Chapter Summary

To effectively design an Active Directory infrastructure, consider the issues and questions presented in Table 3.1.

Table 3.1. Questions to Consider

Business Issue	Question(s)
Scope	Which areas in the business will be included in design plans?
Organizational model	What is the organizational model: centralized, decentralized, or centralized-decentralized?
Business processes	What are the current processes (practices)? How will they be affected?
Priorities	What has the business laid out for itself in terms of short- and long- term goals?
Client computing requirements	What do clients require to perform their day-to-day tasks ?
LAN/WAN connectivity	Which types of connections exist between the locations?
Available bandwidth	How much bandwidth is available over each connection?
Server and workstation distribution	How are the servers and workstations currently distributed throughout the network?
User security needs	Which type of security is currently in place for users in the organization?
Local security needs	What are the security needs of the various locations in the organization?
Performance requirements	What kind of expectations does the business and its employees have in regard to network performance?
Existing systems and applications	How will the systems and applications in use be affected by the rollout? Will any systems need to be upgraded? Do any unsupported applications exist that need to be tested ?
Technical support requirements	What are the current technical support requirements for the business? How will they be impacted by the upgrade?
Upgrades and rollouts	When should the upgrades occur? How can you keep employees informed about the rollout to lessen the impact?