During various discussions with enterprise customers at the Microsoft Technology Center (MTC), I’ve repeatedly heard a desire to implement a hybrid scenario for Microsoft SharePoint Server on-premises and SharePoint Online for the following reasons:
- Flexibility
- On-premises customization
- Significant footprint in remote locations
- Regulatory reasons
- Manageability
A hybrid environment that uses SharePoint Server 2013 and SharePoint Online enables shared functionality between services and features, such as Search, Microsoft Business Connectivity Services, and Duet Enterprise Online for Microsoft SharePoint and SAP in both environments.
In hybrid SharePoint Server 2013 environments in which SharePoint Online requests data from SharePoint Server 2013, you need a reverse proxy device to securely relay requests from the Internet to your on-premises SharePoint Server 2013 farm.
The original guidance provided step-by-step instructions on how to set up and configure Microsoft Forefront Threat Management Gateway (TMG) 2010 to be used as reverse proxy for a hybrid SharePoint Server 2013 environment, but TMG 2010 was discontinued on September 12, 2012. Considering that many enterprise customers already deployed other reverse proxy solutions, such as F5 and Citrix, the Microsoft Office 365 product team came to the MTC in Irvine, California, to create a unique testing environment for hybrid enterprise search and line-of-business scenarios. They collaborated with our expert staff and took advantage of our Alliance Partnerships, including F5 and Citrix.
As a result of this joint effort, a series of guidance from F5 and Citrix is now available publicly. The MTC Irvine is working with other MTC locations worldwide to deploy this configuration and showcase it to customers as part of Hybrid Cloud Strategy Briefings, Architecture Design Sessions, and/or Proof-of-Concept engagements.
Hybrid in SharePoint Conference 2014
In the past year, we have published a series of white papers on TechNet that explain how to plan for and deploy hybrid scenarios for SharePoint. We also provided additional guidance throughout the sessions at the SharePoint Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada (held March 3–6, 2014). In addition, there will be post-conference training delivered by experts from the SharePoint product team, Microsoft Services Premier Support, and MTC Irvine.
Recommended references:
- Architecture Design Recommendation for SharePoint 2013 Hybrid Search Features
- Setting Up BCS Hybrid Features End to End in SharePoint 2013
- Hybrid for SharePoint Server 2013
- Enabling SharePoint 2013 Hybrid Search with the BIG-IP
 | Ali Mazaheri works as a Worldwide Collaboration Community Lead, SharePoint SME, Yammer lead, and Architect at the Microsoft Technology Center in Irvine, California. Ali designs and implements enterprise solutions based on Microsoft SharePoint products and technologies. He is a Microsoft Certified Master for SharePoint 2007/2010 and a Microsoft Certified Solutions Master (MCSM) for SharePoint 2013. He also worked with the SharePoint MCSM delivery team as a Technical Lead. |