Windows® 2000 Active Directory™

When to Use OUs

Deciding when to use OUs in your hierarchy design is the first step in determining your Active Directory structure. Chapter 11 discussed that OUs should be used to map the actual organizational structure rather than simply as a way to segment objects for administration. This chapter examines when you should create a new OU and when you should create a new domain instead in closer detail.

The typical reason that the inexperienced Active Directory administrator creates an OU is for delegation of administrative authority. This is because under Windows NT version 4.0 and earlier, it was necessary to create a completely new domain truly delegate administrative authority. Now with the new concept of an OU, many administrators are ...