Active Directory, 3rd Edition

Creating Schema Extensions

There are three ways to modify the schema: through the Schema Manager MMC , using LDIF files, or programmatically using ADSI or LDAP. We will not cover the use of the Schema Manager MMC very heavily here since it is fairly straightforward to use, although we will cover its use in managing the Schema FSMO role. Typically, you should not use the Schema Manager MMC to extend the schema and instead use LDIF files or ADSI. Most vendors provide LDIF files, which contain the schema extensions that you can run at your leisure. We cover extending the schema with ADSI in Chapter 27.

Running the Schema Manager MMC for the First Time

The Schema Manager MMC is not available from the Administrative Tools menu like the other Active Directory snap-ins. To use it, you need to first register the Dynamic Link Library (DLL) file for the MMC snap-in by typing the following command at the command prompt:

    regsvr32.exe schmmgmt.dll

Tip

Windows Server 2003 does not require you to register the schema management plug-in for Active Directory; it is automatically registered. When you install ADAM on a computer, it will automatically register the ADAM schema management plug-in. You must use the ADAM plug-in for ADAM and the Active Directory plug-in for Active Directory; the plug-ins are not interchangeable.

You can then start the Schema Manager console by creating a custom MMC and adding the Active Directory Schema snap-in to it. To create a console, go to the Run menu from the ...