Most organizations use AD DS to manage on-prem IAM in Windows environments. An organization can have multiple DCs, with each one storing a copy of the AD DS for the entire domain. The servers that host AD DS are domain controllers (DCs). AD DS allows IT teams to streamline IAM services by serving as a centralized point of administration for all the activities on the network. AD DS stores and manages information about users, services, and devices connected to the network into a tiered structure. What Is AD DS?ĪD DS is the main service in AD, which is a crucial identity and access management (IAM) solution within the Windows Server operating system (OS) environment. This post explains how AD DS works, its essential services, and the terms you need to know. Organizations can use AD DS to provide integrated security through single sign-on (SSO) and rights management. It helps IT teams organize those resources - both users and computing devices - in a logical hierarchical structure. Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) is a crucial server role within Microsoft’s Active Directory (AD) platform that allows IT teams to manage and store information about enterprise resources.

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