- Active Directory (AD) is a directory service developed by Microsoft
But what is directory service anyway?
- A directory service is kind of centralized database
- For storing and organizing information about users, computers, groups, and resources
Common examples of directory services includes:
- X.500
- LDAP-based directories (e.g., [OpenLDAP]())
- Microsoft's Active Directory
Back to AD:
- Manages enterprises-wide data (users, computers, groups, printers) from a central repository
- Data in AD can be globally distributed and accessed selectively as needed
- AD implements LDAP v3 and fully supports LDAP-based queries and authentication
Fig. Simple depict of asm.edu AD.
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