Azure AD Connect is a cloud-based identity management service that helps organizations connect their on-premises Active Directory (AD) to their Office 365 tenant. In this article, we’ll show you how to install Azure AD Connect in Windows 10.
First, make sure that you have the latest version of Windows 10 installed. Then, open the Start menu and search for “Azure AD Connect.
” You’ll see a list of results, as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. The Azure AD Connect app in the Start menu.
Click the Azure AD Connect app to open it. You’ll see the main screen, shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. The main screen of the Azure AD Connect app.
On the main screen, you’ll see the following options:
Sign in with your Office 365 account: This is the main sign-in screen. If you have an Office 365 account, you can sign in here.
Connect to an existing AD domain: If you have an existing AD domain, you can connect to it here.
Create a new AD domain: If you don’t have an existing AD domain, you can create one here.
Note: If you don’t have an existing AD domain, you’ll need to create one before you can connect to it. For more information, see the following article: How to create an Azure Active Directory (AD) domain.
After you choose an option, you’ll be prompted to enter your credentials. Type your Office 365 credentials into the appropriate fields, and then click Sign in.
If you have an existing AD domain, Azure AD Connect will start the authentication process and display the Domain Controller list, as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3. The Domain Controller list after authentication.
If you don’t have an existing AD domain, Azure AD Connect will prompt you to create one. After you create it, Azure AD Connect will start the authentication process and display the Domain Controller list, as shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Now that Azure AD Connect is authenticated, you can begin connecting to your on-premises AD. To connect to an AD domain, select Connect to an existing AD domain from the main screen, and then enter the AD domain name into the Domain name field.
To connect to an AD domain that you’ve already connected to in the past, select Connect to an existing AD domain from the main screen, and then enter the AD domain name into the Domain name field. Azure AD Connect will then reconnect to the domain and display the Domain Controller list, as shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5. The Domain Controller list after reconnecting to an AD domain.
After you select a domain from the Domain Controller list, Azure AD Connect will start the authentication process and display the Domain Controller list, as shown in Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Now that Azure AD Connect is authenticated, you can begin working with your on-premises AD. For example, you can create a new user in your on-premises AD, and then connect to your AD domain to add the user to your Office 365 tenant.
To create a new user in your on-premises AD, select Create a new user from the main screen, and then enter the user name and password into the appropriate fields.
To connect to your AD domain, select Connect to an existing AD domain from the main screen, and then enter the AD domain name into the Domain name field. Azure AD Connect will then connect to the domain and display the Domain Controller list, as shown in Figure 7.
Figure 7. The Domain Controller list after connecting to an AD domain.
Now that you’ve connected to your AD domain, you can start working with the data in your on-premises AD. For example, you can view the user data in your on-premises AD, and then connect to your AD domain to view the user’s email addresses.
To view the user data in your on-premises AD, select View user data from the main screen, and then enter the user name and password into the appropriate fields. Azure AD Connect will then connect to the domain and display the Domain Controller list, as shown in Figure 8.
Figure 8.
After you’ve connected to your AD domain, you can start working with the data in your on-premises AD. For example, you can view the user data in your on-premises AD, and then connect to your AD domain to view the.
