Windows® 2000 Active Directory™

Chapter 20. Designing Active Directory Hierarchies

The namespace hierarchy that defines the way in which Active Directory is implemented is critical to the success of an Active Directory design. The implementation of Active Directory is not successful if the namespace hierarchy is designed poorly or if it does not match the needs of the organization. In Chapter 11, "Active Directory and Scalability," Active Directory and scalability was discussed as it relates to the hierarchy of organizational units (OUs) and domains. This chapter reviews exactly what the components are that make up a hierarchy in Active Directory and how that hierarchy should be designed to match the needs of the organization in which it is being implemented.