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Understanding Active Directory, part 1

setup32.com — Understanding Active Directory (AD) is an important step in fully understanding Windows 2000 and its implications for your organization. This article is the first in a series about Active Directory, its features, and how it can fit into your organization's network structure.

Who dugg this? Made popular Dec 3, 2005

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  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4
    Its simple..ACTIVE DIRECTORY = LDAP + KERBEROS + (a little microsoft embrace extend magic dust just to make it non-standard)


    >a SQL engine instead of LDAP

    LDAP is a protocol not a program. LDAP servers can use any sort of database engine on the back end you want... For example OpenLDAP uses the Berkely Embedded DB by default but you can use MySql, Oracle etc if you really want, but a multi-user network based database is usually gonna be much slower than a single purpose dedicated embedded database so why bother.
  • spvr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I'm new to Digg... All i see is flames....

    LOL @ "MCSE's are a dime a dozen, you can't throw an empty starbucks cup out the window in the Best Buy parking lot without hitting at least 7-8 of them"

    I am a linux user who appriciates AD... intresting article..

    Digg...
  • r00t3d0ut, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I for one appreciate AD for managing large networks. Recently I had to administrate a network for a CPA firm and they were running (get this) Windows 2003 in stand-alone mode for all of their servers. It's been quite awhile since I haven't used AD and I didn't realize how spoiled I had become.

    +Good digg!
  • slapincognito, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This thread is why 26 year olds are called "kids" haha

    I run an IT company, been doing it for 20 years and I'll take an EXPERIENCED admin over MCSE any day of the week. I quake at the idea of putting anything BUT Windows or Mac into a business environment - old Betty isn't going to get near a Linux distro, but Outlook? She's okay with that.

    MacOS rocks, Linux is a great hobby, Windows lets people who need to do business - do business, I guess. And AD saves me much time, while letting me bill more time, because it just works.

    *digg
  • Hattrick, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1For a big company with a lot of geographic locations, AD does the job pretty well. I couldn't imagine chaining together all of those locations with Linux distro. Now, I am definitely a proponent of Linux and would love to see it replace Windows in the enterprise. Unfortunately, for large scale enterprise solutions, Win2K(3)/XP is easier to deploy and much cheaper since you pay a bunch of Windows admins across your enterprise vs. Novell, Solaris or Linux admins.

    The saturation of MCSEs in the 1999-2003 years is why Windows admins are underpaid. I gave up my MCSE life many moons ago because there were so many MCSEs and some of them I knew didn't even know how to do simple things like change the desktop resolution, yet they were paid as I was. I believe this was coined: the paper MCSE phenomenon. Get a degree, it never expires when a new version comes out.

    And one final thought as to why Windows is pervasive in the enterprise. Lots of users, who, as many admins will attest to, do really stupid things. This occurs with the most dumbed down OS out there. Can you imagine 10000 users across the country being switched over to a Linux distro? [shudders]
  • nnonix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I bet well over half the people flaming here haven't touched A.D. and really have no idea how it really works and/or how to use it effectively.

    Stop talking out of your asses people (you know who you are).
  • cavicster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I heard that the next version of AD will be powered by a SQL engine instead of LDAP.
  • geomon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"It is the same for Windows 2003, and will be the same for the next Windows (Vista?) proably."

    That was my point. I thought it would have been topical if the poster had said Win2003.
  • superbot2005, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@billyocean

    My point is people gravitate towards simple technologies rather than complex jargon sprouting ones.
    Some examples of simplicity having won over complexity...
    del.icio.us - There are scores of social bookmarking sites. Why have they not gained popularity ?
    digg.com
    *nix (the philosophy of *nix being keep it simple).
  • masskurec, on 03/03/2009, -0/+0dark side domainst

    http://xptweak.net
  • fyre2012, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@znxster

    hahah, yah emerge is great...

    AFTER you get gentoo installed... i'm sure thats easy for noobs
  • scramble, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0We recently switched to AD. It makes administering our network much easier. Of course you don't get something for nothing. You have to learn how to use it effectively.
  • fyre2012, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@palmer
    yah, that whole 'apt-get install program_name' thing is sooo difficult.
  • JulianK, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"Windows 2000? Isn't this a bit late?"

