Mar 20, 20222 min read

Azure AD Connect

Updated: Dec 14, 2023

Azure AD Connect is an on-premises Microsoft application that's designed to meet and accomplish your hybrid identity goals. If you're evaluating how to best meet your goals, you should also consider the cloud-managed solution Azure AD Connect cloud sync.

Azure AD Connect Features

Password hash synchronization

A sign-in method that synchronizes a hash of a user's on-premises AD password with Azure AD.

Pass-through authentication

A sign-in method that allows users to use the same password on-premises and in the cloud but doesn't require the additional infrastructure of a federated environment.

Federation integration

Federation is an optional part of Azure AD Connect. It can be used to configure a hybrid environment using an on-premises AD FS infrastructure. It also provides AD FS management capabilities, such as certificate renewal and additional AD FS server deployments.

Synchronization

Responsible for creating users, groups, and other objects. It also ensures that the identity information for your on-premises users and groups matches the cloud. This synchronization also includes password hashes.

Health Monitoring

Azure AD Connect Health can provide robust monitoring and a central location in the Azure portal to view this activity.

Azure AD Health Connect

Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) Connect Health provides robust monitoring of your on-premises identity infrastructure. It enables you to maintain a reliable connection to Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Online Services.

Real World Azure AD Connect

Why Azure AD connect

Integrating your on-premises directories with Azure AD makes your users more productive by providing a common identity for accessing both cloud and on-premises resources. Users and organizations can take advantage of:

Users can use a single identity to access on-premises applications and cloud services such as Microsoft 365.
Single tool to provide an easy deployment experience for synchronization and sign-in.
Provides the newest capabilities for your scenarios. Azure AD Connect replaces older versions of identity integration tools such as DirSync and Azure AD Sync.

Why Azure AD Connect Health

Azure AD Connect Health helps monitor and gain insights into your on-premises identity infrastructure thus ensuring the reliability of this environment. It is as simple as installing an agent on each of your on-premises identity servers.

Azure AD Connect Cost

Using this feature is free and included in your Azure subscription however to run this tool you need a windows server with internet connectivity over HTTPS.