Programming Tutorials

Change Dirsync synchronization frequency

By: Emiley J  

Sometimes, even trivial tips could come in very handy such as this. I have been searching high and low for an option to change the frequency of synchronization between on-premise AD and Office 365. And found this simple solution.

The default frequency when directory synchronization service runs is every 3 hours. Some say that this can be changed by modifying the config file Microsoft.Online.DirSync.Scheduler.exe.Config at %program files%/Microsoft Online Directory Sync folder.

The file is there and the default setting is 3:0:0 which stands for every 3 hours. Changing this value, does not in anyway affect the frequency. Microsoft document clearly says, the directory synchronization frequency CANNOT be changed

What you can do instead is to manually initiate the dirsync to run as and when you want using the powershell

To manually run the dirsync, do the following:

1. On the computer that is running the Directory Synchronization tool, navigate to the directory synchronization installation folder. By default, it is located here: %programfiles%\Microsoft Online Directory Sync.
2. Double-click DirSyncConfigShell.psc1 to open a Windows PowerShell window with the cmdlets loaded.
3. In the Windows PowerShell window, type Start-OnlineCoexistenceSync, and then press ENTER.

If you see any warnings, just ignore them. You can double check that it is actually intiated and running by checking the 'Event Viewer'.

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