subject: The Benefits Of Active Directory [print this page] Active Directory, abbreviated as AD, is a directory service that was developed for computer networks that use an organizational grouping called a domain. AD has been substantially revised since its initial release in 1999 with major upgrades in 2003 and 2008.
Definition
AD is a major component of a computer server's operating system. The servers that run AD for an entire network are known as domain controllers. Basically, a server running AD acts as the local focus for network security and administration over the entire domain.
The major purpose that the AD service provides for a domain of computers is the authentication and authorization not only of the people who are logging in, but also of the computers themselves. In addition, AD enforces security-based policies. For example, with the use of AD, a successful login on a specific computer may identify a person as an administrator who is allowed to install software on that computer.
Entities identified within AD can be a person, a computer, a computer-related device such as a printer, or a group of people, computers or devices already defined in AD. Many benefits accrue from using AD to organize these groups and their members.
Major Benefits
The first benefit of using AD is better security administration. There is only one security structure and one set of security administrators with AD.
The second benefit is the ability to add new sites, new computers and new login users more efficiently. Each site, computer, computer resource and user is defined once and only once within AD.
The third benefit is that deployments of new software can be done more easily. For example, AD can aid in domain-wide distributions of messaging systems and performance monitoring agents.
The fourth benefit is a reduction in the need for extra hardware. Because all AD servers contain identical databases, an AD server services all of the domain and not just the computers and users in its own locale. With a reduction in the number of servers, there is also a corresponding decrease in the cost of server administration and in the number of server licenses needed.
The fifth benefit is the integration of the management infrastructure into one unit. Services such as asset inventory, authority delegation and software deployment can all be set up once within AD and used all over the entire network.
The sixth benefit is the use of the Group Policy function within AD to define, distribute and enforce management policies. There's no need to export and import Group Policies with AD.
Other Benefits
Of course, this list enumerates only the most important benefits of AD. Anyone using AD in their own organization can fill you in on many other important operational benefits.
