Inside Active Directory: A System Administrator's Guide (Microsoft Windows Server System Series) [Paperback]

Sakari Kouti (Author), Mika Seitsonen (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0201616211 | ISBN-13: 978-0201616217 | Publication Date: December 13, 2001

Now that Windows 2000's Active Directory is in the marketplace, the true challenges associated with implementing and managing it have become far clearer. Drawing upon extensive real-world experience, this book identifies those challenges -- and presents today's best solutions. The authors begin by introducing key Active Directory concepts and presenting crucial background for successful planning and implementation. Understand the role of TCP/IP, WINS, DHCP, DNS, and LDAP in the Active Directory environment; walk through planning physical and logical structure; then master user and group management, access control, and group policies. Learn how to secure Active Directory; then maximize its performance in far-flung networks through the effective use of replication. Understand the Active Directory data model and schema, gaining insight for extending Active Directory to accommodate custom directory-enabled applications and administration tools. The book also includes two full chapters on automating administration through scripting.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Detailed and thorough, this administrator's guide provides practical strategies for managing Active Directory, the cornerstone technology within Windows 2000 distributed networks. This book covers design, architecture, topology, deployment, and management issues, and provides thorough instructions for efficiently administering the entire network operating environment.

Inside Active Directory: A System Administrator's Guide begins with an overview and covers Active Directory's core features before moving on to document more advanced, specialized skills. This book provides a solid understanding of Active Directory fundamentals, demonstrating how it is used to store and access data, and how it uses industry standards, such as LDAP and other directory protocols. Numerous diagrams and tables appear throughout the book to help readers better comprehend the sometimes-complex technologies involved in migrating to Windows 2000 from Windows NT or other platforms.

This practical guide documents Active Directory extensively, with detailed coverage of the following:

The big picture - background, building blocks, hierarchies, DNS integration, security, architecture, and other features.

How to efficiently install Active Directory, and how to automate and troubleshoot the process.

Planning and management of OUs, users, and groups.

Security features, including permission architecture and management, as well as permission usage scenarios.

Sites and replication - concepts, planning, management, topologies, processes, and diagnostics.

How to plan and manage domains and forests, and how to perform various LDAP searches.

Group Policy features, including architecture, planning, management, and diagnostics.

A detailed drill-down to the schema, and practical strategies and examples for extending it.

Administration scripts - from concepts and basic techniques to advanced script management of Active Directory, including more than fifty sample scripts.

Anyone working with Active Directory will find this book indispensable. Readers new to Windows network administration will gain a solid grasp of the fundamentals. Administrators experienced in NT, UNIX, Netware, and other systems will learn how to adapt their skills to Active Directory. Experienced Windows 2000 professionals will pick up advanced techniques, and developers will benefit from the architectural explanations.

Inside Active Directory is the most practical and comprehensive resource available for planning, implementing, and managing an Active Directory network.

0201616211B11272001

About the Author

Sakari Kouti, M.S. (Tech), is a senior trainer and consultant for Sovelto, the leading training company in Finland. He started working with networks in 1986 and his articles have appeared in Windows NT Magazine (now Windows and .NET Magazine). Sakari was one of the first MCSEs in the world back in 1994.

Mika Seitsonen is a senior trainer at Sovelto. His network experience spans more than ten years, and he was one of the first MCSE: Security on Microsoft Windows Server 2003 certified persons in the world. Mika was awarded MVP—Directory Services in 2004 and holds an M.S. (Tech) from University of Nottingham (U.K.) and Lappeenranta University of Technology (Finland).

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Product Details

• Paperback: 960 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional (December 13, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201616211
• ISBN-13: 978-0201616217
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,953,176 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely the Best Single Book on AD, March 27, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Inside Active Directory: A System Administrator's Guide (Microsoft Windows Server System Series) (Paperback)

Quite simply it is the best guide to Active Directory in a single book. The quality of writing is superb, it has the benefit of appearing a couple of years after the release of W2K and you can tell that the authors know their subject. I found information in this book that I have never seen anywhere else (like what AdminSDHolder does)! A direct competitor to this book would be Alistair G. Lowe-Norris "Windows 2000 Active Directory" but IMHO that book does not have the benefit of 2 years experience in the real-world.

Highlights are the chapters on AD security, replication, schema management and group policy. There are also two superb chapters on ADSI scripting.

However, there are some things it doesn't cover (wisely in my opinion as it would become too large). Specifically it does not cover migration or deployment planning. It also does not cover DNS planning in depth. These topics are large enough to require books on their own.

All in all if you want serious in-depth technical detail on managing AD, explained clearly and precisely (rare qualities in technical books) then this is the book to go for.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource for Administrators and Developers, October 4, 2004

By 

Jase T. Wolfe - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inside Active Directory: A System Administrator's Guide (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

There really is something to be said about second editions. The kinks have been worked out and the authors have just that much more experience to enrich the new text with. Refreshingly this title also doesn't assume that you have forgotten the existence of operating systems less than 2003 or that your experience is only within the Windows World; throughout the text are clue-ins for Windows NT administrators as well as those with a Novell background (both types displayed as bonus text and if you have experience in neither, you don't miss a thing). Without a doubt, if you are in charge of any aspect of the Active Directory (AD) - this is a must have.

It is amazing in what is included in this book. For administrators there is the most comprehensive overview of the AD you could want, covering everything from domain planning to single AD object creation. Included with general text are graphics and summary tables, so you're never having to dig for that needed quip of information you're just sure you read 50 pages back. Like to see the tie-in between the interface and where the data is stored in the registry, file system, or schema? It's in there. A bonus for administrators are chapters dedicated to topics such as LDAP/LDAP Searches, new Microsoft RSK utilities relating to AD and Group Policies, and even an administrative scripting overview with samples (not a scripting tutorial, and not all-inclusive of ADSI, but an excellent introduction and possibility revealer). For developers (and admins alike), everything you would want to know about the schema, from explanation of the schema and classes to extending the schema, is very well documented and demonstrated.

Unlike some titles where the information is a rehash of Microsoft White Papers, on-line help, or the authors own initial discoveries while learning the previously unknown system, it is crystal clear that the authors know the AD inside and out and have refined the presented experience in a very concise and easy to read manner. Anyone who must administer the AD should read this book - regardless of experience. Long after you've discovered new aspects you didn't know existed, this title will server as an excellent reference.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's all in here..., February 11, 2005

By 

Peter O Dowd (Wellington New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inside Active Directory: A System Administrator's Guide (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

I have an extensive library already on Active Directory. When I first got my hands on this book I wanted to test it out, see if it was worth adding to my collection. So I played a little game, I thought of things that should be in here, then looked in the book to see if they were there. This treasure hunt went on for a while consistently finding that the topics that should be in here are in here... So I switched tack, I started to read the index and see what I wouldn't expect to be in, if it was I'd be impressed... I was and am very impresses. Very soon I was hooked, this book really does explain the answers to many questions that commonly come up. There's a lot of books out there that explain Active Directory, but few that answer those nitty-gritty questions. This is one that does! Even if you've got a bookshelf full of AD books, check this out, it's a must... Well done Sakari and Mita..