This SC-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe the capabilities of microsoft entra. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Your organization plans to migrate from on-premises Active Directory to Microsoft Entra ID. You need to design the identity synchronization strategy to support password hash synchronization and password writeback. Which tool should you use?
Microsoft Identity Manager
Why wrong: MIM is on-premises identity management, not cloud sync.
Active Directory Federation Services
Why wrong: AD FS is for federation, not sync.
Microsoft Entra Cloud Sync
Why wrong: Cloud Sync does not support password writeback.
Microsoft Entra Connect
Entra Connect supports password hash sync and writeback.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Microsoft Entra Connect
Microsoft Entra Connect is the correct tool because it supports both password hash synchronization and password writeback, which are required for the migration scenario. Password hash sync synchronizes a hash of the on-premises AD password to Entra ID, while password writeback enables password changes in the cloud to be written back to on-premises AD. Entra Connect is the primary hybrid identity tool that integrates on-premises directories with Microsoft Entra ID, offering these features natively.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Microsoft Identity Manager
Why it's wrong here
MIM is on-premises identity management, not cloud sync.
Active Directory Federation Services
Why it's wrong here
AD FS is for federation, not sync.
Microsoft Entra Cloud Sync
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Sync does not support password writeback.
Microsoft Entra Connect
Why this is correct
Entra Connect supports password hash sync and writeback.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Microsoft Entra Cloud Sync with Entra Connect, assuming Cloud Sync supports all the same features, but Cloud Sync lacks password writeback support, making it unsuitable for this requirement.
Detailed technical explanation
Password hash synchronization works by hashing the on-premises AD password using a one-way hash algorithm (MD4) and then applying additional salting and hashing before synchronizing to Entra ID. Password writeback requires the Entra Connect server to have a service endpoint that listens for password change events from Entra ID and writes them back to on-premises AD via the on-premises DC's password reset API. In a real-world scenario, if you need both features for a hybrid deployment, Entra Connect is the only tool that provides them together, and it must be configured with the appropriate synchronization options enabled.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
What to study next
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FAQ
Describe the capabilities of Microsoft Entra — This question tests Describe the capabilities of Microsoft Entra — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Microsoft Entra Connect — Microsoft Entra Connect is the correct tool because it supports both password hash synchronization and password writeback, which are required for the migration scenario. Password hash sync synchronizes a hash of the on-premises AD password to Entra ID, while password writeback enables password changes in the cloud to be written back to on-premises AD. Entra Connect is the primary hybrid identity tool that integrates on-premises directories with Microsoft Entra ID, offering these features natively.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
This SC-900 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SC-900 exam.
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