Active Directory, what it is and what it is for

Microsoft active directory

Active Directory is a tool created by Microsoft that provides many benefits in the business sector. In this article we explain what Active Directory is, how it works and what it can contribute to your company.

What is Active Directory

Many companies have hundreds of employees on their staff, many of whom need access to a computer connected to the company's resources in order to do their work.

what is active directory

The use of LAN and Active Directory networks allows companies to build a computer network for their employees , with maximum security guarantees and access limitations to the company's most valuable resources.

Active Directory is a Microsoft tool that provides directory services on a LAN . With this, it is able to offer each user a service that can be located on one or more servers of the company, manage the credentials of the different users, and control all the policies that affect the internal network of the company.

Thanks to Active Directory, all the above aspects can be managed in a very simple way and without the need to act on each of the computers that are part of the company. This is the easiest way to manage users, mailboxes, documents, databases, Excel tables, and much more.

How Active Directory works

Active Directory technology is based on various network protocols, including LDAP, DHCP, KERBEROS, and DNS. This means that Active Directory works as a kind of database , in which data on the identification of users who are part of a computer network are stored in real time. All these data are under a central control element.

active directory server

Each of the users that are part of the Active Directory database is identified by a series of attributes , some of the most important being the first name, last name and email. Active Directory will assign this user to a group, whose privileges are limited.

how active directory works

This way, when the user logs in with their credentials, they will be immediately identified by Active Directory. After that, Active Directory will verify the user's credentials and send the information related to said user to their computer.

Once all the above has been completed, the user will see that his computer starts up normally, having access to all his documents, images, and other files to which he is allowed access. Active Directory will also determine if the user can access other online resources , such as a printer or a fax.

how actve directory works

In the event of a breakdown on the computer that the user is using, it would be enough to go to another computer and log in again with their credentials . With this you will see that everything remains the same as on your previous computer. The only limitation is that the files that were stored locally on the previous computer will not be available.

What is needed to use Active Directory

You need to meet a number of requirements to be able to use Active Directory. The first one is to have a Windows Server operating system in its versions 2000, 2003, 2008 or 2016.

We will also need a fixed IP address and a TCP / IP protocol installed. Finally, you need a DNS server and a Windows-compatible file system, for example NTFS .

Source: tech-faq