Introduction to ADDS
Active Directory (AD) is a directory service developed by Microsoft for Windows domain networks. It is included in most Windows Server operating systems as a set of processes and services. Initially, Active Directory was only in charge of centralized domain management. Starting with Windows Server 2008, however, Active Directory became an umbrella title for a broad range of directory-based identity-related services.
A server running Active Directory Domain Service (AD DS) is called a domain controller. It authenticates and authorizes all users and computers in a Windows domain type network—assigning and enforcing security policies for all computers and installing or updating software.
For example, when a user logs into a computer that is part of a Windows domain, Active Directory checks the submitted password and determines whether the user is a system administrator or normal user. Also, it allows management and storage of information, provides authentication and authorization mechanisms and establishes a framework to deploy other related services: Certificate Services, Active Directory Federation Services, Lightweight Directory Services, and Rights Management Services.
A directory is a hierarchical structure that stores information about objects on the network. A directory, in the most generic sense, is a comprehensive listing of objects. A phone book is a type of directory that stores information about people, businesses, and government organizations. Phone books typically record names, addresses, and phone numbers.
Active Directory (AD) is a Microsoft technology used to manage computers and other devices on a network. It is a primary feature of Windows Server, an operating system that runs both local and Internet-based servers.
Benefits of Active Directory :
- Hierarchical organizational structure.
- Multimaster Authentication & Multimaster replication (the ability to access and modify AD DS from multiple points of administration)
- A single point of access to network resources.
- Ability to create trust relationships with external networks running previous versions of Active Directory and even Unix.
Active Directory 'Services':
Active Directory provides several different services, under which one of the key service is “Active Directory Domain Services, ” or AD DS.
Active Directory services include:
(You may use DCLDR to recall the services)
- Domain Services (ADDS)– Stores centralized data and manages communication between users and domains; includes login authentication and search functionality
- Certificate Services (AD CS) – It generates, manages and shares certificates. A certificate uses encryption to enable a user to exchange information over the internet securely with a public key.
- Lightweight Directory Services (ADLDS) – Supports directory-enabled applications using the open (LDAP) protocol.
- Directory Federation Services (ADFS) – Provides single-sign-on (SSO) to authenticate a user in multiple web applications in a single session.
- Rights Management (AD RMS)– It controls information rights and management. AD RMS encrypts content, such as email or Word documents, on a server to limit access.
Domain Controllers: A server that is running AD DS is called a domain controller. Domain controllers host and replicate the directory service database inside the forest. The directory service also provides services for managing and authenticating resources in the forest.
The logical structure of AD
Object: Active Directory structures are arrangements of information about objects.Each object represents a single entity—whether a user, a computer, a printer, or a group—and its attributes.
Forest, Trees and Domain:
A domain is defined as a logical group of network objects (computers, users, devices) that share the same Active Directory database.
A tree is a collection of one or more domains and domain trees in a contiguous namespace, and is linked in a transitive trust hierarchy.
Forest : The top of the structure is called the forest. A forest is a collection of trees.
Organizational units The objects held within a domain can be grouped into organizational units (OUs). An organizational unit (OU) is a subdivision within an Active Directory into which you can place users, groups, computers, and other organizational units. You can create organizational units to mirror your organization's functional or business structure.
Introduction to ADDS
Windows PowerShell
Windows PowerShell is a command-line shell and scripting language designed especially for system administration. Its analog in Linux is called Bash Scripting.
Built on the .NET Framework, Windows PowerShell helps IT professionals to control and automate the administration of the Windows operating system and applications that run on the Windows Server environment.
Windows PowerShell commands, called cmdlets, let you manage the computers from the command line. Windows PowerShell providers let you access data stores, such as the Registry and Certificate Store, as easily as you access the file system. In addition, Windows PowerShell has a rich expression parser and a fully developed scripting language.
So in simple words, you can complete all the tasks that you do with GUI and much more.
A cmdlet or "Command let" is a lightweight command used in the Windows PowerShell environment. The Windows PowerShell runtime invokes these cmdlets at command prompt.
How to Start Windows PowerShell
From the Start Menu Click Start, type PowerShell, and then click Windows PowerShell.
or
From the Start menu, click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, click the Windows PowerShell folder, and then click Windows PowerShell.
Some Basic Commands in Windows Powershell
get-date
get-location
get-localuser
get-process
get-service
get-help eg: get-help process
ConvertTo-Html
The ConvertTo-Html cmdlet converts .NET Framework objects into HTML that can be displayed in a Web browser. You can use this cmdlet to display the output of a command in a Web page.
Example: Create a web page to display processes
Get-Process | ConvertTo-Html -Property Name, Path, Company -Title "Process Information" | Out-File proc.htm; ii proc.htm
Additional Commands (cmdlet)
You can find the list of updates installed on the machine using the following command:
Get-Hotfix
To get the version of the PowerShell, use the following command:
Get-host | select Version
To get the reboot history :
Get-EventLog system | where-object {$_.eventid -eq 6006} | select -last 10
List of Installed programs:
Get-Module PSWindowsUpdate
Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion, Publisher, InstallDate | Format-Table –AutoSize
Finding the rules on the firewall:
Get-NetFirewallRule
IP configuration:
Get-NetIPConfiguration
To verify if IPv4 or IPv6 is enabled or not
Get-NetAdapterLso
To get the routing table
Get-NetRoute
List of Installed Programs
List of Installed Programs
Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion, Publisher, InstallDate | Format-Table –AutoSize
Windows PowerShell
Windows Server 2016
Active Directory Federation Services
Windows Defender
Remote Desktop Services
Storage Services
Failover Clustering
Web Application Proxy
IIS 10
Windows PowerShell 5.1
Windows Server Containers
System Requirements
The minimum system requirements to run Windows Server 2016 is discussed here:
Windows Server 2016 is a server operating system developed by Microsoft as part of the Windows NT family of operating systems, developed concurrently with Windows 10. Windows Server 2016 was released on September 26, 2016, at Microsoft's Ignite conference and became generally available on October 12, 2016.
Features of Windows Server 2016
The main features include:
Windows Defender
Remote Desktop Services
Storage Services
Failover Clustering
Web Application Proxy
IIS 10
Windows PowerShell 5.1
Windows Server Containers
The minimum system requirements to run Windows Server 2016 is discussed here:
- Processor:
- 1.4 GHz 64-bit processor
- Compatible with x64 instruction set
- RAM
- STORAGE SPACE
Minimum: 32 GB
Other Requirements
DVD drive (if you intend to install the operating system from DVD media)
About Windows Server 2016
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
