Active Directory® is an essential component of the Windows 2000 architecture and presents organizations with a directory service designed for distributed computing environments.
Active Directory allows organizations to centrally manage and share information on network resources and users while acting as the central authority for network security.
In addition to providing comprehensive directory services to a Windows environment, Active Directory is designed to be a consolidation point for isolating, migrating, centrally managing, and reducing the number of directories that companies require.
The Value of Active Directory
Active Directory is the focal point in a Windows 2000 Server network. Using it can simplify management, strengthen security, and increase interoperability. Like other directory services, Active Directory requires planning and organization. However, Active Directory complexity is directly related to the complexity of the client's existing network environment. A straight-forward domain structure will be simple to migrate, whereas a complex configuration with multiple domains, branch offices, and many trust relationships requires additional planning, but will have the most to gain from the benefits of Active Directory.
Active Directory offers many advantages, including:
Manageability:
It allows your organization to efficiently share and manage information about network resources or users.
It provides a single point of management for Windows 2000 Server user accounts, clients, servers, and applications.
It can contain over one million objects of a business such as users, computers, printers, and application programs.
Security:
It acts as the central authority for network security, letting your operating system verify a user's identity and control access to network resources.
It can be used to extend systems securely to the Internet.
Interoperability:
It helps to organize and integrate systems that aren't Windows-based and consolidates directories for easier management of the entire network.
It increases the value of your existing network and lowers the overall cost of computing because it makes your current Windows network more manageable, secure, and interoperable.
Active Directory Can Help Your Organization By
Eliminating redundant management tasks by providing one location where you can manage all your resources and users.
Reducing trips to users' desktops because Active Directory service enables automatic distribution of software based on an employee's role in the company.
Leveraging IT resources by securely delegating administrative tasks to all levels of your organization.
Lowering the total cost of ownership by simplifying the management and more efficient use of file and print services and by making network resources easier to find, configure, and use.
