Mastering Active Directory - Second Edition

Single forest

A single forest deployment is the default deployment mode. Most business models fit into the single forest model. The complexity and cost of implementation are low in this model. One of the main things you need to consider in this mode is replication. Domains are used to partition the directory and manage the replication. But forest-wide data, such as schemas, still needs to be replicated across all domains. If replication involves branch offices, you need to make sure forest-wide replications are handled properly.