Active directory mail vs proxyaddresses

In Active Directory, mail and proxyAddresses are two separate attributes that serve different purposes when it comes to email addresses.

mail

The mail attribute is a single-valued attribute that stores the primary email address of a user or contact object in Active Directory. This attribute is used to store the user's preferred email address, which is often used by applications and services to send emails to the user.

For example, if a user's primary email address is [email protected], the mail attribute would be set to [email protected].

proxyAddresses

The proxyAddresses attribute is a multi-valued attribute that stores a list of email addresses that can be used to forward emails to the user's mailbox. These addresses are often used for email aliasing, forwarding, or redirecting emails to the user's mailbox.

For example, if a user has multiple email addresses that forward to their primary mailbox, the proxyAddresses attribute might contain the following values:

• [email protected]
• [email protected]
• [email protected]

When an email is sent to one of these proxy addresses, it will be forwarded to the user's primary mailbox, which is stored in the mail attribute.

Key differences

Here are the key differences between mail and proxyAddresses:

• Single-valued vs. multi-valued: mail is a single-valued attribute, while proxyAddresses is a multi-valued attribute.
• Primary email address vs. proxy addresses: mail stores the primary email address of a user, while proxyAddresses stores a list of email addresses that can be used to forward emails to the user's mailbox.
• Usage: mail is used by applications and services to send emails to the user, while proxyAddresses is used for email aliasing, forwarding, or redirecting emails to the user's mailbox.

In summary, mail is used to store the primary email address of a user, while proxyAddresses is used to store a list of email addresses that can be used to forward emails to the user's mailbox.