Active Directory Tutorial Interview Questions Free Downloads

Most of the Windows system administration job interviews definitely include many questions on Windows Active Directory Services. So the more you know about MS ADS the better.

What is Active Directory :

Active Directory is a new feature in Windows 2000/2003/2008 that allows users to logon and access resources from anywhere in the network. It allows administrators to manage the network from a single location and makes network security much easier to manage. Active Directory is really a database that stores information about all objects on the network. Think of Active Directory as a phone book for the network. For example, if you needed to find a resource on the network but you can't remember where it is located, you can do a search in Active Directory to find that resource. Resources include users, groups, computers, printers, and shared folders, to name a few. The Active Directory database is stored on Windows 2000/2003 servers known as Domain Controllers.There usually will be a Primary Domain Controller & Admins refer them in short as PDC.So usually in an interview they will ask you questions using such lingo as how did you install,configure your PDC. All of the domain controllers within a domain hold the same copy of the Active Directory database, in a file named NTDS.DIT. Windows 2000 domain controllers are multi-master replication partners, all replicating data back and forth to each other.

Installing Active Directory

1. Log on to the server installed with Windows 2000 or 2003 Server and open the run command. From the desktop click on Start > Run then type in DCPROMO in the run command and click OK.

2. This will begin the Active Directory installation wizard. The first screen to appear is the welcome screen, click on Next to continue. The next screen will ask you for the type of domain controller you would like to install. You have two options; one is to install this as the first domain controller ( or Primary Domain Controlelr) for a new domain or as an additional domain controller for an already existing domain. This is the first domain controller on the network, select Domain controller for a new domain and click Next.
 
3. The next screen will ask you to specify whether you want to create a new domain tree or create a new child domain in an existing domain tree. In Windows 2000 you can build domain trees so that the domains are in a hierarchy, for domains to be in a tree they must have a contiguous (continuous) namespace. The first domain in a tree is known as the root domain and any child domains in the tree will have to contain the name of the root domain. For example MYCOMPANY.COM may have a child domain for a Chicago office with the name of BRANCH.MYCOMPANY.COM and would be considered part of the domain tree because it has the contiguous namespace of the root domain,MYCOMPANY.COM . Remember, that this is the first domain controller on the network, so it will be the "root" domain of a new tree. Select Create a new domain tree and click Next.

4. The next screen asks you if you would like to create a new forest or join an existing forest. Windows 2000 lets you place the domain trees into forests, if there are any existing forests. Forests are used when you would like to combine two domain trees that have a non-contiguous namespace. For example MYCOMPANY.COM and HIGHSALARYSTORAGEJOBS.COM may not be placed in a domain tree together, because of the non-contiguous root domain names, but they may be a part of a forest that contains domain trees. You are creating the first and only tree with the storagejobsblogspot.com domain. Select Create a new forest of domain trees and click Next.