Windows Server® 2012 Unleashed

Understanding the Placeholder Domain Model

The placeholder domain model, also known as the sterile-parent domain model, deserves special mention because of its combination of a single namespace/multiple-domain model and the peer-root model. Simply put, the placeholder domain model, shown in Figure 5.14, is composed of an unoccupied domain as the forest root, with multiple subdomains populated with user accounts and other objects.

Figure 5.14. Unpopulated placeholder domain.

There are two distinct advantages to this design. First, as with the peer-root model, the schema is separate from the user domains, thus limiting their exposure and helping ...