The Evolution of Active Directory - Literature review Example

The Evolution of Active Directory This paper is about the evolution of active directory in the area of information technology. According to Heywood &Ahmad (2001), “an active directory is a distributed database that stores information about domain, computers, users, groups, and services.” In this paper, we look at its introduction as a component of window 2000 server operating system as well as its present day form as an integral part of window server 2008. We also look at how things were managed before its introduction and the scope of what it offers. All this is with an objective of understanding this kind of a component Microsoft windows hence try to understand this component act be of importance to information technology users. This component was introduced in window 2000 operating system, which was an improvement of window NT 4.0. According to Alcott (2002), this component extended the directory services available on its predecessor, window NT 4.0. This component had a domain controller that could be used to control and manage personal domains. It also introduced networking components, which enabled management of several computers by a single administrator. It also could manage users and user groups that use a computer as well as the services that the computer is used to provide. Compared to its predecessor, this component was a great boost to information technology during the era when it was introduced. This component was introduced at a time we can call the ‘internet age’. This was the time when the internet had just been introduced and had become widely used in different organizations. With introduction of internet, there was a need for greater computer networking to enhance sharing of information among several computers. Since this feature introduced networking components that enhanced sharing of information not only among computers within a domain but also among different computers in different domains within the server. Because of this property, this component could enhance information management in an organization and thus it enabled organizations to use internet effectively. Compared to the directory in the earlier versions of the windows, the active directory was easy to use and operate. One of the reasons for this was that most of its components were automated (Heywood & Ahmad 2001). This means that they could run automatically without requiring the commands of the user or administrator and thus they were very easy to use. Another reason according to Heywood & Ahmad (2001) is that the components, which were not automated, were self-explanatory and thus very easy to use even by a person with little Information Technology knowledge. Because of this property of active directory, it was widely used by various organizations in managing its information and sharing of their information. However, according to Shapiro (2008), the active directory found in window server 2000 operating system could not authenticate validate users that have local accounts. This means that some of these users could access or use information not meant for them. These users could also share such information and therefore there was a lot of information insecurity. Moreover, this component did not have a command-line interface that would help in the management of the server, workstation, or network. This made it difficult for users and administrators to optimize the benefits that could be derived from proper management of the server and the workstation. Since most organizations had networks that were used to share large information, lack of this component really acted as a limiting factor to information sharing. According to Keplan & Dunn (2006), active directory is an integral part of window server that cannot be purchased and installed separately in windows. This means that a person cannot be able to use it without using window server 2000 operating system. This actually makes this component to be only accessible to only the individuals who were using window 2000 operating system. If someone preferred to use the previous version of windows or another operating system, he had to forego this component since it could not be purchased and installed separately. This made several people to be unable to get the advantages that active directory provided because they were using previous versions of windows operating system. Before the introduction of active directory, it was not that simple to manage users, computers, and groups. According to Heywood& Ahmad (2001), before introduction of the active directory in window server 2000, a domain model was the one used to manage users, computers, and groups. This method had several limitations that made sharing of information to be somehow difficult. One of such limitations was that it could not be able to hold or share large information and it could not share information among several users or groups at ones. Another limitation was that sharing of information was slow and sometimes very unreliable and therefore organizations encountered a lot of difficulty in terms of information management. According to Alcott (2000), before the introduction of the active directory in window 2000 server, Microsoft operating systems were plagued by limited directory capabilities. These means that some of the services that active directory could provide were not accessible to computer users and administrators. Some of these services were the networking services that provide information about objects. Window NT 4.0, which was the predecessor of window server 2000, provided information about objects without network (Alcott 2000). This made it unable to provide directory services especially those related to sharing and transfer of objects and information. Before the introduction of active directory, there was no mean to verify that communication is taking place when users attempted to share information. This is because the previous versions of Microsoft operating system as well as other operating systems that were available had no ability to create new users or new mailboxes. This limited the exchange of information among users and between administrator and the users that could indicate that communication is taking place. During this era, communication was based on assumptions that most of the times proved to be ineffective and unreliable. The current form of active directory found as an integral part of window server 2008 is known as active directory domain system. This is a modification of the previous forms found in window server 2000 and window server 2003. The modifications that were made to the previous versions in order to achieve this version were mainly done to overcome most of the limitations of previous versions. According to Shapiro (2008), this form of window server contains components that can be used to authenticate and validate users that have account. This makes this form of window server to be more secure in terms of information security as compared to the previous versions. Window server 2000 and window server 2003 could not support any kind of special type of a group. For window server 2008, all the supported domain functional levels support special type of a group called a universal group (Stanek 2009). This universal group is accessible by all the other groups in a network or server. This makes it very useful in terms of sharing of information among several different groups and