Active Directory (AD) partitions are logical structures within an AD database that define the scope and extent of replication of information among domain controllers. In general, there are four types of partitions in an Active Directory forest:
- Schema partition: Contains the definitions of all objects that can be stored in the directory, such as users, groups, and computers. This partition is replicated to all domain controllers in the forest.
- Configuration partition: Contains information about the forest structure, such as sites, domains, and replication topology. This partition is also replicated to all domain controllers in the forest.
- Domain partition: Contains information about objects within a specific domain, such as user accounts, group accounts, and computer accounts. This partition is replicated to all domain controllers within the domain.
- Application partition: Contains application-specific data that is replicated only to specific domain controllers. This partition is used to store data for directory-enabled applications, such as Exchange Server or DNS.
Each partition has a unique distinguished name (DN) that identifies its location within the Active Directory hierarchy. For example, the DN of the schema partition is “CN=Schema,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomain,DC=com”.
In addition to the four standard partitions, AD also includes a Global Catalog (GC) partition. The GC contains a subset of the information in the other partitions and is used to support forest-wide searches and queries.
Administrators can manage AD partitions using tools such as the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in, the ADSI Edit tool, or Windows PowerShell cmdlets. These tools allow administrators to view and modify the contents of the partitions, as well as to manage replication and synchronization between domain controllers.
AD partitions define the scope and extent of replication of information among domain controllers in an Active Directory forest. Understanding the different types of partitions and their functions is essential for managing and maintaining a healthy Active Directory environment.
