Internal DNS Configuration
When Active Directory is present in the customer environment there are specific Internal DNS
configuration changes that must be performed at migration time. These changes ensure that Outlook
can connect properly to Office 365, as well as ensure full function of Office 365 features such as
Automapping.
This document will provide guidance towards the appropriate changes required. While these changes
may not be needed in all environments, it is important to recognize when they do need to be
modified.
It is important to also note that these changes will coincide with any public DNS changes. Whether
those changes are made by SkyKick (Full and Partial Service DNS), or when managed by the Microsoft
partner (Self-Service DNS), timeliness will be important. Public DNS changes are scheduled to change at
precisely ten minutes after your scheduled migration time. Whereas the Internal DNS changes
mentioned below need to be made right at the scheduled migration time.
If Self-Serve DNS options were selected, further instructions about those changes will also be provided
to you via email.
Due to these time considerations, SkyKick recommends familiarizing yourself with the customer’s
particular environment as well as the changes that need to be made before the migration date.
Instructions to Configure Internal DNS
1. Open a command prompt on any machine within the customer’s AD environment
2. Ping autodiscover.outlook.com
a. Success comes in the form of a returned value of any Office 365 data center (nameast,
namwest, etc.) which indicates proper communication with the Office 365 autodiscover
service.
b. If the request does not resolve, or resolves away from Office 365 there may be another
factor at play. Possible routing of *.outlook.com at the firewall, ISP, or public facing
DNS. SkyKick recommends contacting anyone who may have configured the local
environment in the past to investigate.
3. Open the DNS Manager on the primary domain controller
4. Expand the tree to display any Forward Lookup Zones on that domain controller
5. Identify any Forward Lookup Zones for any migrating domains contained in the SkyKick
migration plan
6. Typically, the .local domain will not need to be modified
7. Delete any CNAME or A records that may exist that route requests to the sub-domain of
autodiscover.yourdomain.com
8. Right-click on any migrating domain and select New Alias (CNAME)
a. Add the value autodiscover to the alias name
b. Add the value autodiscover.outlook.com to the Fully qualified domain name (FQDN)
for target host:
c. Click OK to save the changes
d. From a command prompt – flush the local DNS by using the ipconfig /flushdns
command on the domain controller
9. Ping autodiscover.yourdomain.com from any machine within the customer’s AD environment
a. Internal DNS is successfully configured when that ping resolves to an Office 365
datacenter (nameast, namwest, etc.)
If your customer plans on using other Office 365 features like Lync, additional records may need to be
added. Please refer to the Office 365 Administration console for those specific values.
If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to our team of Migration Specialists
at 888-503-3367 or [email protected].
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