thus promotes communication. This window server also promotes networking, application services, and interoperation between clients and servers. This enhances the ability of the organizations to optimize utility of both the internet services as well as other networking services in their operation. The active directory form in window server 2008 operating system is more effective and more reliable in management of information. According to Stanek (2009), window server 2008operating system has both graphical and command-line administration tools. This makes it easier to manage servers, workstations and the entire network used by an organization. This makes this type of an operating system to be more effective and reliable in terms of the management and sharing of information among users and between users and administrator. This is because an individual using the command-line now can do the activities that could not be done using the graphical commands. Moreover, the individuals who cannot be able to use the command-line can rely on the graphical commands. Although also the form of active directory found in window server 2008 operating system is an integral part of the windows, it has some features that could be adapted separately on previous windows operating systems. These components are like the window server 2008 print services and window server 2008 file services (Stanek 2009). This makes it unnecessary to implement full transition to window server 2008 active directory if what you need is just these two components. This property is very different from the properties that the active directory in window server 2000 had, which required individuals to adapt the whole operating system if they required a certain service provided by the directory. The active directory, which is an integral part of window server 2008, offers several benefits to its users. One of the benefits it offers is a component that can be used to manage different types of virtual networks found in a computer system. According to Kelbley, Sterling & Stewart (2011), these types of virtual networks are the internal virtual network, the external virtual network, and the private virtual network. The active directory that is provided by window server 2008 operating system enables effective management of all these network management systems. This enables a particular user to access the correct network resources and thus promoting network security. The active directory found as an integral part of Microsoft window server 2008 also provides networking services to both users and administrators. As Hassell (2008, p. 5) states “window server 2008 operating system has dual-IP layer architecture for both native IPv4 and IPv6 that provides networking services”. This also makes this network services to have communication security thus making the information communicated through the network to be inaccessible to unauthorized individuals. It also enhances the provision of terminal service connection that promotes the connectivity between users and connectivity between users and the administrator. These networking services that are provided by this component has actually promoted both information sharing and information management in organization and thus promoting the organization’s operability. According to Minasi et al (2010), the active directory tool found in window server 2008 offers disaster recovery and new admin tools, that prevents loss of either stored or shared information. It also provides evidence that indicate that communication is taking place when information is shared among users. This safes the organizations from the negative effects that might result from an incomplete communication as well as helping the organization to ensure that the right information reaches the right individuals at the right time. This can make the organization to be effective in terms of its operation and also in terms of the different services or products it provides. The active directory found in Microsoft window server 2008 and later version also offers an enhanced domain controller. This is because of its unique ability to provide a read-only domain controller (Minasi et al 2010). This type of a domain controller promotes the security of domain control information and prevents such information from being accessed by unauthorized individuals. This helps in safeguarding the user name as well as the user password of an individual and thus assisting in safeguarding the information of that particular user. This in return can prevent the loss of personally identifiable information which can have a great negative effect to an individual or the organization concerned. This form of the active directory also offers all the services and tools that could be offered by its predecessor versions. This is because it was not a new tool but an improvement of the previous active directory tool in attempt to make them overcome their limitations. According to Brovick, Hauger & Wade (2000), all Microsoft’s back-office and application services use or rely on active directory for effective operability and administration. It the windows operating system has no this active directory then it could not support most of the Microsoft’s application services. Moreover, most of the Microsoft back-office services could not be effectively operable on that operating system. Since active directory was introduced as an integral part of window server 2000, it has undergone several evolutions to gain the form in which it is currently found as an integral component of window server 2008 operating system. When it was introduced, it brought a new era of network management of information as well as network sharing of information. Before its introduction this kind of activities were mainly done using a domain model which was unreliable and could not be able to support large information. However, even after it was introduces it could only be operated using graphical commands which made it ineffective and not that much reliable. However, it could handle large information intended for several users or administrators. The current form, which is a modification of the previous forms, had command-line which can be used in addition to the graphical commands to provide services that the previous form could not provide. This kind of directory is thus very useful in terms of what it is able to offer and thus it should be adapted by all the organizations operating in the twenty-first century. Reference Alcott, N, 2002, Understanding and Designing Your Active Directory Infrastructure, Indianapolis: Sams Publishing. Brovick, E, Hauger, D, & Wade, WC, 2000, Window 2000 Active Directory, Indianapolis: Sams Publishing. Hassell, J, 2008, Window Server 2008: The Definitive Guide, New York: O’Reilly Media. Heywood, D, & Ahmad, Z. 2001, Drew Heywood’s Windows 2000 Network Services, Indianapolis: Sams Publishing. Kelbley, J, Sterling, M, & Stewart, A, 2011, Window Server 2008 Hyper-V: Insider Guide to Microsoft’s Hypervisor, Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Keplan, J, & Dunn, R, 2006, The .Net Developer’s Guide to Directory Services Programming, Boston: Pearson Education. Minasi, M, et al, 2010, Mastering Microsoft Window Server 2008 R2, Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Shapiro, JR, 2008, Window Server 2008 Bible, Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Stanek, WR, 2009, Window Server 2008 Inside Out, New York: O’Reilly Media. Read More