Mastering Active Directory

Identifying the physical computer network structure

Once we identify the organizational structure and security boundaries, the next thing is to identify the physical computer network structure. It's important to identify how many branch networks there are, how they are connected together, and what kind of bandwidth there is between sites. This information helps design the domain structure. Domains help partition the directory and define the replication boundaries for efficiency. Network diagrams are the best place to start. Also, it's important to identify potential issues and bottlenecks between physically separated networks. In network diagrams, it may look nice with links connected between sites, but if these connections have reliability ...