Special Edition Using Microsoft Active Directory

Introduction

The Active Directory schema is the forest-wide definition of objects that exist by default in the directory. It is analogous to the blueprint used to build a house. The schema defines which objects can exist and which attributes exist for those objects. The ability to extend the schema is, in my opinion, one of the most powerful features of Active Directory. This chapter looks first at the architecture of the schema and then at how and why to modify it.

Caution

Although the ability to extend the schema and therefore Active Directory is a very big advantage to Windows 2000, schema modifications are forever. A company policy should be in place that specifies who modifies the schema and under what conditions.

Most companies are deluged ...