Chapter 5. Active Directory Logical Design

The actual design of the Active Directory (AD) infrastructure involves virtually every technology in the enterprise. It includes the physical placement of domain controllers (DCs) and servers, and the logical design of the forest and domain structure, security, replication topology, client services, system administration, and network services.

Whether you choose to use an in-place upgrade or a domain restructure migration as described in Chapter 3, "Migration Planning: Business and Technical," moving from a Windows NT domain to Windows Sever 2003 AD is not trivial. This chapter describes each of the elements of the logical design in technical detail, including how it works, how it differs from Windows 2000 functionality, and how to apply the features and best practices to the design. Practical examples from actual case studies reinforce these practices.