Directory Services in Windows Server

Now that you have learned how to install Windows Server 2016 and run the initial server configuration, it is time to set up the very first services in your organization's IT infrastructure. With that in mind, this chapter explains directory services. Specifically, this chapter will cover Microsoft's Active Directory (AD) infrastructure and Domain Name System (DNS) in Windows Server 2016 so that you will become familiar with topics such as domains, forests, trees, domain controllers, functional levels, trust relationships, organizational units, groups, forward lookup zones, reverse lookup zone, DNS records, and many others. Other than that, you will get to know the Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), and DNS roles so that you can set up a domain controller and a DNS server in your organization's IT infrastructure. Additionally, you will become familiarized with Organizational Units (OUs), default containers, user accounts, and groups so that you can organize the user and computer accounts in your domain.

In this chapter, we will cover:

• Understanding the AD infrastructure
• Adding the AD DS role
• Understanding DNS
• Adding the DNS role
• Understanding OUs and default containers
• Operating with OUs
• Understanding accounts and groups
• Operating with groups