In this article

Reference this article to navigate the DNSFilter Sync Tool, a tool used to connect Active Directory (AD) Organizational Units to the DNSFilter dashboard. 

Sync tool settings

Incremental Sync. Configure a customized frequency to run an incremental sync. The default (and minimum) run frequency is 30 minutes. 

This sync ensures newly created users and groups in the on-prem AD sync directly with the DNSFilter app. 

✍️ An incremental sync does not support existing users switching AD groups, e.g. user John Holland is assigned to the AI Group during the AD incremental sync, but if John Holland moves from the AI Group to the Users Abroad Group the incremental sync will not reflect this change. A full sync is required to complete that type of update. 

Full Sync. A full background sync occurs every 3 to 6 days. The full sync pushes all changes, including newly created users or groups, and doesn't require admin action.  

Force a full sync by removing the sync tool cache (AdSyncCookies.dat) from the install folder. Delete the file and restart the service to complete the full sync. 

✍️ Users that are removed from the AD premise environment or Azure AD are not synced with the DNSFilter dashboard where users are going to be removed.

AD server / Azure tenant settings

Use these tabs to set up the initial DNSFilter sync. 

Sync Logs 

Collect sync tool debug logs. The sync tool has debug log capabilities in the event that there are issues with the tool. Collect the logs and send them to our Support team for review. 

1. From the ADSync install directory, edit the Log4Net.config file
   1. Update <level value="INFO"/> to <level value="DEBUG"/>
   2. Update the file value to a location and file, e.g. <file value="C:\temp\ads-debug.log"/> 
2. Stop and restart the Sync Tool service

The debug log will populate after the service restarts. 

Last sync status is a progress bar that shows how far along the sync is. A sync, especially the first one, can take a long time. This bar should alleviate concerns that the process could time out. 

Select the More details drop down to view details about sync status, objects synced, and duration.

✍️ If a failure occurs during a sync, select the Failed status to view the errors for a specific server. 

Sync Logs. This tab has the option to filter logs to see the full log, only errors, or errors and warnings. This tab has a manual Refresh option to see the most current logs, as well as a Open File button to open a Windows Explorer window with the log file on an local device.

Admins can also search and zoom the Sync logs, or change the view the tab as a single page, dual page, or with page navigation.