Active Directory Domain Services

This example was drawn on the base of the Figure 2 illustrating the "Active Directory FAQ" from the website "Information Management Systems & Services" (IMSS) of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) campus. [imss.caltech.edu/ node/ 412]
"By using the Active Directory® Domain Services (AD DS) server role, you can create a scalable, secure, and manageable infrastructure for user and resource management, and you can provide support for directory-enabled applications, such as Microsoft® Exchange Server. ...
AD DS provides a distributed database that stores and manages information about network resources and application-specific data from directory-enabled applications. Administrators can use AD DS to organize elements of a network, such as users, computers, and other devices, into a hierarchical containment structure. The hierarchical containment structure includes the Active Directory forest, domains in the forest, and organizational units (OUs) in each domain. A server that is running AD DS is called a domain controller." [technet.microsoft.com/ en-us/ library/ 9a5cba91-7153-4265-adda-c70df2321982]
The Active Directory Domain Services diagram example 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.

Active Directory Diagrams visualize the detail structures of the Microsoft Windows networks, Active Directory Domain topology, the Active Directory Site topology, the Organizational Units (OU), and the Exchange Server Organization. They are used to visually document the Microsoft Active Directory network detail structure for network designing, and for managing the control access to printers and files, the access and security, the traffic flow optimization in local and wide area nets, the network equipment maintenance and repair, the data backup, storage, and recovery.
The Active Directory diagram template for the ConceptDraw PRO diagramming and vector drawing software is included in the Active Directory Diagrams solution from the Computer and Networks area of ConceptDraw Solution Park.

This AD diagram example was redesigned from the picture "Asymmetric
encryption" from the book "Active Directory for Dummies".
"Asymmetric Encryption:
This scenario uses a public and private key pair that is associated with each other. With this type of encryption, one of the keys is used to encrypt the data in such a way that only the corresponding second key is capable of decrypting the information. ...
In asymmetric encryption, two different keys are involved in the process: one for encrypting the document and a different but related key for decrypting the document. The two keys are generated at the same time so that if a document is encrypted with one of the keys, only the second related key can decrypt the document. ... Typically, these keys are referred to as a private key and a public key. A private key is one that is generated for a particular user and is never shared with any other user or computer. A public key is typically one of the pieces of data that’s stored in a PKI certificate. Although this type of encryption creates a very secure way of sharing data, an added benefit is you knowing that a piece of data decrypted by using a particular user’s public key must have come from that user because no other user would have the private key the document was encrypted with."
[Steve Clines and Marcia Loughry, Active Directory® For Dummies®, 2nd Edition. 2008]
The Active Directory diagram example "Asymmetric encryption" 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 "Site links" from the book "Active Directory for Dummies".
"Site links represent the Active Directory replication paths between sites.
These paths are manually defined so that the designer has control over which network links the replication traffic occurs on. These site links also control how clients are directed to domain controllers when there’s no DC in the client’s local site. Each site link has the following attributes:
(1) Connected sites: A site link is defined by the sites to which it connects. A site link can connect two or more sites together.
(2) Network transport: Site links support replication communication over IP-based RPCs or with the Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP). You normally want to use RPC whenever possible, but you can use SMTP when the sites you’re linking don’t support RPC.
(3) Cost: Each site link has a cost associated with it. Costs are used to assign preferences to links that determine which link should be followed when multiple link paths are available between sites. The cost represents what it “costs” to use this site link relative to the other site links and affects replication traffic as well as how users are assigned a domain controller. Links with lower cost values have preference over links with higher cost values. Cost values range from 1–32,767; the default being 100.
(4) Frequency: The frequency value defines how often a replication occurs
when using this site link (the replication latency). You can configure the time between replications from a minimum of 15 minutes to a maximum of 10,080 minutes (one week). The default frequency is 180 minutes.
(5) Schedule: The schedule dictates when this link is active and available for replication between the sites. The schedule can also control which days of the week the link is available. Normally, the schedule is set so that the link is available 24 hours a day, but you can set up different schedules on a per-day-of-the-week basis.
By creating a site link, you enable two or more sites to be connected and to share the same site link attributes (transport, cost, frequency, and schedule). By default, site links create transitive connectivity between sites.
If you create a site link between sites A and B and another site link between
sites B and C, an automatic connection (known as a site link bridge) is created between sites A and C..." [Steve Clines and Marcia Loughry, Active Directory® For Dummies®, 2nd Edition. 2008]
The Active Directory diagram example "Site links" 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.

The vector stencils library "Active Directory Sites and Services" contains 12 symbol icons for drawing AD network topology diagrams.
"Active Directory® Sites and Services is a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in that you can use to administer the replication of directory data among all sites in an Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) forest. This snap-in also provides a view of the service-specific objects that are published in AD DS. ...
Administrators who are responsible for forest-wide service administration can use Active Directory Sites and Services to manage the intersite replication topology for the forest. Administrators who are responsible for application services can be delegated responsibility for the service containers into which application-specific objects are published." [technet.microsoft.com/ en-us/ library/ cc730868.aspx]
The shapes example "Design elements - Active Directory Sites and Services" for the ConceptDraw PRO diagramming and vector drawing software is icluded in the Active Directory Diagrams solution from the Computer and Networks area of ConceptDraw Solution Park.

The vector stencils library "Active Directory Sites and Services" contains 12 symbol icons of Active Directory Sites and Services design elements for drawing high-level network topology plan diagrams.
"Active Directory® Sites and Services is a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in that you can use to administer the replication of directory data among all sites in an Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) forest. This snap-in also provides a view of the service-specific objects that are published in AD DS. ...
Administrators who are responsible for forest-wide service administration can use Active Directory Sites and Services to manage the intersite replication topology for the forest. Administrators who are responsible for application services can be delegated responsibility for the service containers into which application-specific objects are published.
When you add the Active Directory Domain Services server role to a server, Active Directory Sites and Services is added to the Administrative Tools menu." [technet.microsoft.com/ en-us/ library/ cc730868.aspx]
The symbols example "Active Directory Sites and Services - Vector stencils library" 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.
www.conceptdraw.com/ solution-park/ active-directory-diagrams