Microsoft Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) Forest is a hierarchical structure that consists of one or more domains that share a common schema, configuration, and global catalog. A forest is a collection of domains that have a two-way transitive trust relationship with each other. In other words, each domain in the forest trusts all other domains in the same forest, and the trust relationship is transitive across all domains.
Here is a more detailed explanation of how AD DS Forest works:
- Architecture of AD DS Forest:
AD DS Forest is a hierarchical structure that consists of the following components:
- Root domain: This is the top-level domain in the forest and is created when the first domain is established. It has a unique name that identifies the forest.
- Child domain: This is a domain that is created under the root domain and shares the same namespace. It has its own domain name and can have its own user accounts, groups, and other resources.
- Tree: A tree is a collection of domains that have a contiguous namespace. For example, if a domain named “sales.contoso.com” is created under the root domain, a tree is formed.
- Forest: A forest is a collection of trees that share a common schema, configuration, and global catalog.
- Global Catalog:
The global catalog is a distributed data store that contains a subset of the attributes for all objects in the forest. It is used for authentication and directory searches across all domains in the forest. Each domain controller in the forest hosts a replica of the global catalog.
- Trust Relationships:
AD DS Forest allows organizations to establish trust relationships between forests. This enables users to access resources in other forests using their existing credentials. Forest trust relationships are one-way or two-way and can be selective or transitive.
- Schema:
The schema is a blueprint that defines the structure of the AD DS database. It includes definitions for all objects in the forest, such as user accounts, groups, and computer accounts. The schema is shared by all domains in the forest.
- Configuration Partition:
The configuration partition is a read-only partition that stores configuration information about the forest, such as site topology, trust relationships, and replication settings. It is shared by all domains in the forest.
- Forest-Wide Operations:
Some operations in AD DS Forest are performed at the forest level, such as adding or removing a domain, modifying the schema, and establishing trust relationships with other forests.
Microsoft Active Directory Domain Services Forest is a hierarchical structure that allows organizations to manage and control access to network resources across multiple domains. It provides a common schema, configuration, and global catalog that enables users to access resources in other domains and forests using their existing credentials. Forest trust relationships, schema, configuration partition, and forest-wide operations are some of the key features of AD DS Forest.
