Active Directory
Active Directory (AD) is a directory service developed by Microsoft for Windows domain networks. It centralizes authentication and authorization for users, computers, and other network resources, providing a unified system for identity and access management. AD structures network objects…
Key facts
- First appeared
- 2000
- Category
- technology
- Problem solved
- Active Directory was created to overcome the scalability, management, and security limitations of the Windows NT Domain Model. The NT Domain model relied on a flat, non-hierarchical Security Account Manager (SAM) database, which struggled with large numbers of users and computers, complex trust relationships, and lacked a standard extensible schema, federated identity support, and robust replication mechanisms for enterprise-scale deployments.
- Platforms
- Windows Server
Related technologies
Notable users
- Educational institutions
- Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) with Windows networks
- Virtually all large enterprises utilizing Microsoft infrastructure
- Government organizations