Summary

Many large enterprises realize the value of directory services because of they can simplify user and machine management in a network environment. Storing information about users and machines hierarchically in a directory allows administrators to delegate management responsibilities to individuals within departments and groups, leaving administrators to focus on other tasks and give more control to users. By deploying enterprise applications that integrate with directory services, companies are able to simplify management, enhance network services, provide greater application functionality, and seamlessly integrate with the host networking environment.

This chapter explored the world of directory services and how the .NET Framework integrates with Microsoft's Active Directory. After an introduction to directory services and Microsoft's Active Directory, it reviewed the related .NET Framework classes and showed how to leverage them to expand the IssueTracker enterprise application to include user validation and profile retrieval functionality. Finally, the chapter examined methods for improving directory services related performance.

In the next chapter, you will learn about real-time messaging services and see how you can leverage them to build out a scalable business tier based on asynchronous communication. This includes creating messages and queues that implement a framework for building out a sample distributed analysis engine.