Active Directory is a Directory service. Well what is a Directory service ?
A directory is where information of users/resources can be stored.
A Directory services is a program(service/application) which is used to access and manipulate those resources.
AD can be used to manage all components of a network ex : users, computers, groups etc.
Note : AD is build around DNS and LDAP.
Terminology :
AD Domain :
Defines an administrative boundary for a collection of objects relevant to a specific group of users on a network
Domain Controller :
Stores directory partitions, also know as “namin contexts” that corresponds to athe logically distributed segments of the AD that are replicated as discrete units.
AD Schema :
Defines the template(class) of objects that are stored.
AD Forest :
AD that supports multiple domains is called a Forest
Global Catalog :
Is a domain controller that stores a copy of all the AD objects ina forest.
Replication service : Synchronizes congiguration, application between domain controllers.
