Active Directory

Introduction: What Is a Directory Service?

The Active Directory® service is a central component of the Windows® 2000 operating system platform. Understanding Active Directory is important to understanding the overall value of Windows 2000. This introduction to the concepts and technologies behind Active Directory describes its purpose, provides an overview of how it works, and outlines the key business and technical benefits it offers organizations.

Today, networked computing is more important than ever for businesses to remain competitive. As a result, modern operating systems require mechanisms for managing the identities and relationships of the distributed resources that make up network environments. A directory service provides a place to store information about network-based entities, such as applications, files, printers, and people. It provides a consistent way to name, describe, locate, access, manage, and secure information about these individual resources.

Further, a directory service acts as the main switchboard of the network operating system. It is the central authority that manages the identities and brokers the relationships between these distributed resources, enabling them to work together. Because a directory service supplies these fundamental network operating system functions, it must be tightly coupled with the management and security mechanisms of the operating system to ensure the integrity and privacy of the network. It also plays a critical role in an organization's ability to define and maintain the network infrastructure, perform system administration, and control the overall user experience of a company's information systems.
To top of page
Why Have a Directory Service?

The need for an ever more powerful, transparent, and tightly integrated directory service is driven by the explosive growth of networked computing. As local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs) grow larger and more complex, as networks are... [continues]

Read full essay