Exchange is appending numbers to DL

Question

Exchange is appending numbers to DL

Glenn Maxwell 14,186

Hi All
i am using exchange2016 hybrid environment, i have created distribution list in exchange onprem by name Test Group.
But in AD i can see the group name as Test Group-396684025 in Group Name(pre-windows 2000). This is happening to all the DLs created in exchange onprem.
How to fix this.

Get-DistributionGroup Test.Group@Company portal .com | FL Name,DisplayName,SamAccountName

Name : Test Group
DisplayName : Test Group
SamAccountName : Test Group-396684025

How do i change the SamAccountName for Test Group using exchange powershell.
how do i create new DL from Exchange powershell where i can specify the SamAccountName

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Answer accepted by question author

Lucas Liu-MSFT 6,196

Hi @Glenn Maxwell ,
1.You could run the following command to change the SamAccountName for distribution group:

Set-DistributionGroup -Identity <> -SamAccountName <>

2.You could run the following command to specify the SamAccountName when you create a new distribution group:

New-DistributionGroup -Name <> -SamAccountName <>

3.Please note: According to the Microsoft's official article, we could know the following information:
The SamAccountName parameter (also known as the pre-Windows 2000 user account or group name) specifies an object identifier that's compatible with older versions of Microsoft Windows client and server operating systems. The value can contain letters, numbers, spaces, periods (.), and the following characters: !, #, $, %, ^, &, -, _, {, }, and ~. The last character can't be a period. Unicode characters are allowed, but accented characters may generate collisions (for example, o and ö match). The maximum length is 20 characters.

For more information you could refer to: Set-DistributionGroup and New-DistributionGroup

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Glenn Maxwell 14,186 Reputation points

2021-04-19T04:51:34.477+00:00

In the Below Syntax do the Name represent Alias?

New-DistributionGroup -Name DGtest2@Company portal .com -SamAccountName DGtest2

Will the below syntax work? i dont want displayname as DGtest2@Company portal .com

New-DistributionGroup -Name DGtest2@Company portal .com -DisplayName DGTest2 -SamAccountName DGTest2
Lucas Liu-MSFT 6,196 Reputation points

2021-04-19T05:30:43.307+00:00

Hi @Glenn Maxwell ,
Yes, if we not specify the Alias and DisplayName for this distribution group, then "Name" will represent its "Alias" and "Displayname".
Yes, you are correct. If you want to specify the display name, you could add the parameter "Displayname" when you run the "New-DistributionGroup". For more information you could refer to the link proivde above.

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Lucas Liu-MSFT 6,196 Reputation points

2021-04-22T09:46:12.637+00:00

Hi @Glenn Maxwell ,
Do suggestions above help? If the issue has been resolved, please click “Accept as answer” to mark helpful reply as an answer, this will make answer searching in the forum easier and be beneficial to other community members as well.

Thanks for your understanding.

----------

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1 additional answer

Glenn Maxwell 14,186 Reputation points

2021-04-19T04:51:34.477+00:00

In the Below Syntax do the Name represent Alias?

New-DistributionGroup -Name DGtest2@Company portal .com -SamAccountName DGtest2

Will the below syntax work? i dont want displayname as DGtest2@Company portal .com

New-DistributionGroup -Name DGtest2@Company portal .com -DisplayName DGTest2 -SamAccountName DGTest2
Lucas Liu-MSFT 6,196 Reputation points

2021-04-19T05:30:43.307+00:00

Hi @Glenn Maxwell ,
Yes, if we not specify the Alias and DisplayName for this distribution group, then "Name" will represent its "Alias" and "Displayname".
Yes, you are correct. If you want to specify the display name, you could add the parameter "Displayname" when you run the "New-DistributionGroup". For more information you could refer to the link proivde above.

----------

If the response is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and upvote it.
Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.
Lucas Liu-MSFT 6,196 Reputation points

2021-04-22T09:46:12.637+00:00

Hi @Glenn Maxwell ,
Do suggestions above help? If the issue has been resolved, please click “Accept as answer” to mark helpful reply as an answer, this will make answer searching in the forum easier and be beneficial to other community members as well.

Thanks for your understanding.

----------

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Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Answer 1

It appears this behaviour was introduced in Exchange 2016 and remains present in later CUs:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/458261/creation-of-groups-number-added

The reason behind this is:

Exchange EAC does not populate the sAMAccountName when creating a Distribution Group.
Active Directory therefore generates the sAMAccountName automatically and appends a numeric suffix to ensure uniqueness (for example, Test Group-396684025).