Power365 Current - Help Center

Address Book (GAL) Sync Vs. Prepare

How do I properly configure a Premium Integration Project for GAL Synchronization?  

When deploying a Power365 Integration (Coexistence) and Mail Migration Project, in terms of GAL Synchronization there are two mechanisms that will complete the directory setup for coexistence.

1. Address Book Sync – Creates Mail Contact objects in the destination environment(s) from Mail Recipient objects found in the source. Address Book Sync can be filtered using a distribution group.
2. Prepare Action – Creates or Updates User objects in the destination environment to ready them for coexistence and eventual mailbox migration. It also creates a Mail Contact pointing to the source mailbox.

When do I use Prepare?  

The Prepare action should be run against all users planned for coexistence and migration. After initial testing and when you are ready for coexistence, the Prepare action should be executed against all users.

When this action is complete, all users scoped for migration will have the proper objects created or updated in the destination environment to support all coexistence related features, such as Free/Busy and/or Email Rewrite Services (ERS).

When do I use Address Book (GAL) Sync?  

The Address Book Sync should be used to create a Mail Contact in the destination environment for any other mail recipient object located in the source environment that is NOT part of the migration.

In other words, if the mailbox is being migrated no need to add it to the Address Book Sync group(s). If you accidentally or for simplicity added prepared users in the AD group for GAL sync, don't worry it won’t do any harm.

What is the advantage of this approach?  

By limiting membership to the Address Book Sync group to only Mail objects that are not being migrated, you simplify control of what is being shared between environments and reduce the amount of care required to maintain different groups.

What if I am not migrating anyone, we just need GAL Sync and Free/Busy?  

If your project goal is to only coexistence with GAL Sync and Free/Busy then the Address Book Sync group can be used to identify all mail objects that should be created in the destination environments.

Can I migrate a user after they have been GAL Synced?  

Yes, if your project calls for day 1 collaboration but migrations of mailboxes won’t come until much later. You simply will run the Prepare action against the user as you normally would. The Mail Contact previously created using GAL Sync will remain after Prepare is run.

Are deletions processed?  

Deletions are not currently supported by Power365 Directory Sync Lite. However, deletions can be processed when used in conjunction with Binary Tree Directory Sync Pro for Active Directory.

Additional Information  

Syncing Address Books