Active Directory

The key components of Active Directory include:

• Domain Controllers (DC): Servers that authenticate and authorize users and computers within the domain.
• Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS): The core service that manages users, computers, and network resources.
• Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC): The management tool for creating and managing AD objects like users, groups, and computers.
• Global Catalog (GC): A distributed data repository that holds a partial replica of all objects in the forest.
• Group Policy Objects (GPOs): Used to enforce policies and configure settings for users and computers.

A Domain in Active Directory is a logical grouping of network objects such as users, computers, and devices that share a common directory database. Domains are defined by their unique name (e.g., example.com), and they are the core unit of organization within AD. Domains are typically managed by a Domain Controller.

A Domain Controller (DC) is a server that hosts the Active Directory database and is responsible for authenticating and authorizing users and computers within the domain. It also enforces security policies and replicates directory data to other domain controllers within the domain.

LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) is the protocol used by Active Directory to communicate and interact with the directory service. It allows applications and users to query and modify directory information, such as retrieving user details or changing passwords.

Active Directory manages security through:

• Authentication: Verifying user identities using methods such as Kerberos or NTLM.
• Authorization: Granting access to resources based on user permissions and group memberships.
• Group Policies: Enforcing security settings across the network, such as password policies and account lockout policies.
• Access Control Lists (ACLs): Defining permissions on Active Directory objects, determining who can access or modify them.

A Group in Active Directory is a collection of users, computers, or other objects that can be managed as a single entity. Groups are used to simplify the administration of permissions and rights by assigning access rights to a group instead of to individual users. There are two main types of groups:

• Security Groups: Used to assign permissions to resources.
• Distribution Groups: Used to distribute emails to a group of users.

A Forest in Active Directory is the highest-level container in the AD structure, containing one or more domains that share a common schema, configuration, and global catalog. It acts as a boundary for security and replication and can consist of multiple trees or domains within the organization.

Users in Active Directory can be created and managed using the Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC) tool. To create a user:

• Open ADUC.
• Right-click on the organizational unit (OU) where you want the user to reside.
• Select New > User and follow the prompts to configure the user’s properties, such as name, login credentials, and group memberships.
• You can manage users by modifying their attributes, group memberships, password policies, and access rights.

Group Policy in Active Directory allows administrators to define and control settings for computers and users within an AD domain. Group policies are stored as Group Policy Objects (GPOs) and can enforce security settings, configure software installations, manage user profiles, and control access to resources across all computers within the domain.