Organizational Units

“The Active Directory framework that holds the objects can be viewed at a number of levels. The forest, tree, and domain are the logical divisions in an Active Directory network.

The objects held within a domain can be grouped into Organizational Units (OUs). OUs can provide hierarchy to a domain, ease its administration, and can resemble the organization's structure in managerial or geographical terms. OUs can contain other OUs—domains are containers in this sense. Microsoft recommends using OUs rather than domains for structure and to simplify the implementation of policies and administration. The OU is the recommended level at which to apply group policies, which are Active Directory objects formally named Group Policy Objects (GPOs), although policies can also be applied to domains or sites. The OU is the level at which administrative powers are commonly delegated, but delegation can be performed on individual objects or attributes as well.

Organizational units are not mutually exclusive database; e.g. it is not possible to create user accounts with an identical username (sAMAccountName) in separate OUs. This is so because sAMAccountName, a user object attribute, must be unique within the domain. However, two users in different OUs can have the same Common Name (CN), the name under which they are stored in the directory itself.”[from Wikipedia]

ConceptDraw DIAGRAM extended with Active Directory Diagrams Solution from the Computer and Networks Area is the best diagramming and vector drawing software for designing professional looking Active Directory diagrams illustrating the Organizational Units.

Example 1. Active Directory Diagram in ConceptDraw DIAGRAM

Active Directory Diagrams Solution offers 4 libraries:

Active Directory Library
Active Directory Sites and Services Library
LDAP Library
Microsoft Exchange Library

with numerous vector objects for quickly creating various Active Directory diagrams.

Example 2. Active Directory Diagrams Solution in ConceptDraw STORE

ConceptDraw DIAGRAM includes also a lot of samples and templates represented in ConceptDraw STORE. They will be exactly helpful examples for you.

Example 3. Organizational Units

This sample was created in ConceptDraw DIAGRAM software using the Active Directory Diagrams Solution for ConceptDraw DIAGRAM Solution Park. This sample was included in Active Directory Diagrams Solution and visually demonstrates the Single Root Domain with a Structured Organizational Units Model. An experienced user spent 5 minutes creating this sample.

Use the Active Directory Diagrams Solution to create your own professional looking drawings, diagrams and schemes of any complexity quick, easy and effective, and then successfully use them in your scientific or education activity.

All source documents are vector graphic documents. They are available for reviewing, modifying, or converting to a variety of formats (PDF file, MS PowerPoint, MS Visio, and many other graphic formats) from the ConceptDraw STORE. The Active Directory Diagrams Solution is available for all ConceptDraw DIAGRAM or later users.

THREE RELATED HOW TO's:

Active Directory Diagram →

It's no secret that there is a list of skills that every average system administrator should have. And it's important to be able to manage domains via active directory technologies. The best way to keep all the details in mind is to draw a diagram representing users, groups and domains. This diagram represents an Active Directory Services (Active Directory Domain Services). It can be helpful for system and network administrators to organize a network physical and logical elements (domains, data bases, servers, network equipment, end-user computers etc.) into a secure and logical structure. The logical structure of Active Directory is a hierarchical organization of all network components. The data that is stored in Active Directory comes from some diverse sources. The Active Directory diagram created using ConceptDraw Active Directory Diagram solution. It shows allocating group policies and functions assigned to end users. It helps to plan, manage and maintain the certain user access scenario.

Picture: Active Directory Diagram