Active Directory : Designing, Deploying, and Running Active Directory

Organize your network resources by learning how to design, manage, and maintain Active Directory. Updated to cover Windows Server 2012, the fifth edition of this bestselling book gives you a thorough grounding in Microsoft’s network directory service by explaining concepts in an easy-to-understand, narrative style.

You’ll negotiate a maze of technologies for deploying a scalable and reliable AD infrastructure, with new chapters on management tools, searching the AD database, authentication and security protocols, and Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS). This book provides real-world scenarios that let you apply what you’ve learned―ideal whether you’re a network administrator for a small business or a multinational enterprise.

• Upgrade Active Directory to Windows Server 2012
• Learn the fundamentals, including how AD stores objects
• Use the AD Administrative Center and other management tools
• Learn to administer AD with Windows PowerShell
• Search and gather AD data, using the LDAP query syntax
• Understand how Group Policy functions
• Design a new Active Directory forest
• Examine the Kerberos security protocol
• Get a detailed look at the AD replication process

Brian Desmond spends his days focused on Active Directory for some of the world's largest companies. A Microsoft MVP since 2004, Brian brings extensive knowledge of how Active Directory works and how to successfully run Active Directory deployments large and small.

Joe Richards is a consultant / admin / tool writer who happens to have a secret identity as a Microsoft MVP for Windows Server Directory Services. His specialty is Directory Services but has "minors" in Security and Active Directory programming. By day he works for a large services/consulting/manufacturing company. He takes time to chat with people on listservs and newsgroups, write about stuff he knows, and whips up various fairly useful tools.

Robbie Allen is a technical leader at Cisco Systems, where he has been involved in the deployment of Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, and several network management solutions. Robbie was named a Windows Server MVP in 2004 and 2005 for his contributions to the Windows community and the publication of several popular O'Reilly books. Robbie is currently studying at MIT in its system design and management program. For more information, see Robbie's web site at www.rallenhome.com.

Alistair G. Lowe-Norris is an Architectural Enterprise Strategy Consultant for Microsoft UK. He worked for Leicester University as the project manager and technical lead of the Rapid Deployment Program for Windows 2000, responsible for rolling out one of the world's largest deployments of Windows 2000 preceding release of the final product. Since 1998 he has been the technical editor and a monthly columnist for the Windows Scripting Solutions magazine and a technical editor and author for Windows & .NET Magazine (previously Windows NT Magazine and Windows 2000 Magazine).