Windows Server 2003 Active Directory

Read this white paper to understand quick and easy business advantages for small- and medium-sized organizations that can be realized through the use of Windows Server 2003 and Active Directory.

Read this article for an overview of benefits, new features, and improvements in Active Directory directory service.

Find out how the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) helps make Active Directory easier to use, by providing a single solution for managing all Group Policy–related tasks.

Are you considering upgrading from Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 or from Windows 2000 Server? Explore the Feature Highlights Sorter to learn about new features in Windows Server 2003 that can benefit your enterprise.

Read this white paper to find out more about the origins of Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) within Microsoft products and, specifically, the implementation of and conformance to the LDAPv3 Proposed Standard within Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003.

Read this white paper for an introduction to Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM), one of the new capabilities of the fully integrated directory service available with Windows Server 2003. Organizations, independent software vendors, and developers who want to integrate their applications with a directory service now have an additional capability that provides unique benefits.

Read this article by Professor Windows for a straightforward overview of deployment, domain renaming, security, and other Active Directory capabilities, as well as upgrade notes.

Find out how federation technology enables the secure sharing of identity information across security boundaries. This white paper provides an overview of Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS)—a component of the upcoming Windows Server 2003 R2 release.

Read this TechNet article for an explanation of the basic concepts in Active Directory, as well as technical details about new features and improvements.

Use these guides to step through fundamentals of the Windows Server 2003 operating system, with an emphasis on features enabled by Active Directory. For small, medium, and large organizations, learn about common scenarios, including desktop and server management, using Group Policy Management Console, and using Active Directory to strengthen security.

Read this white paper for an overview of the process for upgrading or migrating to Windows Server 2003 Active Directory, including an outline of basic decisions to be made during the process and a summary of Active Directory best practices.

View this online seminar to learn about installing and managing Domain Name System (DNS), Active Directory integration, DNS features and configuration, and DNS in federated forests.

Read this guide for descriptions of the features that can be deployed across forests and the effects on total cost of ownership of deploying each feature.

Read this white paper about tests performed for a financial client that is deploying Active Directory to support nearly 18 million Internet-based customers.

Find links to tools for managing File Replication Service (FRS), including continuous monitoring tools such as Ultrasound and Sonar and snapshot troubleshooting tools such as FRSDiag.

See the complete list of all technical articles you'll find on the Windows Server 2003 Web site, organized by technology.

Delegation of administration, a key capability of Active Directory, provides a means to successfully manage an Active Directory environment. This document discusses in depth the issues involved in delegating administrative responsibilities, and can help you plan for and implement an administrative delegation model for more securely and efficiently managing Active Directory.

Download the Active Directory Migration Tool (ADMT) for an easy, secure, and fast way to either upgrade from Windows NT Server 4.0 to Windows Server Active Directory service or to restructure Active Directory domains between forests or within a forest. ADMT 3.0 includes new features, such as a new backend database, support for simultaneous migration tasks, multiple ADMT consoles with delegated tasks, agent enhancements, full object rename, to make migrations easier.

Download the Identity Integration Feature Pack for Windows Server Active Directory to manage identities and coordinate user details across Active Directory, Active Directory Application Mode, Exchange 2000 Server, and Exchange Server 2003 implementations. The feature pack helps you combine identity information for a given user or resource into a single view and automates the provisioning of new and updated identity data.

This white paper compares performance of the 64-bit Windows Server 2003 operating system and the 32-bit Windows Server 2003 operating system with Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Active Directory operations. It also investigates workloads for which the 64-bit version of the operating system outperforms the 32-bit version.

Use this guide to help meet your organizations's Active Directory design and deployment goals, whether you are designing a new Active Directory logical structure, deploying Active Directory for the first time, upgrading an existing Windows environment to Windows Server 2003 Active Directory, or restructuring your current environment to a Windows Server 2003 Active Directory environment.

This guide is aimed at network managers, system integrators, and consultants involved in Active Directory branch office implementations. The procedures in this document show how to deploy and maintain Active Directory in a large branch office environment (at least one data center attached to 100 or more branch offices).

