Active Directory

Steve Cassidy explains why it might be time to move beyond a basic file server to a more powerful alternative

Steve Cassidy

What’s wrong with our simple file-server setup? Maybe nothing – but if you’re starting to feel boxed in by the basic configuration and management options on your NAS, Active Directory (AD) could be the answer. It provides a central system for authenticating users, enforcing security policies and even updating software. It can be enormously complex, but it’s also enormously powerful, and scalable too. It’s also worth noting that there’s plenty of Microsoft-specific expertise out there that assumes the presence of a domain controller. The best reason to switch may be more to do with the support resources available, than a need for AD’s full feature set. Will we need to set up new servers to make use of Active Directory? AD requires Windows Server, so you’ll need some sensible PC hardware to run…

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PC Pro (Digital) - 1 Issue, July 2015

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