Basic AD question?

In what instances I have to install Active Directory?

When I create a new domain?
When I create a new forest?
When I promote a server to be Domain Controler?

When? I am confused!!!


Can I have more than 1 Active Directory in the forest?

Please explain.

Thank you

 

Confusion usually comes because before AD, Microsoft networks used a NETBIOS domain model, rather than AD DNS based tree/forest structure. To keep backward compatibility many of the old Domain "features" are carried out by AD systems.

My advice is that if you want to use a Windows 2000/2003 at the core of your network, install AD early (first) and let it sort itself out for the NETBIOS domain stuff.

NETBIOS uses single names to identify network objects. So computers, users, servers and groups all have single names such as "PC1 ", "John ", "WebServer" and "Engineers" respectively. The lack of implicit heirarchy means that a set of protocols have to run over and above TCP/IP to manage the services provided to the network objects. This additional system is NETBIOS (different to NetBUEI which is a seperate network protocol suite). A "Domain" is the standard network group management object in this model.

AD uses the DNS style hiearchical naming structure, which reads from right to left (biggest to smallest or widest to narrowist). So a part of the AD structure will have a name along the lines of "MyCompany.local" which confusingly is also called a domain. A computer in that area of the network will append its name to the start of this name. For example, WebServer.MyCompany.local, or (a common alias) www.MyCompany.local. A user on PC1 appears as "john@pc1.Mycompany.local ".

Most people tend to use both systems side by side, and AD will sort that out for you. So Install AD early, and you'll be able to manage both your DNS name space and your NETBIOS objects through the same system.

 

When I create a new domain?
On windows 2000 and 2003 you jsut run dcpromo in command line.
A new domain can be a root domain like microsoft.com or child domain like security.microsoft.com

When I create a new forest?
Forest is a group o domains like microsoft.com and ibm.com
If you have microsoft.com and security.microsoft.com you ahev a Tree

When I promote a server to be Domain Controler?
you promote your server to be a domain controller when you need it
If you want a new domain or a adicional Domain Controller you need to promote one server do be a new DC
When? I am confused!!!

Can I have more than 1 Active Directory in the forest?
No, you have one active directory per Domain.