Book Image

Active Directory Administration Cookbook - Second Edition

By : Sander Berkouwer
Book Image

Active Directory Administration Cookbook - Second Edition

By: Sander Berkouwer

Overview of this book

Updated to the Windows Server 2022, this second edition covers effective recipes for Active Directory administration that will help you leverage AD's capabilities for automating network, security, and access management tasks in the Windows infrastructure. Starting with a detailed focus on forests, domains, trusts, schemas, and partitions, this book will help you manage domain controllers, organizational units, and default containers. You'll then explore Active Directory sites management as well as identify and solve replication problems. As you progress, you'll work through recipes that show you how to manage your AD domains as well as user and group objects and computer accounts, expiring group memberships, and Group Managed Service Accounts (gMSAs) with PowerShell. Once you've covered DNS and certificates, you'll work with Group Policy and then focus on federation and security before advancing to Azure Active Directory and how to integrate on-premise Active Directory with Azure AD. Finally, you'll discover how Microsoft Azure AD Connect synchronization works and how to harden Azure AD. By the end of this AD book, you’ll be able to make the most of Active Directory and Azure AD Connect.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)

Raising the forest functional level to Windows Server 2016

Just like the Active Directory DFL, the FFL also determines the availability of new Active Directory functionality. Where the DFL dictates the minimum version of Windows Server to run as domain controllers, the FFL dictates the minimum version of the DFL in the Active Directory forest.

The new functionality that is unlocked by raising the FFL includes the following:

  • Privileged Access Management (PAM), which requires the Windows Server 2016 FFL
  • Active Directory Recycle Bin, which requires the Windows Server 2008 R2 FFL
  • Linked-value replication, which requires the Windows Server 2003 FFL

Getting ready

Microsoft recommends raising the FFL from the Active Directory domain controller that holds the Domain Naming Master FSMO role.

To locate this domain controller, run the following command on any domain-joined device, member server, or domain controller:

netdom.exe query fsmo

Alternatively, use...