The backbone of your Windows infrastructure

Active Directory directory service is the distributed directory service that is included with Microsoft® Windows Server 2003 and Microsoft Windows 2000 Server operating systems. Active Directory enables centralized, secure management of an entire network, which might span a building, a city, or multiple locations throughout the world.

A directory service provides a centralized location to store information in a distributed environment about networked devices and services and the people who use them. A directory service also implements the services that make this information available to users, computers, and applications. A directory service is both a database storage system (directory store) and a set of services that provide the means to securely add, modify, delete, and locate data in the directory store.

Innovative Integration has engineers with years of experience working with Active Directory in a large range of network environments.  Our engineers can help your business excel from design to ongoing maintenance.

For an assesment of your Active Directory environment contact us at sales@innovativeii.com or by phone at (317) 664-7600.

Active Directory has proven itself as a robust directory service in Windows Server 2003 R2. Windows Server 2008 builds on the prior success of Active Directory with several new and improved features:

Active Directory Domain Services

Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), formerly known as Active Directory Directory Services, is the central location for configuration information, authentication requests, and information about all of the objects that are stored within your forest. Using Active Directory, you can efficiently manage users, computers, groups, printers, applications, and other directory-enabled objects from one secure, centralized location. Enhancements to AD DS in Windows Server 2008 include:

·         Auditing. Changes made to Active Directory objects can be recorded so that you know what was changed on the object, as well as the previous and current values for the changed attributes.

·         Fine-Grained Passwords. Password policies can be configured for distinct groups within the domain. No longer does every account have to use the same password policy within the domain.

·         Read-Only Domain Controller. A domain controller with a read-only version of the Active Directory database can be deployed in environments where the security of the domain controller cannot be guaranteed, such as branch offices where the physical security of the domain controller is in question, or domain controllers that host additional roles, requiring other users to log on and maintain the server. The use of Read-Only Domain Controllers (RODCs) prevents changes made at branch locations from potentially polluting or corrupting your AD forest via replication. RODCs also eliminate the need to use a staging site for branch office domain controllers, or to send installation media and a domain administrator to the branch location.

·         Restartable Active Directory Domain Services. Active Directory Domain Services can be stopped and maintained. Rebooting the domain controller and restarting it in Directory Services Restore Mode is not required for most maintenance functions. Other services on the domain controller can continue functioning while the directory service is offline.

·         Database Mounting Tool. A snapshot of the Active Directory database can be mounted using this tool. This allows a domain administrator to view the objects within the snapshot to determine the restore requirements when necessary.