Office365 is a great service!\u00a0 We love it at itgroove and we\u2019ve helped a number of customers move to the service.\u00a0 I won\u2019t downplay the work that can be involved as, after all, you are migrating some heavy duty tools:\u00a0 Exchange, SharePoint, et al.\u00a0 That said, the process is actually quite well defined and Microsoft has made great strides in making things easier than they were even a year ago.\u00a0 However, there is still the issue of DNS.<\/p>\n
O365 requires some very specific DNS records be in place before all the bits and pieces inside O365 will work.\u00a0 Microsoft lists a number of popular DNS providers in their O365 instructions and offer decent \u2018how to\u2019s\u201d to follow to make the DNS record changes that are required.\u00a0 However, there are more than a few DNS providers out there that simply aren\u2019t up to snuff.\u00a0 Case in point: Comcast.\u00a0 I\u2019m working with a customer in San Francisco that is migrating to O365 and we have gone around in more circles than I\u2019d care to count trying to get the stupid Comcast DNS manager interface to accept the required entries.\u00a0 Frankly, it\u2019s been a nightmare to this point and we are not getting anywhere at all and Comcast support has been unresponsive.\u00a0 We will probably have to move to another DNS provider (as per Microsoft recommendation) in order to get the records in place that will support O365.<\/p>\n
Before you set a hard and fast cutoff date for your 0365 migration be sure to perform the required O365 DNS setup and, if it doesn\u2019t work with your DNS provider, consider making a DNS provider switch as quickly as possible.\u00a0 Proper DNS function is critical to the success of your O365 configuration and none of us need the grief of having to deal with an \u201cobtuse\u201d DNS provider!\u00a0 DNS providers like GoDaddy, Gandi, and DynDNS are good choices, there are others, as well.\u00a0 There is no good reason to put up with lousy DNS management and service so don\u2019t be afraid to make the change.<\/p>\n
ADDENDUM:<\/strong> \u00a0Just to show what a difference “good” tools can make … My customer and I decided to punt Comcast DNS after speaking with Comcast support who were very kind but unable to do much of anything to solve the problem. \u00a0We signed up at DynDNS for a $30\/yr DNS hosting plan and I spent 5 minutes adding the required records (supported all of the records Microsoft requires for O365 including the SRV records,) then we flipped their nameservers inside their registrar (Network Solutions) and pointed at the DynDNS nameservers. \u00a0Within 3 minutes of making the switch at Network Solutions, O365 was able to verify that all required DNS records were in place and their O365 went “live”. \u00a0Total time investment was about half an hour start to finish vs the hours and hours of frustration that we went through trying to hammer Comcast DNS into place. \u00a0Moral of the story, it’s better to switch than fight! \u00a0Make sure your DNS is up to snuff and that part of getting your O365 online will be pretty painless.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"