Active Directory is Microsoft's proprietary directory service protocol for Windows 2000, 2003 and 2008 servers. Active Directory provides a database which can be queried to find hosts, servers, services and resources within one or more administrative domains that are part of a forest. Windows Active Directory is an X.400-based directory service which stores information about 'objects' within a 'domain'. User accounts, computers , servers and services are all objects within Active Directory. These base objects can also be collected into 'containers'. Active Directory allows objects, such as computers and users, to be grouped into Organizational Units. Organizational Units are 'containers' within Active Directory and can have access controls and security polices allowing a single policy to be applied to a group of objects in an easy manner. Objects are part of Containers, and Containers are part of a Domain. Domains are part of an Active Directory hi...