Active Directory in Windows Operating Systems
This section of the paper will take a quick look at the features of Active Directory native to three different Windows operating systems. First, this section will examine Windows 2000 Advanced Server, Windows XP, and then Windows 2003 Server. This section will also look at the active directory features of native to all three Windows operating systems.
Why would a security, network, or system administrator want to have Active directory on their network of computers? The simple answer is that Active Directory offers a higher level of security. Let us quickly explain Active Directory. Like other directory services, such as Novell Directory Services, or NDS, Active Directory is a centralized and standardized system. This means that it runs on a Server-client system of computers. In order to install Active Directory, the network needs to have both a server and a set of clients. Active Directory automates the management of user data, security, applications, and distributed resources. Active Directory also enables interoperation with other directories, such as NDS. Active Directory is designed especially for distributed networking environments (searchWinIT.com, 2003). This management is simply controlled by user groups. Each user is assigned to a user group. A set of rules, or permissions, called schema, are assigned to each user group.
Active directory was originally designed for Windows 2000. It was intended to be one of the many upgraded capabilities from Windows NT4. There is a specific setup required in order to setup Active Directory on a Windows 2000 network. A system needs NTFS partition with enough free space, an Administrator's username and password, the correct operating system version, a NIC card and network connection, properly configured TCP/IP (IP address, subnet mask and - optional - default gateway), and an operational Domain Name System, or DNS server. Setup instructions can be found here: http://www.petri.co.il/create_a_new_dns_server_for_ad.htm. For
Why would a security, network, or system administrator want to have Active directory on their network of computers? The simple answer is that Active Directory offers a higher level of security. Let us quickly explain Active Directory. Like other directory services, such as Novell Directory Services, or NDS, Active Directory is a centralized and standardized system. This means that it runs on a Server-client system of computers. In order to install Active Directory, the network needs to have both a server and a set of clients. Active Directory automates the management of user data, security, applications, and distributed resources. Active Directory also enables interoperation with other directories, such as NDS. Active Directory is designed especially for distributed networking environments (searchWinIT.com, 2003). This management is simply controlled by user groups. Each user is assigned to a user group. A set of rules, or permissions, called schema, are assigned to each user group.
Active directory was originally designed for Windows 2000. It was intended to be one of the many upgraded capabilities from Windows NT4. There is a specific setup required in order to setup Active Directory on a Windows 2000 network. A system needs NTFS partition with enough free space, an Administrator's username and password, the correct operating system version, a NIC card and network connection, properly configured TCP/IP (IP address, subnet mask and - optional - default gateway), and an operational Domain Name System, or DNS server. Setup instructions can be found here: http://www.petri.co.il/create_a_new_dns_server_for_ad.htm. For