ACTIVE DIRECTORY OBJECTS
BY
JYOTIRMOTY BERA
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What is active directory objects?
The individual components of an organization’s network are called
objects in Active Directory. The objects in AD model the real world
entities in a network environment. This facilitates an incredible ease in
management of the network elements.
There are three object class types within
Active Directory :Abstract classes:- Active Directory has 14 abstract classes such as Top, Device, and Security
Object. These classes merely exist to create other objects classes.
Structural classes:- These are classes such as User and Computer that have objects within
Active Directory.
Auxiliary classes:- These classes are used to customize the definition of an Abstract class.
The Auxiliary classes in Active Directory are Security Principal, Sam Domain, Sam
Domain Base, Dynamic Object and Mail Recipient.
Active Directory objects fall into one the
following categories :•
Container objects:- A container object holds other objects. Container objects also have a defined
location in the directory sub tree hierarchy.
•
Leaf Objects: – Unlike container object, leaf objects do not contain other objects. Leaf objects
are located at the end of the sub tree hierarchy.
The common object types within Active Directory are:-
•
User:- User object represents individuals who need access to the resources in a
network. Each user account has a user name and a password. The purpose behind
creating user accounts is to authenticate the identity of the user and authorize the
access to the network resources. Active Directory supports two types of built in
user accounts – Administrator and Guest account.
(Contd...)
Contact :- A contact object contains the contact information about people who are associated
with the organization but are not part of it like contractors, suppliers. A contact object does not
have a SID associated with it which prevents it from having access to the network resources.
Group :- A group object represents a collection of user accounts, computer accounts, contacts
and other groups that can be managed as a single unit. Groups facilitate role based access to
network resources.
(Contd...)
Organizational units (OUs):-These are container objects that are used for administrative
ease and also to build the hierarchical structure of AD. These objects encapsulate other
AD leaf objects like users, computers, printers etc.
Domains:- The fundamental units of Active Directory that share common
administration, security, and replication requirements. Domains can also be grouped
into domain trees and forests to reflect the administrative structure of an enterprise.
(Contd...)
Shared Folder:- This is a pointer to a shared folder on the computer. Pointers basically
contain the location of the data. The data is not stored in the pointer. When resources are
published in Active Directory, an object that holds the pointer to the location of the data or
printer is created.
Computer:- A computer object represents a work station or a server in a network. A
computer account helps in authenticating and authorizing its access to network resources.
Printer :-This is a pointer to a printer on the computer.
(Contd...)
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.
Tree:- 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: A forest is a collection of trees that share a common global catalog, directory
schema, logical structure, and directory configuration.
Objects can be referenced by name by using :-
 Distinguished names
 Relative distinguished names
Which Use methods to find Active Directory
objects:-
 Active Directory Users And Computers console.
 Dsquery command.
The standard object permissions that can be
set for Active Directory objects :




Full Control
Read
Write
Create All Child Objects
Delete All Child Objects
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