Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS)
Definition:-
AD DS is a core component of Microsoft’s Active Directory, designed to manage and organize information about network resources (users, devices, applications, etc.) and facilitate authentication and authorization across Windows Server–based environments.
Key Functions of AD DS:-
- Centralized Resource Management:
- Stores information about objects (users, groups, computers, printers, etc.) in a centralized database.
- Simplifies administration across a domain (a logical group of computers and users).
- Authentication & Authorization:
- Verifies user credentials (username and password).
- Determines what each user or device is allowed to access on the network.
- Group Policy Management:
- Administrators can enforce settings and restrictions (e.g., password policies, software installations) across all devices in a domain.
- Scalability and Delegation:
- Supports large-scale deployments with millions of objects.
- Allows delegation of administrative responsibilities to different users or departments.
- Replication:
- Information is replicated across multiple domain controllers (DCs) to provide fault tolerance and load balancing.
- Domain Structure & Hierarchy:
- Domain: A logical grouping of objects.
- Organizational Units (OUs): Sub-containers within domains used for organizing objects.
- Trees and Forests: Multiple domains can be linked in a hierarchy (tree), and multiple trees can form a forest (a collection of domains that trust each other).
Core Components:-
- Domain Controller (DC): A server that runs AD DS and stores the directory data.
- Global Catalog: A distributed data repository that contains a searchable, partial representation of every object in every domain.
- LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol): The protocol used to access and query AD DS.
- Kerberos: The default authentication protocol used by AD DS.
Benefits:-
- Centralized management of users and devices.
- Improved security via single sign-on and access control.
- Efficient resource management and policy enforcement.
- High availability through replication and multiple domain controllers.
Use Cases:-
- Managing users and passwords in a company.
- Controlling access to shared folders or printers.
- Enforcing security policies on corporate computers.
- Supporting Single Sign-On (SSO) across enterprise applications.