Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Administrator's Reference

Chapter 4 Feature focus

Active Directory

Active Directory (AD) is at the core of most Windows networks. Their security, reliability, and access depend on a stable and properly administered AD infrastructure. AD is Microsoft's version of a network directory service. Think of a network directory service like a phone book. Phone books contain data about people, phone numbers, and addresses. If you want to find a business's phone number, you search the directory (phone book). The same concept applies to Windows networks. AD contains information about users, groups, computers, network locations, and application configurations. On top of that, AD provides tons of security controls and processes to ensure that only authorized people have access ...