OBTAIN AN IP ADDRESS BY USING DHCPBEFORE YOU BEGIN THIS EXERCISE, YOU...

2. Using what you have learned in this chapter, sketch a diagram of a domain struc-

ture that meets these requirements.

Chapter Summary

Active Directory is the directory service included in the Windows 2000 Server and

Windows Server 2003 networks. A directory service is a network service that iden-

tifies all resources on a network and makes them accessible to users and applica-

tions. Active Directory offers simplified administration, scalability, and open

standards support.

The logical structure of Active Directory is made up of domains, trees, forests,

OUs, and objects. The logical structure is separated from the physical structure

of the network itself, and does not rely on the physical location of servers or the

network connectivity throughout the domain. The physical structure of Active

Directory is based on the underlying network and is made up of domain con-

trollers and sites.

There are a number of concepts important to your understanding of Active Direc-

tory. These concepts include:

The schema contains a formal definition of the contents and structure of

Active Directory, including all classes and attributes. Installing Active Direc-

tory on the first domain controller in a network creates a default schema.

The Global Catalog contains selected information about every object in all

domains in the directory.

In a contiguous namespace, the name of the child object in an object hierar-

chy always contains the name of the parent domain. A tree is an example of

a contiguous namespace. In a disjointed namespace, the names of a parent

object and of a child of the same parent object are not directly related to one

another. A forest is an example of a disjointed namespace.

Every object in Active Directory is identified by a name. Active Directory uses

a variety of naming conventions: distinguished names, relative distinguished

names, globally unique identifiers, and user principal names.

Exam Highlights

Before taking the exam, review the key points and terms that are presented in this

chapter. You need to know this information.

Key Points

You can delegate administrative tasks by assigning permissions to OUs, which

provide a way to structure the administrative needs of an organization without

using excessive numbers of domains.

At its simplest, a namespace is a structure in which all objects are named similarly,

but are still uniquely identified.

Key Terms

Active Directory The directory service included in Windows 2000 Server and Win-

dows Server 2003 that identifies all resources on a network and makes them acces-

sible to users and applications.

Active Directory schema The structure of the tables and fields and how they are

related to one another. In Active Directory, the schema is a collection of data

(object classes) that defines how the real data of the directory (the attributes of an

object) is organized and stored.