Active Directory, 3rd Edition

Preface

Active Directory is a common repository for information about objects that reside on the network, such as users, groups, computers, printers, applications, and files. The default Active Directory schema supports numerous attributes for each object class that can be used to store a variety of information. Access Control Lists (ACLs) are also stored with each object, which allows you to maintain permissions for who can access and manage the object. Having a single source for this information makes it more accessible and easier to manage; however, to accomplish this requires a significant amount of knowledge on such topics as LDAP, Kerberos, DNS, multi-master replication, group policies, and data partitioning, to name a few. This book will be your guide through this maze of technologies, showing you how to deploy a scalable and reliable Active Directory infrastructure.

Windows 2000 Active Directory has proven itself to be very solid in terms of features and reliability, but after several years of real-world deployments, there was much room for improvement. When Microsoft released Windows Server 2003, they focused on security, manageability, and scalability enhancements. Windows Server 2003 R2 takes this evolution further and combines Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 with some feature packs, which makes Windows Server even more secure, manageable, and scalable and also adds considerable new functionality, such as a stand-alone LDAP server service and increased Unix system integration functions right in the box.

This book is an update to the very successful second edition. All of the existing chapters have been brought up to date with Windows Server 2003 R2 changes, as well as updates in concepts and approaches to managing Active Directory and script updates. There are three new chapters (Chapters 15, 18, and 24) to explain features or concepts not covered in the second edition, including an entire chapter on Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM) as well as a chapter on scripting common Active Directory related user and group tasks for Microsoft Exchange 2000/2003.

This book describes Active Directory in depth, but not in the traditional way of going through the graphical user interface screen by screen. Instead, the book sets out to tell administrators how to design, manage, and maintain a small, medium, or enterprise Active Directory infrastructure. To this end, the book is split up into three parts.

Part I introduces in general terms much of how Active Directory works, giving you a thorough grounding in its concepts. Some of the topics include Active Directory replication, the schema, application partitions, group policies, and interaction with DNS.

In Part II, we describe in copious detail the issues around properly designing the directory infrastructure. Topics include in-depth looks at designing the namespace, creating a site topology, designing group policies for locking down client settings, auditing, permissions, backup and recovery, and a look at Microsoft's future direction with Directory Services.

Part III is all about managing Active Directory via automation with Active Directory Service Interfaces (ADSI), ActiveX Data Objects (ADO), and Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI). This section covers how to create and manipulate users, groups, printers, and other objects that you may need in your everyday management of Active Directory. It also describes in depth how you can utilize the strengths of WMI and the .NET System.DirectoryServices namespace to manage Active Directory programmatically via those interfaces.

If you're looking for in-depth coverage of how to use the MMC snap-ins or Resource Kit tools, look elsewhere. However, if you want a book that lays bare the design and management of an enterprise or departmental Active Directory, you need look no further.

Intended Audience

This book is intended for all Active Directory administrators, whether you manage a single server or a global multinational with a farm of thousands of servers. Even if you have a previous edition, you will find this third edition to be full of updates and corrections and a worthy addition to your "good" bookshelf: the bookshelf next to your PC with the books you really read that are all dog-eared with soda drink spills and pizza grease on them. To get the most out of the book, you will probably find it useful to have a server running Windows Server 2003 SP1 or R2 and the Support Tools and Resource Kit tools available so that you can check out various items as we point them out.

If you have no experience with VBScript, the scripting language we use in Part III, don't worry. The syntax is straightforward, and you should have no difficulty grasping the principles of scripting with ADSI, ADO, and WMI. For those who want to learn more about VBScript, we provide links to various Internet sites and other books as appropriate.