Dfs: One Piece of the New Directory Service Solution

Figure A shows the part Dfs plays in NT's new directory service solution,called the Active Directory. Brief descriptions of the other key parts of thediagram follow--watch for more details in future issues of the magazine.

Active Directory: Said to combine the best features of DNS andX.500, the Active Directory will store all accounts, groups, domains, security,and so forth.

Browser (DSWeb): The Directory Service Web (DSWeb) interface willlet an administrator manage the Active Directory from a Web browser, locally orremotely. DSWeb will receive information from Internet Information Server (IIS),which will service Active Pages (HTML and ActiveX pages created on the fly). IISwill use the Active Service Protocol (ASP) to communicate with the ActiveDirectory.

Microsoft Management Console: Microsoft Management Console (MMC),previously known as Slate, is a framework for management applications. Microsoftand other vendors will provide snap-ins that let NT administrators manage almostany part of NT from this one interface.

LDAP: Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) will let NT'sDirectory Service (NTDS) talk to any other directory system that supports LDAPthrough wldap32.dll. This feature also will let the Active Directory manage anon-NT directory service.

NT4: The Active Directory will be able to coexist with NT 4'sdirectory service, allowing an easy migration path to the new solution. You willbe able to convert your primary domain controller (PDC) to support the newfeatures, but it will appear as a regular PDC to existing backup domaincontrollers (BDCs) and clients.

NW3 and NW4: The Active Directory will be able tocommunicate directly with NetWare (NW3, NW4) through NetWare's Core Protocol(NCP).