Active Directory Administration Cookbook

Why would you create a new forest?

A new Active Directory forest is basically a completely new Active Directory environment. When you create it, it does not have a relationship with an existing Active Directory environment, unless you choose to create Active Directory trusts afterward.

Since the new Active Directory forest is separate, a boundary is created for the following reasons:

• Schema and configuration partitions: The schema and configuration partitions hold information on the way that objects can be created, what attributes are required for these objects, what attributes are optional for these objects, and the domains within the forest. Since many applications require Active Directory schema extensions, introducing a legacy or cutting-edge ...