Introduction to Active Directory
History of Active Directory
Active Directory was introduced to the world in the mid-1990s by Microsoft as a replacement for Windows NT-style user authentication. Windows NT included a flat and non-extensible domain model which did not scale well for large corporations. Active Directory, on the other hand, was created as a true directory service versus a flat user-management service that NT had. Though it was introduced in the 1990s, it did not become a part of the Operating System until Windows 2000 Server was released in 2000. Since then, Windows Server 2003 and Server 2008 have been introduced and Active Directory has gone under some expansion.
This tutorial is based on Windows Server 2003 as it is currently the most widely installed version of the Windows network Operating System (NOS), though in the future we will release versions for Windows Server 2008 and future Windows releases as it becomes necessary. Though this tutorial is not focused on Windows Server 2008, much of the basic knowledge and instruction relates to either OS.
LDAP
Active Directory is based loosely on LDAP – Lightweight Directory Access Protocol – an application protocol for querying and modifying directory services developed at the University of Michigan in the early 1990s. An LDAP directory tree is a hierarchical structure of organizations, domains, trees, groups, and individual units.
Example of an LDAP Tree
Active Directory is a Directory
Sometimes, it’s easy to get lost in all of the technology and functions that are provided with AD and forget that Active Directory is a directory. It is a directory in both the common use of the term like a white pages (you can add in a person’s first name, last name, phone number, address, email address, etc) and a directory of information for use by applications and services (such as Microsoft Exchange for email). AD is functionally a place to store information about people, things (computers, printers, etc), applications, domains, services, security access permissions, and more. Applications and services then use the directory to perform a function.
For example, Microsoft Windows uses Active Directory information to allow a user to login to their computer and provide access to the security rights assigned in Active Directory. Windows is accessing the directory and then providing rights based on what it finds. If a user account is disabled in Active Directory, the directory itself is just setting a flag which Windows uses to disallow a user from logging in.
We mentioned in the introduction that administrators use Active Directory to deploy software – this is an incomplete description. Administrators can set policies and information that a certain software application should be deployed to a certain user – AD itself does not deploy the software, but a Windows service reads the information from Active Directory and then installs the software.
Once you grasp the concept that Active Directory is a directory, you’re halfway to understanding why it is built the way it is!
Wounderful tutorial. Thak u very much
Very good tutorial, it may help me land a job. I needed a breif overview, before a job interview. Thanks A bunch!
I am really glad to be on this site.Thankyou verymuch and God Bless
I hit a jackpot….Yahooo..
Excellent tuturial. Real helpful to cover on the basics and build the knowledge. Thanks very much.
Am a student of MCITP. Can i down load free material on AD,ADDS,ADFS,LDAP,ADLSet.
a stepping stone i just needed. tx a lot
I found it interesting and informative…Thank you so much..
beautiful tutorial , this is just great it really sets the stage for higher learning.
Thank you so muuuuuch…. this realli realli… helped for ma interview…. God bless… : )
Was a great tutorial, Learnt a lot and indeed its a step forward to get more… Thanks alot
i really got lots of 9ledge from this site . gr888888888888888. God bless u.
very good
very interesting and helpfull.
very nice tutorial
Wonderful! This will help me at my hopefully new job! My only request is that yopu exapnd the section on the actuall interation with AD. THAAANK YOUUU!
Very nice! This will help me in a job intervju tomorrow. Cheers!
Good Job!!.. It’s really help full.
Wonderful tutorial. Very helpful, thanks 🙂
Easy and to the point, good for beginner to get clear picture of AD. Cheers
This really helps a lot. Thanks.
thnks its a great hepled
I thank you a bunch. It gave me a very clear idea about AD. God Bless.
thank u very much for the kind information
Excellent Job Done.
Thanks a lot for providing such useful information.
thank you !!!! very good tutorial
Wow, this is a wonderful tutorial,
Thank you soooo much. !
I am interested in learning Active Direstory. So kindly help me out.
It is very helpful to understand the basic. Thanx a lot.
Is there any way how to get this donwloaded? pls let me knw.. 🙂
nice article
Thank you, This was very informative. Just what I needed to better understand AD
I went through this in an hour! – Stupendous job! – Thanks much.
Superb tutorial… 🙂
A well structured sequential tutorial netwoking and AD services. Bravo Zulu!
Hey,
Is this downloadable in any way? Could really use it in my studys 🙂
Best Regards
awesome!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for the detailed information
thanks a lot .explained in a verysimple and lucid way.
good tutorial.
realy the teaching materail ver help full thaks
Thank you very much for briliant tutorial and such a resourceful site. Hats over
It’s helpful but i recommend you add a tutorial on Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and Designing AD and Network Infrastructure to make it more complete for MCSE.
Thanks alot was really helpful in understanding AD a bit more…
wonderfull tutoriel.thank you very much
Its wonderful doc.. especailly on windows.. i suggest every one to go though it..
it was so wonderful tutorial….gave me a whole brief picture to AD…..in such good summary…thank you so much….hope i do get my 1st level help desk role now …cheers
Good Tutorial. Thanks a lot.
I am a beginner to AD, cause I’m trying to teach myself Windows server 2003 to prepare for Exam 70-290.
So far I am really please with what I’m reading cause it’s making me understand the concept of AD.
Could you please tell me if a CDrom or a DVD exist on this tutorial and how I can get it or is it possible to download or print this tutorial?
Thanks
It really helped thanks alot
Very informative and easy to read. Thank-You! x
God one. Thanks a ton!!!
Excellent work done on this website tutorial.
its brief, concise and hits on the point. I have had gone through couple of tutorials but this tutorial has wiped up all the misconceptions i had before.
Manythanks to all who have done exceptional work hard on this tutorial.
Thanks. this is a well prepared tutorial. easy to understand.
Great, i found it very informatic and it has expand my knowledge of AD.
Really nice. You did a great job. Congrats!
And thank you very much!!!
have some question here? what is the future of active directory in windows server 2003?
Fantabulous!!! Thanks to the mentor. Great Job!
thanks its complete toturial for active directory
Thanks a lot! Really great and easy to understand article!
Fantastic!
really good tutorial for beginners for active directory, thanks
Very Exhaustive tutotrial. A wonderful learning tool. Great Job.
I’m trying to understand Active Directory for an upcoming job interview. While Active Directory is not part of the job requirements, knowing a little more is a positive.
Thanks for this tutorial !
Brilliant tutorial, Thanks
Very good tutorial. Helped me alot to understand the AD.
Great tutorial, needed to update myself with Server 2003 features.. good work!