    It is the same for Windows 2003, and will be the same for the next Windows (Vista?) proably.
  • juicewvu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Active Directory is definitely one product Microsoft got pretty much right. Even if they did have to rip off Novell.
  • sawtooth, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Why oh why would I ever want to learn this technology? This is one thing that LDAP and kerberos have a HUGE one up on :-( sorry to break it to you like that.
  • hankbeasley, on 04/22/2009, -0/+0Active Directory has made my life easier.
  • pcgeek101, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This guide isn't really that helpful for newbies. I'd recommend looking into some books regarding Active Directory. I can't remember exactly which ones I'm thinking of, but there's better resources to start from.
  • saggygrandma, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0To understand AD, just learn Novell then change the name of the objects to something that sounds familar,ie instead of a tree the freakin genuises at MS call it a 'forrest'.
  • tomaburque, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I'll bash Microsoft as much as the next guy. But AD was one thing MS did that actually was pretty good from the beginning. It broke the old cliche that MS doesn't get anything right until version 3.o It worked right out of the box in five years ago and still works fine today.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0
    >"If you see the various salary surveys, then you can find that a windows
    >admin is payed more than a linux admin."

    Hmm... MCSE's are a dime a dozen, you can't throw an empty starbucks cup out the window in the Best Buy parking lot without hitting at least 7-8 of them.

    "A July study, conducted by Chad Robinson, senior research analyst at tech/business researcher Robert Frances Group (RFG), supports Schenkenfelder's claims. Robinson acknowledges that experienced admins for Linux or Solaris can be more expensive in some parts of the United States but noted that many of them have been working with Unix for dozens of years."
    http://insight.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/chips/0,39020436,2126910,00.htm

    "In the survey, Linux admin salaries were slightly higher than Windows admins, with Linux at $71,400 per admin, and Windows at $68,500 per admin."
    http://techupdate.zdnet.com/techupdate/stories/main/0,14179,2907876,00.html


    "The IDC report hints that while Windows costs will remain competitive over the long term, there is a possibility that the market could shift. Right now, the leading variable – staffing – breaks in Microsoft’s favor, IDC says. Linux costs about 20 percent more than Windows because of available skills staffing costs, IDC calculates. That’s because there is a plentiful talent pool of trained MCSEs and MCPs companies can draw from. Linux skills – which are just as demanding as Unix – are harder to find at the present time."
    http://www.entmag.com/news/article.asp?EditorialsID=5910


    "According to a survey of 600 companies that was published by Meta Group Inc. in March, the average base salary for a Unix systems administrator this year is $96,163, about the same as it was last year. But compare that with the average salary of a Windows NT systems administrator, who will haul in a paltry $67,355. "
    http://www.computerworld.com/softwaretopics/os/story/0,10801,82758,00.html
  • googoo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Aren't you about SIX YEARS LATE for this article? I mean, Active Directory has been around since 2000 (earlier if you count beta).

    No digg.
  • kinderstod, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@superbot2005: WTF, Windows is too complex so you use Linux?

    Try to setup your box with dual monitors on Linux. Now do it on Windows. Who is more complex?
  • dkurfurst, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Active Directory was a nice try at creating a directory service, but it took Microsoft several years to come up with it. Novell by far has the superior Directory service (NDS) E-Directory. It is x.500 based, it actually works and is more flexible and more efficent than AD. NDS has been around a hell of alot longer than AD and works on Linux, Microsoft 2000, 2003 and Netware. AD Sucks compared to NDS!
  • calidrunky, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0>>a SQL engine instead of LDAP

    I think he meant instead of ESE (Extensible Storage Engine) which is based on JET. This would be a nice improvement imho.
  • GerbilSoft, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"Try to setup your box with dual monitors on Linux. Now do it on Windows. Who is more complex?"

