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Understanding the Active Directory Platform in the Real World John Howard, Mark Cribben, Mike Brannigan Microsoft UK
Today’s Sessions • Architectural Overview • Recommended design practices • In-place upgrades • Lunch: The Business case for Active Directory • Directory migration • Extending the value of the directory • Managing and Securing Active Directory
Today’s Sessions • Architectural Overview • Recommended design practices • In-place upgrades • Lunch: The Business case for Active Directory • Directory migration • Extending the value of the directory • Managing and Securing Active Directory
Introduction to Directories • What is a directory? • At a basic level a structured way of organising useful information. The classic example is that of a telephone directory. • What a directory is not. • It is not a database. Although they share common features the emphasis between the two is different. • Types of directory. • NOS based directories • Application directories • General purpose directories
Common uses for directories • NOS • Core directory service for network management and administration • Authentication of network users • Examples such as Active Directory and eDirectory • Application • Specific applications that store configuration information without the need for a database • Examples include firewalls, HR applications • General purpose • Internal white pages • A driver for provisioning • Simple applications for which a directory is better suited than a database
Introduction to LDAP • Firstly it is a protocol defined through RFC’s • Secondly it is a set of four models • An information model to describe what you can put in the directory • A naming model that describes how data is arranged within the directory • A functional model that describes what you can do with the data • A security model that defines how the data in the directory can be protected from unauthorised access
LDAP Protocol - 1 • A message oriented protocol • The LDAP protocol consists of 9 basic operations divided into 3 categories: • Interrogation Operations:search, compare • Update Operations:add, delete, modify, modify DN (rename) • Authentication and control:bind, unbind, abandon
1. Open connection and bind 2. Result of bind operation 3. Search operation 4. Entries returned 5. Result of search operation 6. Unbind operation 7. Close connection LDAP Protocol - 2 • A typical LDAP exchange
LDAP compliance • Common request these days but what does it mean? • As with all things it depends on a number of things. Principally though the question is “do you conform to the LDAP standards as defined in RFC’s” • Open Group / DIF test certifications: LDAP Ready and LDAP Certified. • Dependent on the standards. Compliant does not mean you implement every possible RFC for a technology. Rather that you meet the required standards.
Providers of directories • There are a number of commercial LDAP directory products available today including: • Microsoft Active Directory and ADAM • Computer Associates eTrust Directory 8 • IBM Tivoli Directory Server 5.x • Nexor Directory 5.1 • Novell eDirectory 8.7.x • Oracle Internet Directory v 10g • Sun Microsystems Sun ONE Directory Server 5.2 • Plus there are non commercial products: • OpenLDAP
Typical Company scenario • Network • Probably a directory of some description providing authentication services and network management for all users in the company • HR • A significant number of companies have an HR system that is separate from the Network directory. • Firewall • Several firewall products use authentication to determine internet access permissions. These are stored in a directory • Applications • Commercial applications may be deployed that provide a specific function in the company and ships with its own directory. • In house applications such as a provisioning application or a white pages or “global directory” • Without realising it most organisations are now awash with directories.
The directory challenges! (1) • Management • How accurate is the data? Who is responsible for inputting the data? How current is the data? How available is the directory? • Information consistency • Identities that are shared between multiple directories can become inconsistent. Representation of common data. • Interoperability • How accessible is the data? • Synchronisation • Do we have the right information? Where is the authoritative data stored? Synchronisation rules? Synchronisation logic?
The directory challenges! (2) • Ownership • Who owns the data? Are they happy to share it? • Security • How do we secure the data in the directory? Is access control important for the data stored? • Extending the directory • How do we extend the directory? Do schema extensions clash? Are the extensions universally important? • Use • How do we use the directory effectively? Are we doing all that we can with the directories we have?