Targeted at IT professionals who participate in security planning for an Active Directory service deployment and who are running a secure Active Directory operation, this guide discusses the elements of a comprehensive plan for Active Directory security and provides best practice recommendations.

Targeted at IT administrators who are responsible for network operations in a smaller organization, this guide provides a prescriptive migration path with step-by-step instructions for small- and medium-sized organizations planning a migration from Windows NT 4.0 to Windows Server 2003.

Learn how it is now possible to recover failed Active Directory servers in minutes rather than hours, using Volume Shadow Copy Service and Virtual Disk Service. This paper supplies a fast recovery demonstration designed to enable system administrators to implement fast recovery solutions in their own Active Directory environments.

Find out how Kimball Hill Homes is using Active Directory to dramatically reduced the time that IT professionals spend on routine network management and allow Kimball Hill Homes to continue its rapid growth without frequent increases in IT head count.

Read how Motorola migrated from Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 to Windows Server System, consolidated its infrastructure, and implemented a change and configuration management solution that they estimate saved them $11M.

Learn how has deployed an Active Directory architecture that simplifies and facilitates management, saves tens of millions of dollars annually, and helps Siemens to add new business value that it couldn't otherwise consider.

It took only six hours for Nancy's Specialty Foods to set the stage for future directory-enabled applications when it upgraded its computing platform to Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and Active Directory. Find out how its new directory service provides a central point of administration for IT staff, reducing desktop visits required and improving desktop management.

Learn how GameWorks improved the manageability and supportability of its IT infrastructure by deploying Microsoft Windows Server System integrated server software with the Active Directory directory service.

Browse over 200 case studies related to Active Directory that span a range of companies, industries, and solution types.

Take advantage of the Assessment and Deployment Solution for Midsize Businesses (ADS), designed to save Microsoft Partners time when assessing a prospective customer’s network infrastructure, and help generate a detailed proposal for deployment project. In addition, if the project is approved, ADS can automate the deployment of Windows Server 2003 R2, Exchange 2003, Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005 Workgroup Edition with Active Directory and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), saving you time, cost and risk.  Download ADS today!

Find third-party resources by browsing this compilation of partner descriptions.

Attend this series and become a dynamic IT organization and achieve operational effectiveness through delivering higher quality of service, e-mail availability, and a more secure Windows environment. Our technical experts will help guide you through step-by-step instructions on how to install, configure, automate, and mange a more secure and well managed infrastructure.

View live or on-demand webcasts featuring Active Directory experts from Microsoft. Learn basics and master advanced concepts.

This series of webcasts for IT professionals outlines the planning, design, and implementation of a migration strategy from a legacy Windows environment to Windows Server 2003.

This webcast covers trust relationships, the Active Directory Sizer tool, name resolution methods, migrating accounts from Windows NT 4.0 to Windows Server 2003, directory and file replication in Windows NT 4.0 and Windows Server 2003, and interoperation of system and group policy.

This webcast covers verifying Active Directory functionality, diagnosing and troubleshooting replication, locating Active Directory database files, backing up and recovering system state data, and seizing FSMO roles.

This webcast covers most aspects of Windows Server 2003 Active Directory operations, focusing on new features for deployment, administration, management, forest trusts, group policies, and application support.

This webcast addresses pain points from Windows 2000 Active Directory deployments and shows how new features of Windows Server 2003 make management and deployment easier.

This webcast provides an overview of many Windows Server 2003 command-line tools and scripts. Scenarios demonstrate how command-line tools can automate administration of Active Directory, management of printers and print queues, and remote information-gathering by help desk personnel.

This webcast covers migration from Windows NT 4.0 to Windows Server 2003. Topics include: choosing the migration path, the different paths available, and the aspects of each that require certain attention. The webcast also covers upgrading account domains and resource domains, restructuring domains, moving user and group accounts using ADMT, and the effects of migration on trust relationships, DNS, profiles, and scripts.