The following is a proposal for the implementation of Windows Server 2003 Active Directory for Riordan Manufacturing. The contents of this proposal will provide a working definition of Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Active Directory, the benefits it will provide to Riordan, a base diagram of Active Directory for Riordan, and a detail analysis of the Active Directory diagram.
Active Directory
Windows Server 2003 Active Directory (AD) is different from specialized and often disconnected directories. AD is designed to play many different roles within an organization. The roles range from managing networks to directory enabled applications. Windows Server 2003 AD empowers organizations to centralize their directory management in a more streamlined, powerful and flexible manner. The primary benefits of AD stem from the use of Windows Server 2003 AD as a network operating system (NOS). This proposal focuses on utilizing AD as a NOS. Some of the highlights of the advantages of AD are: Centralized management of very large Windows networks because Active Directory is designed to support millions of objects; the ability to eliminate resource domains, including the hardware and administration they entail; policy-based desktop lockdown and software distribution; the ability to delegate administrative control over resources where appropriate; simplified location and use of shared resources.
An obvious theme throughout the mentioned highlights is the centralization and simplification of network resource management. This powerful approach to using AD as Riordan's NOS will reduce costs of managing disparate directories and increase productivity with the fact that AD allows resource management delegation.
Diagram 1 Riordan Manufacturing is composed of a central headquarters (HQ) in San Jose, CA, and factories in Albany, GA, Pontiac, MI and Hangzhou, China. Each location has a series of servers in which they are networked to a series of computers, printers