Active Directory Infrastructure

Active Directory is one of the core services for a Windows Server 2003 environment. As such, documenting the AD infrastructure is a critical component to the environment. There are many aspects to document as they relate to AD, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Forest and domain structure such as DNS names, NetBIOS names, mode of operation, and trust relationships

• Names and placement of domain controllers (DCs) and global catalog (GC) servers

• Flexible Single Master Operations (FSMO) locations on DCs or GCs

• Sites, site links, link costs, and site link bridges

• Organizational unit (OU) topology

• Special schema entries (such as those made by applications)

• Security groups and distribution lists

• AD-integrated DNS information

• AD security

• Group Policy Object (GPO) configurations and structure

This information can be extremely useful in day-to-day operations, as well as when you're troubleshooting AD issues such as replication latency or logon problems.