Organizational Units

This AD diagram example was created based on the picture "AD LDS as a phone book service" from the book "Active Directory for Dummies".
"Directory services are a great way of providing information that can be fre-
quently retrieved and searched on in a hierarchical way. ... Well, there’s no reason that you can’t create a directory service that’s actually a phone book. Imagine that you need to make a searchable phone directory of your organization available on the Internet. ... This isn’t a difficult task, but it has security repercussions. If you’ve already deployed AD DS and you have the employees’ phone numbers available in that directory, it might not be a good idea to expose your AD DS environment to the Internet for security reasons. Using AD LDS is a great alternative because it can be deployed separately from AD DS and it’s designed to simply provide the information retrieval service that you need without the complications involved with Kerberos authentication and group policies." [Steve Clines and Marcia Loughry, Active Directory® For Dummies®, 2nd Edition. 2008]
The Active Directory diagram example "AD LDS as a phone book service" was created using the ConceptDraw PRO diagramming and vector drawing software extended with the Active Directory Diagrams solution from the Computer and Networks area of ConceptDraw Solution Park.

This AD diagram example was redesigned from the picture "Single root domain with a structured OU model" from the book "Active Directory for Dummies".
"A domain is the cornerstone that you lay whenever you create trees and forests. Regardless of whether you design a tree or a forest, the starting point is always the root domain. The root domain is the first domain that you create in your AD structure, and it sits at the top of your diagram.
The root domain of your tree, similar to any other domain, is a grouping of
resources built on the following components:
(1) Domain controllers.
(2) Security policies. ...
For many small and medium-sized companies, a single root domain with a
structured OU (organizational unit) model... provides sufficient flexibility for an AD tree. ...
However, larger companies, companies with complex organization charts, and
companies with multiple sites often find that a single domain isn’t suitable." [Steve Clines and Marcia Loughry, Active Directory® For Dummies®, 2nd Edition. 2008]
The Active Directory diagram example "Single root domain with a structured OU model" was created using the ConceptDraw PRO diagramming and vector drawing software extended with the Active Directory Diagrams solution from the Computer and Networks area of ConceptDraw Solution Park.