What is Active Directory? • Microsoft’s core directory service offering • Enterprise capable NOS Directory Service providing network authentication, authorisation, location and application services • Available since 2000 as part of Windows 2000 Server • Supports LDAP v2 and v3 industry standards • Ships free as part of the Windows Server Operating System
AD concepts – 1(Logical) • Boundaries • Security • Administrative • Forest • A forest is the security boundary for a single Active Directory deployment. • Shared schema and configuration • A single, logical entity • Comprised of one or more domain trees • Domain • A Domain is an administrative boundary within an AD forest. • Boundary for password / security policy • Partition / control replication of AD data
Ad.microsoft.com Eu.ad.microsoft.com Na.ad.microsoft.com AD concepts – 2 (Logical) • Tree • AD domains a logically organised in trees • A contiguous DNS based name space eg. Ad.microsoft.com is the forest root domain. It has two child domains that form a single domain tree within the forest: eu.ad.microsoft.com and na.ad.microsoft.com
AD concepts – 3 (Logical) • Organisational Units (OU’s) • A way of further partitioning data within a domain for the purposes of delegating administration or applying Group Policy • Hierarchical within the domain • Can be easily moved or renamed
AD concepts – 4 (Logical) • Schema • The definition of the objects that can be created within a forest. Eg. Users, computers, printers. • The boundaries of the individual attributes. • Default permissions on attributes • Unique OID’s essential. • Once defined cannot be removed from AD • Objects and attributes can be deactivated in Windows Server 2003
AD concepts – 5 (Logical) • Trusts. Defines the relationship between different logical components of an AD installation. • Within a forest all domains are trusted. • External trusts • Forest trusts • Kerberos trusts
AD concepts – 6 (Physical) • Sites • A logical representation of the physical nature of your underlying network infrastructure. • Used for controlling authentication process, replication and accessing “local” resources. • Requires defining IP subnets. • Domain Controllers (DC’s) • Servers that physically host the Directory. • Replicate directory information • Authoritative for their domain NC • Writable (operations such as creating new objects or updating existing objects) • Global Catalog (GC) • A DC that holds read only copies of other domain NC’s within the forest as well as the writable copy of the domain NC for which it is authoritative. • Easy and known way to search the forest for information
AD and DNS • DNS is a name resolution service and is separate from AD. • Used to provide the name space rules for AD • Used to locate AD and AD resources • DNS information can be stored in AD • Can improve the security of DNS information • Improves replication / transfer of zone data
How AD distributes data • Domain Controllers • DC’s are distributed around the organisation to facilitate local operations • Replication • The mechanism for ensuring all DC’s contain up to date information • Multimaster loose consistency with convergence • Intra site replication for DC’s in the same site • Inter site replication between sites
Roles for AD • NOS • Primary role for managing the network, users and machines • Authentication • Provides the authentication service for the network. • Default in Active Directory is Kerberos • Can also be utilised as an authentication service for other applications • Application • AD can be extended to support applications • A number of MS applications utilise AD (Exchange, SMS, ISA to name a few)
Scalability • AD as a NOS Directory has the capacity to handle any organisation • Tested with millions of objects • Technically could support 1 billion objects! • Currently supporting many of the largest companies in the world • There are some technical limitations for some objects • Number of DC’s in a domain • Number of DNS Name Servers • Number of Groups a user can belong to • Number of users in a group*
Active Directory Federation Authentication ADAM Synchronisation MIIS Directory Architecture Directory Technologies Authorisation IIFP Provisioning ADFS Security GPMC Management The Microsoft directory strategy
Getting to a Single Directory • Very difficult in the enterprise • Existing application requirements • Scope of application (local vs. global) • Schema requirements • Control of application/identity information • How to deal with multiple account stores • Infrastructure Directory – Global • Application Directories – Local to Application • Meta-Directory – Integration/Business Process
Where We Are Today (Non-existent) LDAP Portal application Centralized management • Directories deployed per-app; little re-use • Provisioning, sync are ad-hoc eDirectory Ad-hoc sync LDAP Generic LDAP-based app HR/ERP app Database iPlanet Generic dump Whitepages LDAP iPlanet Policy & SSO for Windows Outlook/ Exchange MAPI Active Directory
3rd-party DS App DS ADAM ADAM App DS App DS access Active Directory sync Infrastructure Directory The Solution DS-enabled app Centralized identity management DS-enabled app MIIS 2003 HR/ERP app Database DS-enabled app Integration Services
Today’s Sessions • Architectural Overview • Recommended design practices • In-place upgrades • Lunch: The Business case for Active Directory • Directory migration • Extending the value of the directory • Managing and Securing Active Directory