What is Active Directory (AD)?

What does AD stand for?

Active Directory (AD) is a Windows OS directory Carrier that allows running with Interconnected, complicated and one-of-a-kind Network assets in a uNiFied manner.

Active Directory become to start with released with Windows 2000 Server and revised with extra capabilities in Windows Server 2008. Active Directory affords a not unusual Interface for organizing and maintaining facts related to resources linked to quite a few network directories. The directories may be structures-based totally (like Windows OS), Software-precise or commUnity resources, like printers. Active Directory serves as a single facts shop for quick statistics get entry to to all customers and controls get entry to for users primarily based at the directory’s safety coverage.

What Does Active Directory Mean?

Active Directory offers the subsequent network services:

• Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) – An open trendy used to get right of entry to different listing services
• Security provider the usage of the ideas of Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Kerberos-based totally Authentication
• Hierarchical and Internal garage of organizational Records in a centralized location for faster get admission to and higher commuNity administration
• Data Availability in multiple servers with conCurrent UPDATEs to offer higher Scalability

Active Directory is internally based with a hierarchical Framework. Each Node within the tree-like shape is referred to as an item and associated with a network resource, which includes a consumer or service. Like the Database topic Schema concept, the Active Directory schema is used to specify Attribute and type for a described Active Directory Object, which allows attempting to find connected community sources based on assigned attributes. For Instance, if a person desires to use a printer with colour printing Functionality, the item Characteristic can be set with a suiTable Keyword, in order that it is simpler to search the complete network and pick out the object’s region based totally on that keyword.

A area consists of items saved in a particular protection boundary and interconnected in a tree-like shape. A single area may additionally have multiple servers – every of which is capable of storing a couple of items. In this example, organizational inFormation is saved in more than one locations, so a site may have multiple web sites for a unmarried Domain. Each Website Online may also have more than one Domain Controllers for Backup and Scalability reasons. Multiple Domain Names may be connected to shape a domain tree, which shares a common schema, Configuration and international catalog (used for searching across domains). A forest is formed by means of a hard and fast of more than one and relied on area Bushes and bureaucracy the uppermost Layer of the Active Directory.

Novell’s listing provider, an Active Directory alternative, incorporates all server facts within the listing itself, not like Active Directory.