Active Directory Cookbook

4.5. Searching for Objects in a Domain

Problem

You want to find objects that match certain criteria in a domain.

Solution

Using a graphical user interface

1. Open LDP.

2. From the menu, select Connection → Connect.

3. For Server, enter the name of a domain controller (or leave blank to do a serverless bind).

4. For Port, enter 389.

5. Click OK.

6. From the menu, select Connection → Bind.

7. Enter credentials of a user.

8. Click OK.

9. From the menu, select Browse → Search.

10. For BaseDN, type the base distinguished name where the search will start.

11. For Scope, select the appropriate scope.

12. For Filter, enter an LDAP filter.

13. Click Run.

Using a command-line interface

> dsquery * <BaseDN> -scope <Scope> -filter "<Filter>" -attr "<AttrList>"

Using VBScript

' This code searches for objects based on the specified criteria.
' ------ SCRIPT CONFIGURATION ------
strBase    =  "<LDAP://<BaseDN>>;" ' BaseDN should be the search base
strFilter  = "<Filter>;"           ' Valid LDAP search filter
strAttrs   = "<AttrList>;"         ' Comma-seperated list
strScope   = "<Scope>"             ' Should be on of Subtree, Onelevel, or Base
' ------ END CONFIGURATION ---------

set objConn = CreateObject("ADODB.Connection")
objConn.Provider = "ADsDSOObject"
objConn.Open "Active Directory Provider"
set objRS = objConn.Execute(strBase & strFilter & strAttrs & strScope)
objRS.MoveFirst
While Not objRS.EOF
    Wscript.Echo objRS.Fields(0).Value
    objRS.MoveNext
Wend

Discussion

Most tools that can be used to search Active Directory require a basic understanding of how to perform LDAP searches using a base ...