Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Security Handbook

Active Directory

One of the cornerstones of the Windows 2000 family is the Active Directory service. It is much more than the usual directory structure that you see in Explorer in Windows NT or Windows 95. Active Directory is a centralized, flexible tool designed to store, register, and control the distributed network resources, some of which follow:

• Files

• Printers

• Computers

• Domains

• Components

• Applications

• Databases

• Email addresses

• Users

• User groups

• Any custom resource types

Note

Active Directory is a new technology that makes it possible to administer all the objects, such as files, users, printers, and so on existing in the network in an effective, flexible, and centralized fashion. The users of the network are able to work on any computer without copying ...