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Batch file action: Import Directory Data

Introduction

Select this action is to automatically collect data from Active Directory in order to refresh the structure of the Exchange organization in the database: Exchange servers, DAGs, mailbox and public folder databases, recipients and their attributes. If multiple actions are included in the batch job, directory import is always carried out first.

This option supports both On-Premises versions of Microsoft Exchange Server, and Office 365. One of the check boxes may be grayed out depending on your Exchange environment. For example, both check boxes will be active if your environment runs in Hybrid mode; but the Office 365 check box will be grayed out if you only use an On-Premises version of Microsoft Exchange Server such as Exchange 2013.

Directory import method

     
On-Premises (LDAP queries against a Global Catalog Server) No import No directory import operation is performed if this option is selected. This option is only available if the last update or complete re-import was carried out less than 24 hours ago.
Quick Update (get and process modified recipients only) This option searches for new recipients in the directory, or known recipients that have been modified since the last import. Objects USN (Update Sequence Number) are used for this purpose. The  import process will be much faster. However, an object that was recently deleted in the directory will not be marked as deleted in the database.
  • Pros: Faster import process.
  • Cons: Deleted objects will not be identified and marked as deleted.
Complete import (get and process all recipients) This option allows re-importing all Exchange-related objects, including existing and already known recipients. Objects that can no longer be found in the directory, but that are still present in the database, will be marked as deleted. Running a complete directory reimport can be useful if you need to force synchronization between the directory and the database.
  • Pros: The 'marked as deleted' flag is added to all objects that can no longer be found in the directory.
  • Cons: The import process can take much longer.

Note: This option is the only available when the directory is imported for the first time.
Office 365 (PowerShell commands against the Cloud) No import No import operation is performed against Office 365 if this option is selected. This option is only available if the last update or complete re-import was carried out less than 24 hours ago.
Quick Update (get and process modified recipients only) This option searches for new recipients in the hosted organization, or known recipients that have been modified since the last import.
Full Update (get all recipients and only process the modified ones) This option allows re-importing all Exchange-related objects, including existing and already known recipients. However, it only processes those that were found to have been modified since the last import took place.

Note: This option is the only available when the directory is imported for the first time.
Complete import (get and process all recipients) This option is a deep variant of the previous one, which re-examines all recipients and all their attributes. Using it is not recommended if your Office 365 tenant is very large.

See also: Data source: Directory (On-Premises Exchange), Import Directory Data , and Purpose and usage of the 'marked as deleted' flag .

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