Active Directory Management Tips for an Administrator

The blog contains tips for management of Active Directory in Windows domain networks. System administrators of IT firms usually face several challenges in Active Directory management and one of them is managing user accounts in the Active Directory (AD). Microsoft Management Console (MMC) is one application that can be used to configure, monitor and manage the Windows machine AD with MMC tools/snap-ins. It is a component that was first included in MS Windows 2000 and later on in all its successors. It is said to render an easy, trouble-free, integrated and reliable management Graphical User Interface and administration models. Some of the common MMC snap-ins that can be used to manage AD in Windows OS is listed and explained below:

1. Active Directory Users and Computers
2. Active Directory Administrative Center
3. Active Directory Module For Windows PowerShell
4. Active Directory Domains and Trusts
5. Active Directory Sites and Services
6. Group Policy Management

These administration tools are the tips for management of Active Directory that can be reached through the Administrative Tools menu located on the Start menu of Windows machine. They can even be added to any Microsoft Management Console that can be updated. If any other PC is being used with-access to a Windows Server 2008 R2, the tools are not available until installed.

How to Manage Active Directory?

1. Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC) – It is known to be the primary snap-in for managing users, groups, computers and organizational units. This utility is applicable on Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 so as to manage and publish info in the Active Directory environment. By default, ADUC works with the domain to which the system is presently attached to and users can access computer as well as user objects through the console tree.

If the domain controller is not found or if wanted domain is not shown, users might need to connect to a domain controller in the present domain or in a different one. However, ADUC has some advanced options too. To access such alternatives, View should be clicked and then Advanced Features must be selected. With this, high-level tasks such as viewing advanced options, searching for objects, etc. can be performed.

2. Active Directory Administrative Center (ADAC) – It is a tool for performing task-orientated management and common object-administration tasks that was introduced in Windows Server 2008 R2. It is available in Windows Server 2012 and Windows 7 OS also but not on Windows Server 2003 and 2008. It gets available in Win 7 with the installation of Remote Server Administration Tools. It is built on PowerShell command-line technology and .NET Framework 3.5.1 that improves its performance.

It provides an enhanced GUI that can be used to customize ADAC to suit any particular directory service if required. Moreover, the ADAC version included in Windows Server 2012 has some added benefits. It includes a Windows PowerShell History Viewer so as to assist users in learning cmdlets of Active Directory and also utilizes Active Directory Web Services (ADWS). At least one domain controller in each domain to be managed must have ADWS installed together with related services running.

3. Active Directory Module for Windows PowerShell – This tool is used for management of AD when Windows PowerShell is being used. In this case, Cmdlets are used to manage Active Directory and in total it contains 90 cmdlets that are not found in a standard Windows PowerShell session. The module gets imported automatically only when the related option on the Administrative Tools menu is selected otherwise it does not get imported into PowerShell by default.

Once the module is imported, it can be used with the currently running instance of PowerShell. The next time PowerShell is to be started it should be imported again. The cmdlets used either individually or in combination with the standard PowerShell piping techniques; gives nearly complete administrative access to both Active Directory Domain Services and Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services resources. Moreover, there are few cmdlets for managing AD that does more in less time such as mentioned and explained below:

• Active Directory Service Interface Accelerator – It can be used to communicate with both AD and local system groups and users. Its advantages are that it can be used from any domain member without any prerequisite, has capability to work with security principals, etc.

• Quest Active Directory – It is available free of cost and, however, it requires .Net 3.5. Once installed, the cmdlets such as New-QADUser, Add-QADGroupMember, Unlock-QADUser and Disable-QADUser gets imported which can be used for several management tasks.
  

• Active Directory Module – Most of the functionalities of the AD module are same as that of Quest and ADSI It differs from the two in querying and altering the hierarchy of AD. Here, the default cmdlets gets installed in conjunction with the Remote Server Administration Tools.
  

• Active Directory PSDrive – It is another characteristic enabled by the Active Directory Module that allows browsing the multiple partitions in AD as if a local hard disk; navigating domains, containers and organizational units.

4. Active Directory Domains and Trusts – This MMC snap-in is used to work with domains, domain forests, domain trees, and tasks that cannot be performed with ADAC.
5. Active Directory Sites and Services – This MMC tool is used for management of sites and subnets that cannot be achieved by ADAC.
6. Group Policy Management – This MMC snap-in is used for management of the method in organizations. For modeling and loggings, it gives accessibility to Resultant Set of Policy.

These are manual tips for management of Active Directory in machines that run Windows server or any Windows OS. But the problem is that they do not prove to be suitable all the time.

Overcome Challenges with External Tool

Though there are number of snap-ins available in the MS Windows systems, sometimes they lag behind in managing Active Directory and render challenges for administrators. In such cases any external application needs to be employed and one reliable tool is Active Directory Management software. However, Exchange Server must be available in active state on the user’s system. And credentials such as username and password of administrator should also be available. The functionalities that it offers are:

• Alternative to create, edit, modify and roll back users form AD as well as from one organizational unit to another.
• Provides option to form user mailboxes directly from the home screen of the software.