Active Directory 2008 Unleashed

Active Directory 2008 Unleashed is the definitive reference to the design, architecture, installation, and management of Active Directory, the cornerstone of Windows Server distributed networks. Building on their highly-praised Inside Active Directory: A System Administrator's Guide, the authors offer practical, up-to-date best practices for every facet of planning, deploying, and running Active Directory. This book begins with a clear and accessible "big picture" introduction to Active Directory 2008; then drills down to the details of installation and management. The authors systematically cover core skills including: managing organizational units, users, groups, security, sites, replication, domains, forests, and group policy. Next, they share in-depth insight into creating efficient Active Directory schema, and extending schema as organizations change. Finally, they present two entirely new chapters on automating Active Directory administration via PowerShell scripts: both the concepts administrators need, and a full chapter of easy-to-adapt sample scripts. Like its predecessor, this book reaches a broad audience of Windows professionals in organizations of all sizes, with widely varying levels of experience. Novices will gain a solid understanding of Active Directory principles and techniques; experienced Windows professionals will master advanced techniques, and developers will benefit from this book's excellent coverage of Active Directory architecture.