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Active Directory Components

Active Directory is a central repository of Objects. We can define objects in two groups:
Container Objects (Which can contain some object) & Leaf Object (Can’t contain and other object)

Some of the common container objects are below:

--> Domain: Logical grouping of network resources including Users, Groups, Devices, Services and all objects that constructs AD.

--> Tree: Logical grouping of network resources and devices and contain one or more domain. It should be configured in a parent-child relationship and should be use a common namespace.

--> Forest: Largest container object within Active Directory and it's a fundamental security boundary. It contains one or more tree. A user can access resources across an entire Active Directory forest using a single logon/password combination.

--> Organization Unit (OU): An OU in a container that represents a logical grouping of resources that have similar security or administrative guidelines. It is also used for Delegation and Applying Security Policy.

Some of the common Leaf objects are below:

--> User: A user is an object, that is a security principal in the Active Directory. A user can log on to the network with these credentials and access permissions can be granted to users.

--> Contact: A contact object is an account that does not have any security permissions. You cannot log on to the network as a contact. Contacts are typically used to represent external users for the purpose of e-mail.

--> Service: An operating system object to perform a specific task or function. For example DHCP.EXE makes a server capable of providing IP to other devices in the network.

Active Directory Schema: one of the most important component of the Active Directory that define "The Object and The Attribute". In other word we can say "Active Directory Schema is a combination of Object Classes and Object Attributes. In other words we can say "An Object Class defines the set of mandatory and optional attributes it can have".

Let's take an example of creating a new user, it will be the type/object class of user which defines, that the attributes like CN, samAccountName, ObjectCategory, ObjectClass are mandatory and attribute like accountExpire, Title, e-mail etc are optional for an user object.



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