Computers have been an essential part of business environments for more than 3 decades and this has led companies like Microsoft to have products for these environments. Thus we can see how in companies, everything related to the administration and management of computer resources is centralized through operating systems for servers, capable of controlling various aspects of each computer. In that sense, We want to talk specifically about a component that we can find in Windows environments that is closely related to all of this: Active Directory.
This is the fundamental characteristic of Windows servers, centralizing aspects ranging from security to the prioritization of access to resources and file systems.
What is Active Directory?
In computing, business environments are much more complex than home environments. In the latter we can generally find very basic platforms based on a network device, a couple of computers and mobile devices. In companies this is much more complex, we can find everything from routers and access points to computers, network storage devices, printers, closed circuit systems and more.
Having to administer and manage each object separately is very hard work and does not fit with the dynamics of a company and this is where Active Directory comes into play. This feature of Windows servers generates a hierarchical database with information about each device on the network in order to interconnect them, access them or prevent certain profiles from doing so. Likewise, the Active Directory can manage everything related to the security of each user of the platform and the permissions to enter any folder or network resource.
As we have mentioned so far, the Active Directory is a component of Windows servers and as such, it is capable of relating its execution with other services such as DNS and DHCP, generating a complete environment for managing and controlling network objects. .
What is the use of activating Active Directory?
Active Directory is a feature especially oriented to business environments and all those where they have to manage a large number of computers. For example, if you have a platform with 10 or more network objects, you could start populating it, in order to save time and ensure effective centralized control of your resources.
The active directory will give you the possibility to manage everything related to the creation of users and their management from a single place. This includes from updating data such as the name, to changing passwords. Likewise, you will be able to access a profile system that will allow you to give hierarchies to the users of the platform and from them, you can generate the permissions to access certain resources. For example, you can make it so that only Administrators can access a certain folder or printer.
In the same way, when you create a new user, it will obtain all the necessary provisioning by having a profile assigned.. This means that you will not need to grant each permission, but the profile will give them all at once. So, the Active Directory is a tool whose main function is to make the management of a network of Windows computers much easier.
How to activate Active Directory on a computer?
If you will take your computer to a place and need to register it in the Active Directory of the network in question, then you must follow these steps:
- Right click on it Start menu.
- Enter in «Applications and features«.
- Click on the link «Programs and Features» on the upper right side of the window.
- Click on «Enable or disable Windows features» in the new window that is displayed.
- Check the box that says "Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services«.
- Click on «Accept«.
- Click on the option «Si» from the « windowActive Directory Installation«.
- Restart your computer when the installation is complete.
In this way, you will have your computer ready to join any domain and have access to the resources of the network in question. Active Directory is a feature for purely business use and although it can be used in home environments, its potential would be underutilized. In business environments, it represents the main component, along with DNS and DHCP for the proper functioning of the platform.
It is these 3 resources that establish the interconnection between computers within a network and also allow access to the directory system and resources. In this sense, if you will be frequently joining your computer to a domain to carry out your work, it is important that you activate this option with the steps that we mentioned above. Also, keep in mind that not all versions of Windows support this feature, so you should check if your computer has the ability to do it.