How To: Sync photos from SQL Server to Active Directory in bulk

Applies To:

GroupID 7 -10 - Synchronize

Use Case:

Using GroupID Synchronize, is it possible to upload or sync user photos from an SQL server database to Active Directory?

 Solution:

Yes, GroupID Synchronize can be used to upload photos to Active Directory in bulk.

Prerequisites:

Before you synchronize images between SQL Server and Active Directory, make sure that:

• All images are saved in a column of the "Image" data type within a table.
• The table also contains an EmployeeID column, which contains a unique ID for each employee record.

Steps:

Use the following instructions to create a job that synchronizes images between an SQL Server database and Active Directory. If a relevant job already exists, then open it for editing and begin at step 5.

1. In GroupID Management Console, expand the Synchronize node, right-click All Jobs and select New Job. This launches the New Job wizard.
2. On the Select Source page, select Microsoft SQL Server from the Select provider for the source list. This displays the required settings to connect to the selected source. Configure these settings according to your environment and click Next.

   

3. On the Select Destination page, select Microsoft Active Directory (LDAP) – also supports Microsoft Exchange as the destination provider and configure the connection settings accordingly.

   

4. On the Sync Object Options page, keep the default option, Skip, selected and click Next.

   

5. On the Select Fields page, make sure that all the required fields that need to be synced are included in the Selected Fields list. To sync photos, the EmployeeID and thumbnailPhoto fields must be moved to the Selected Fields list. Click Next.

   

6. On the Field Map(s) page, select the check boxes in the Key and New only columns for EmployeeID. Note that the primary key, EmployeeID in this case, is mapped to itself.

   

7. On the Notifications page, specify the notification settings and click Next.
8. On the Save Job page, specify a name for your job and click Finish.
   Run your job to test if it works as expected.

Known Issue:

The old and previous values in job results are shown in bits instead of images.