Exchange Hybrid management tools

In the previous article, we did configure a hybrid configuration. Now that’s in place, let’s look at how to manage both the on-premises Exchange and the Exchange Online organization. In this article, you will learn how to install and use the Exchange management tools in a hybrid environment.

Exchange Server management tools

To manage Exchange Server, we recommend the below management tools.

Management Shell for Exchange Server on-premises

Sign in to the Exchange Server and run Exchange Management Shell as administrator. Another way, which we do recommend, is to install the Exchange Management Tools on a management server or a workstation. After that, run Exchange Management Shell from there.

Note: Run Exchange Management Shell to manage Exchange on-premises organization.

Run the Get-Mailbox cmdlet, and the output will show the on-premises mailboxes.

[PS] C:\>Get-Mailbox | Sort-Object Name

Name                      Alias                ServerName       ProhibitSendQuota
----                      -----                ----------       -----------------
Administrator             Administrator        ex02-2016        Unlimited
Ali Tajran                Ali.Tajran           ex02-2016        Unlimited
Alysia Maverick           Alysia.Maverick      ex02-2016        Unlimited
Amanda Morgan             Amanda.Morgan        ex01-2016        Unlimited
Boris Campbell            Boris.Campbell       ex02-2016        Unlimited
Grace Rees                Grace.Rees           ex02-2016        Unlimited
John Maverick             John.Maverick        ex02-2016        Unlimited

The Get-ExchangeServer cmdlet will show the Exchange Servers in the organization.

[PS] C:\>Get-ExchangeServer | ft -AutoSize

Name      Site                                                    ServerRole Edition    AdminDisplayVersion
----      ----                                                    ---------- -------    -------------------
EX01-2016 exoip.local/Configuration/Sites/Default-First-Site-Name Mailbox    Enterprise Version 15.2 (Build 2507.6)
EX02-2016 exoip.local/Configuration/Sites/Default-First-Site-Name Mailbox    Enterprise Version 15.2 (Build 2507.6)

Exchange admin center for Exchange Server on-premises

Sign in to the on-premises Exchange admin center. In the top row, we see the Enterprise organization and the administrator account, which we are signed in with.

The on-premises mailboxes are listed, and there are no mailboxes in Exchange Online. We can identify them in the Mailbox type column with the name Office 365. That’s because we did not create mailboxes in Exchange Online, nor did we migrate any mailboxes yet.

Exchange Online management tools

To manage Exchange Online, we recommend the below management tools.

Exchange Online PowerShell for Exchange Online

Install Exchange Online PowerShell module on the server or workstation that you will manage Exchange Server from. As in the previous step, we will install the Exchange Online PowerShell module on the workstation.

Note: Run Windows PowerShell to manage Exchange Online organization.

Connect to Exchange Online PowerShell from Windows PowerShell. You will get a prompt to enter your credentials. After validation, you get back to Windows PowerShell.

PS C:\> Connect-ExchangeOnline

Run the Get-Mailbox cmdlet or use the new Get-EXOMailbox PowerShell cmdlet. The output shows that we don’t have any mailboxes in Exchange Online. The result is only the Discovery Search Mailbox.

PS C:\> Get-Mailbox | Sort-Object Name

Name                      Alias           Database                       ProhibitSendQuota    ExternalDirectoryObjectId
----                      -----           --------                       -----------------    ------------------------- 
DiscoverySearchMailbox... DiscoverySea... EURP195DG023-db053             50 GB (53,687,091...

Do you want to see the on-premises mailboxes? Run the Get-MailUser cmdlet.

PS C:\> Get-MailUser | Sort-Object Name

Name                                     RecipientType
----                                     -------------
Ali Tajran                               MailUser
Alysia Maverick                          MailUser
Amanda Morgan                            MailUser
Boris Campbell                           MailUser
Grace Rees                               MailUser
John Maverick                            MailUser

The Get-ExchangeServer cmdlet will not list the Exchange Servers in the cloud. That’s because you don’t have access to everything.

PS C:\> Get-ExchangeServer
Get-ExchangeServer : The term 'Get-ExchangeServer' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program. Check the 
spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.
At line:1 char:1
+ Get-ExchangeServer
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : ObjectNotFound: (Get-ExchangeServer:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException

Exchange admin center for Exchange Online

Sign in to the Exchange admin center in Exchange Online.

There are no mailboxes in Exchange Online because we did not create mailboxes in Exchange Online, nor did we migrate any mailboxes yet.

What about the Active Directory synchronization and the unified global address list user experience? Go to Recipients > Contacts. In Exchange Online, the on-premises mailboxes appear as contacts with a contact type Mail user.

Microsoft 365 admin center for Exchange Online

Since Microsoft is actively developing the Microsoft 365 admin center, and not everything is added to the Exchange admin center in Exchange Online, it’s good to open the Microsoft 365 admin center and use that when in need.

That’s it.

In the next article, we will look at how to Assign Microsoft 365 licenses with group-based licensing.

Conclusion

You learned how to manage Exchange Hybrid. There is more than a single tool to manage an Exchange Hybrid environment. Use Exchange Management Shell, Exchange Online PowerShell, Exchange admin center, Exchange admin center in Exchange Online, and Microsoft 365 admin center for all the tasks.

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