Hi
I'm trying to figure out how to make Active Directory "forget" that a user has an Exchange mailbox.
The scenario is as follows - a standalone Exchange Server experienced a hardware failure and the server is not feasilbe to repair. The replacement server will take weeks to arrive, so the users have been provisioned for Exchange Online (preexisting AAD Connect environment, but ADFS will be introduced soon for a more seamless environment). The data has been restored in a lab environment and exported to PST files in preparation for a PST Capture.
The problem now is how to reintroduce a new Exchange Server for management purposes. The mailboxes will remain in the cloud, but the intention is to have a hybrid environment with an on-premise server purely for management purposes.
User mailboxes were not properly disabled or deleted and Active Directory has no idea that the Exchange Server is missing. How can I clean up the data on the user accounts? The email addresses, proxy attributes, etc. need to remain as the directory is synchronized with Office 365, but I need to someone tell AD that the mailboxes are now remote mailboxes and not stored on a local server, so that when Exchange Server is reintroduced it finds the mailboxes in the cloud and not on some phantom server.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
MCP Windows Server MCTS .NET