Domain Controller And Active Directory Difference

The domain controller dc is the box that holds the keys to the kingdom active directory ad.

Domain controller and active directory difference. Domain is at level three of active directory s hierarchical structure. Active directory is what is called a directory service it stores objects like users and computers. Active directory is a network administration concept that stores information and provides conditional access to it while domain is a collection of computers that work under a common name database and policies.

In brief the domain controller runs on active directory domain service. Domains are a hierarchical way of organizing users and computers that work together on the same network. The domain controller keeps all of that data organized and secured.

While attackers have all sorts of tricks to gain elevated access on networks including attacking the dc itself you can not only protect your dcs from attackers but actually use dcs to detect cyberattacks in progress. Active directory is like a phonebook like how a phonebook contains all details about a person and his phone number and his address active directory has details about all the c. Domain controller is a server computer used to run the active directory.

Definition a directory service produced by the microsoft for the networks of windows domain is known as the active directory whereas a server that responds to the authentication security requests such as checking permissions logging in etc. Thus this is the main difference between active directory and active directory domain services. A domain controller is what the server running active directory is called.

Let me explain this by using simple examples so you will understand. The differences between what active directory does and what a domain controller does isn t a difficult subject once you can visualize the process. It s easiest to remember that domain controllers authenticate your authority and active directory handles your identity and security access.

You can have multiple domain controllers for many reasons like redundancy so should one server fail people can still login in and access things like joined computers using another domain controller while the first server is being fixed. Active directory is a set of service used to store information about a computer network. Active directory vs domain controller ad vs dc.