    Windows. I have a dual-monitor setup on my home Linux box, and it worked as soon as I installed the nVidia drivers and configured X.org (which is easy if you RTFM). On a friend's laptop (running Windows XP Professional), I had to fiddle around with unplugging and plugging in the second monitor, trying to get it to recognize it (it won't allow the second monitor to be enabled unless it "detects" it), and then figured out that I had to reboot with the monitor *unplugged* - then plug it in and attempt to enable it.
  • ThePharaoh, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I've heard that Novell has the better directory for deploying applications and authentication and such. I've assembled two separate AD infrastructures and although I'm happy with the results it does have its querks. I would be interested in seeing a present day NDS installation just to see how it works in comparison with AD. Anyone can say that NDS is better than AD, but I would like to see it in action doing the same day to day administrative tasks.

    thepharaoh
    http://www.freneticnetwork.com
    http://www.frenetictech.com
  • Rsulliv1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0wish I saw this article before my current project.
  • 70ny, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0NDS is easier to manage than AD.
  • crossers, on 07/21/2008, -0/+0My is Windows XP so I think I don't need this information!

    http://www.leannrimes.info
    http://www.shpe-sac.org
    http://www.pmidsig.org
  • maroulisalex99, on 08/02/2008, -0/+0Article directories - http://www.dr-directory.info
  • saichele, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0oops, sorry - it was a MAKE feed - hard to tell cuz the flash vid was covering all my feeds...
  • superbot2005, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0The problem with windows is it thrives on complexity. If you see the various salary surveys, then you can find that a windows admin is payed more than a linux admin. Have you wondered why that is? I think it is because it takes a special person to grasp all that stuff. As for me, I would rather use Unix, Linux or Mac OS.

    btw, I wonder if active directory will have relevence when microsoft releases its next version of OS vista. may be it will be scrapped in the new version and something else will take its place.
  • aacidusX, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0average users wont need this. if a person is part of an IT group/team then they already know this or can go to actual classes for this. dont think this is necessary for a digg. if a person is interested then there are actual FORUMS for this....
  • znxster, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0^^ installing on linux is a pain in the ass?

    emerge package

    er.. done... whats hard about that?

    ignoring that, the article is interesting enough.. digg
  • code_of_life, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0tried to read that article, it did not help me one bit!

    Too much M$ mumbo jumbo!

    No idea what A.D actually does, or how it works :(
  • thisnameisfake, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0palmer, you're right installing software isn't easy, it's simple. In windows you have guis and reboots. Where as in Linux you have one line of text and pressing a key. Linux and Windows users want different things. I want to not waste my time and Windows users want things to waste time.
  • saichele, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0umm, please keep the f*$%ing flash-vertisements out of RSS feeds(!)
  • mrpinto, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0AD has some great applications, but should still be avoided.

    Once you start down the MS/AD path, forever will it dominate your destiny.
  • outcast81, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1The funny thing is that they use "Kerberos" for authentication. For those of you that don't know, in Greek mythology Kerberos is a three-headed dog that guards the gates to hell.

    So is Win2K hell?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerberus
  • geomon, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0@billyocean

    I guess I don't understand the hostility:

    "Face it, Open Source's achilles is that the community seems more interested in bickering than committing to a solution."

    and

    "Stop drinking the Linux Kool Aid and buy an original thought."

    Bitter much?
  • billyocean, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Microsoft sux. All hail Linux and Mac OS X, isnt that the "it" thing to say? All BS aside, Microsoft, evil or not, has done a solid job in putting together a well thought out Enterprise platform since Windows 2000. Yes, they stole this and that idea from Linux, Novell, Mac OS, etc. but someone has to put it all together and make it work. Face it, Open Source's achilles is that the community seems more interested in bickering than committing to a solution.
  • ztirffritz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Of all the crapulent software that M$ has created, AD is the only bright spot that I've ever experienced. It says what it does, it does what it says, and is easy to work with, if you have half a clue of what you're doing.
  • Wedgieman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0C'mon guys AD is 5 years old allready.
    Big Secret : its Ldap... wooo...

    /rant
  • geomon, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Windows 2000? Isn't this a bit late?
  • Bromskloss, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Noo! Don't go there! It's the dark side!
  • billyocean, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0"If you see the various salary surveys, then you can find that a windows admin is payed more than a linux admin."

    It wouldnt have anything to do with Windows having market share thus creating a competitive demand for talent. I am glad Linux/MacOS fanboys are too busy in their parent's basement to hold meaningful positions. There's more to an OS than being able to crack WEP key or being able to build n free IDS. Stop drinking the Linux Kool Aid and buy an original thought.
  • DLipodvideos, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0thanks for the info ... windows is the worsssssssst
  • digg4tressure, on 10/12/2007, -4/+0I can't find my damn anti-digg-button!

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