Previously named Azure AD Connect sync. This engine runs on your own servers, keeps a database and rules of its own, and copies AD DS objects, devices included, up to Microsoft Entra ID; Microsoft would rather you used Cloud Sync if it is enough.
Also called formerly Azure AD Connect sync, Azure AD Sync, DirSync.
Read more: Microsoft Learn
In the Ultra Transcenders books
Each book explains Microsoft Entra Connect Sync in context, with comparison tables and the common traps.
Terms in this definition
- Microsoft Entra Connect
Keeps Microsoft Entra ID in step with an on-premises Active Directory by synchronising its identities to the cloud.
- Agents (classic) API
First-generation Foundry Agent Service API, based on threads, messages and runs. It is deprecated, replaced by conversations and responses, and retires on 31 March 2027.
- Schema
The middle part of a Unity Catalog name (
catalog.schema.table), grouping tables, views, volumes, functions and models inside a catalog. A grant on it covers everything in it now and later, and nothing inside can be reached withoutUSE SCHEMA. - AD DS
Short for Active Directory Domain Services, the domain controller-based Windows directory run on-premises. Microsoft Entra Domain Services offers a managed counterpart.
- Microsoft Entra ID
Cloud identity service from Microsoft, previously named Azure AD, which provides the tenant behind Microsoft 365 and Azure.
Related terms
- Prevent accidental deletes
On by default in Microsoft Entra Connect Sync, this safeguard pauses any export that would remove more objects than the configured threshold, waiting for an administrator to let it continue.
- Staging mode
A standby setting for a Microsoft Entra Connect Sync server: imports and synchronisation still happen, yet nothing is exported, and writeback and password hash sync are skipped. Handy for failover or for previewing configuration changes.