Microsoft Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) directory service is the distributed directory service that is included with Microsoft Windows Server operating systems. Microsoft Active Directory enables centralized, secure management of an entire network, which might span a building, a city, or multiple locations throughout the world. Microsoft Active Directory includes the following; Microsoft Active Directory DS on a Windows Server Network, Microsoft Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS), Structure and storage technologies, domain controller roles, replication technologies, search and publication technologies, and installation, upgrade, and migration technologies. You can connect to any domain controller remotely from any Microsoft Windows-based computer that has administrative tools installed. Microsoft Active Directory DS provides a central location to store data that is shared between applications and with applications that need to distribute their data across entire Windows networks.
A directory service provides a centralized location to store information in a distributed environment about networked devices and services and the people who use them. A directory service also implements the services that make this information available to users, computers, and applications. A directory service is both a database storage system (directory store) and a set of services that provide the means to securely add, modify, delete, and locate data in the directory store. Microsoft Active Directory provides — a central location for network administration and delegation of administrative authority. You have access to objects representing all network users, devices, and resources and the ability to group objects for ease of management and application of security and Group Policy. Information security and Single Sign-On for user access to network resources — tight integration with security eliminates costly tracking of accounts for authentication and authorization between systems.
Microsoft Active Directory DS On Microsoft Windows Server
Microsoft Active Directory DS is the information hub of the operating system. The following figure shows Microsoft Active Directory DS as the focal point of the Windows Server network used to manage identities and broker relationships between distributed resources so they can work together. Users and administrators can use desktop tools to search Microsoft Active Directory DS. By default, searches are directed to the global catalog, which provides forest wide search capabilities. The Internet standard computer location system. Microsoft Active Directory DS uses DNS to implement an IP-based naming system so that Microsoft Active Directory DS services and domain controllers are locatable over standard IP both on intranets and the Internet. Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) support; LDAP is the industry standard directory access protocol, making Microsoft Active Directory DS widely accessible to management and query applications.
Microsoft Active Directory DS
Internal directory is used within the corporate network for publishing information about users and resources within the enterprise. A company’s internal directory may be accessible to employees when they are outside the company network using a secure connection such as a virtual private network (VPN) connection, but it is not accessible to non-employees. External Directory — these are directories typically located on servers in the perimeter network or demilitarized zone (DMZ) at the boundary between the corporate local area network (LAN) and the public Internet. External directories are typically used to store information about customers, clients, and business partners who access external applications or services. They are also made available to customers, clients, and business partners to provide them with selected business information such as catalogs and so on. Microsoft Active Directory — application directories store “private” directory data that is relevant only to the application in a local directory.
Microsoft Active Directory
Connect Microsoft Active Directory and other on-premises directories to Azure Active Directory in just a few clicks and maintain a consistent set of users, groups, passwords, and devices across both environments. Azure Active Directory Connect will integrate your on-premises directories with Azure Active Directory. This allows you to provide a common identity for your users for Office 365, Azure, and SaaS applications integrated with Microsoft Azure Active Directory.
Integrating your on-premises directories with Azure Active Directory makes your users more productive by providing a common identity for accessing both cloud and on-premises resources. Azure Active Directory Connect is made up of three primary components: the synchronization services, the optional Active Directory Federation Services component, and the monitoring component named Azure Active Directory Connect Health.
Adopt hybrid cloud computing on your terms, and meet your business and technical requirements with the right combination of cloud and on-premises deployment models for your needs. Consistent Azure IaaS services go far beyond traditional virtualization. Virtual Machine Scale Sets enable rapid deployments with true auto-scaling for modern workloads. Consistent Azure PaaS services bring hybrid deployment choice and portability to cloud applications. Run fully managed PaaS and serverless computing on-premises, and deploy and operate Azure IaaS and PaaS services using the same tools as Azure.
Like developers, apps come in all sizes. Apps once thought impossible due to scale, complexity, or because they simply couldn’t be imagined, are now a reality with Azure. With our developer guide, you’ll see how our comprehensive set of app platform services can fit your needs, helping you navigate the architectural approaches and most common design patterns you face when building modern applications. And because Azure is constantly evolving, sign up to be notified of updates to the guide to ensure you make the most of any new Azure service.
Bring the agility and fast-paced innovation of cloud computing to your on-premises environment with Azure Stack. This extension of Azure allows you to modernize your applications across hybrid cloud environments, balancing flexibility and control. Plus, developers can build applications using a consistent set of Azure services and DevOps processes and tools, then collaborate with operations to deploy to the location that best meets your business, technical, and regulatory requirements.
Pre-built solutions from the Azure Marketplace, including open source tools and technologies, allow developers to speed up new cloud application development. Maximize productivity by empowering developers to build and deploy applications the same way whether apps run on Azure or Azure Stack. Just like Azure, Azure Stack supports a broad range of development tools and open source application platforms, languages, and frameworks including Java, Python, Node.js, and PHP.
Microsoft Azure is a growing collection of integrated cloud services that developers and IT professionals use to build, deploy, and manage applications through our global network of datacenters. With Azure, you get the freedom to build and deploy wherever you want, using the tools, applications, and frameworks of your choice. Choose how you deploy Azure — connecting cloud and on-premises with consistent hybrid cloud capabilities and using open source technologies — for maximum portability and value from your existing investments.
Use the tools and open source technologies you already know and trust, because Azure supports a broad selection of operating systems, programming languages, frameworks, databases, and devices. Azure offers hybrid consistency everywhere: in application development, management and security, identity management, and across the data platform. Bring Azure capabilities to your datacenter with Azure Stack. Leverage the Azure portal, PowerShell, and DevOps tools experience and app model across the cloud and on-premises.
Azure is built on the premise that for you to control Microsoft own customer data in the cloud, you require visibility into that data. You must know where it is stored. You must also know, through clearly stated and readily available policies and procedures, how Microsoft helps secure customer data, who can access it, and under what circumstances. And don’t take Microsoft word for it; you can review the third-party audits and certifications that confirm that Microsoft meets the standards Microsoft sets. By combining Microsoft global threat intelligence and expertise, with insights into cloud security-related events across your Azure deployments, Security Center helps you detect threats early and reduce false positives.
Cloud security alerts give you insights into the attack, including related events and impacted resources, and suggest ways to remediate issues and recover quickly. Take control of cloud security with policy-driven monitoring of security configurations and ind threats with behavioral analysis based on global intelligence and expertise. Azure provides the security state of all of your Azure resources.
As employees bring their personal devices to work and adopt readily available SaaS applications, maintaining control over their applications across corporate data centers and public cloud platforms has become a significant challenge. Enterprise Mobility And Security has extended it's offerings to provide you with a powerful set of cloud based identity and access management solutions on Azure Active Directory. Increase productivity and reduce helpdesk costs with self-service and single sign on experiences — employees are more productive when they have a single username and password to remember and a consistent experience from every device.
They also save time when they can perform self-service tasks like resetting a forgotten password, or requesting access to an application, without waiting for assistance from the helpdesk. Microsoft Identity and Access Management solutions help IT protect access to applications and resources across the corporate data center and into the cloud, enabling additional levels of validation such as multi factor authentication and conditional access policies.