.

3. A Windows Server machine to run the Azure AD Connect service.

4. The required components installed on your Windows Server machine.

Once you have met these prerequisites, you can proceed with the installation of Azure AD Connect. Follow these steps:

Step 1: Launch AzureADConnect.exe

First, launch AzureADConnect.exe on your Windows Server machine. On the Welcome page, click Continue.

Step 2: Select Express Settings

For my environment, I will use Express Settings, but you can customize it if you need anything different. Click Next to proceed.

Step 3: Install Required Components

Installing required components will launch. Make sure your Windows Server machine has enough disk space to accommodate the installation.

Step 4: Connect to Azure AD Domain

Now, it’s time to connect to your Azure AD domain. Type your username and password on the required fields. The Microsoft page will appear to validate your credentials.

Step 5: Connect to AD DS

On the Connect to AD DS step, you’ll need to type your username and password from your local Active Directory. Important: Be aware that the username needs to be part of the Enterprise Admins group on your AD!

Step 6: Ready to Configure

The Ready to Configure page will appear, so let’s hit Install. Setup will create a LocalDB for configuration. Synchronization Service will start working.

Step 7: Create Azure Active Directory Synchronization Account

Now, the Azure Active Directory synchronization account will be created. Updating synchronization rules from your account is also necessary.

Step 8: Install Azure AD Connect Health Agent

Installing Azure AD Connect Health agent is the final step. All right, configuration is complete!

Verifying Your Configuration

Now it’s time to check if you can see your users under Active in Microsoft Admin Center. As you can see, you’ll get your usernames showing properly as Active on Admin Center side.

What About ADFS?

Hey wait… I need to use ADFS into my environment/lab. Do I need to do anything else? Yes! Just follow the next post to check what you need to do after that. Enjoy the ride.

Conclusion

In this blog post, we have successfully set up Azure AD Connect in our lab environment. We have also verified that our users are showing properly as Active on Microsoft Admin Center side. If you need to use ADFS, there’s another post coming soon to guide you through the process. Stay tuned and enjoy the ride!