When to use active directory

Ivan Angell

Greetings all

Can anyone advise me as to at what point active directory becomes a viable
option for a small network?

I am in the process of building a new (software wise) Windows Server 2003
server and have opted to install Active directory. And although i have been
in the IT industry for over ten years now on and off, Windows Server 2003 is
very new to me. Having spent the last week trying to set up all the
relevant parts with little success (on my second rebuild) i am wondering
wether it is really worth all the effort.

Let me give you some information about our network. Basically it is for a
small village primary school here in the UK with myself being the sum of our
IT department! Which in its self leads to future problems if i leave, i.e. i
need a network that someone can take over from my if and when i do leave.
Anyway back to our network. We have a server which i am presently trying to
build Windows Server 2003 with AD, 31 pupil laptops (XP), 4 teacher PC's(XP),
2 or 3 other desktops running XP for network admin etc and two network colour
laser printers. plus two admin PC's on a seperate ip address range used for
external email and admin tasks. And then to make it more fun, in a typical
week i get about a day and a half spread out through the week to look after
everything IT when i'm not teaching or helping in the classroom.

So the long and short of it is.... Is it worth me using active directory?

Please send some sanity pills with reply! )

Regards
Ivan

Danny Sanders

with myself being the sum of our
> IT department! Which in its self leads to future problems if i leave,
> i.e. i
> need a network that someone can take over from my if and when i do leave.

We have a server which i am presently trying to
> build Windows Server 2003 with AD, 31 pupil laptops (XP), 4 teacher
> PC's(XP),
> 2 or 3 other desktops running XP for network admin etc and two network
> colour


31 user is reason enough to use AD. AD in the need for someone else to take
over eventually and it makes it a lock to use AD. It's not totally unusual
to move to AD after 10 to 15 users.

If at all possible you might want to hire a consultant to set up the AD
domain.

If this is not an option, here are a few articles to get you started:

How To Create an Active Directory Server in Windows Server 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/324753/en-us

AD totally relies on DNS being set up correctly. Without DNS AD will appear
"broken".

How To Install and Configure DNS Server in Windows Server 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/814591/en-us

Best practices for DNS client settings in Windows 2000 Server and in Windows
Server 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/825036/en-us

How to configure DNS for Internet access in Windows Server 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/323380/en-us


hth
DDS



"Ivan Angell" <IvanAngell@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:6D654D07-79DB-4D0E-95D2-CB96F5A0689B@microsoft.com...
> Greetings all
>
> Can anyone advise me as to at what point active directory becomes a viable
> option for a small network?
>
> I am in the process of building a new (software wise) Windows Server 2003
> server and have opted to install Active directory. And although i have
> been
> in the IT industry for over ten years now on and off, Windows Server 2003
> is
> very new to me. Having spent the last week trying to set up all the
> relevant parts with little success (on my second rebuild) i am wondering
> wether it is really worth all the effort.
>
> Let me give you some information about our network. Basically it is for a
> small village primary school here in the UK with myself being the sum of
> our
> IT department! Which in its self leads to future problems if i leave,
> i.e. i
> need a network that someone can take over from my if and when i do leave.
> Anyway back to our network. We have a server which i am presently trying
> to
> build Windows Server 2003 with AD, 31 pupil laptops (XP), 4 teacher
> PC's(XP),
> 2 or 3 other desktops running XP for network admin etc and two network
> colour
> laser printers. plus two admin PC's on a seperate ip address range used
> for
> external email and admin tasks. And then to make it more fun, in a
> typical
> week i get about a day and a half spread out through the week to look
> after
> everything IT when i'm not teaching or helping in the classroom.
>
> So the long and short of it is.... Is it worth me using active directory?
>
> Please send some sanity pills with reply! )
>
> Regards
> Ivan

Danny Sanders

with myself being the sum of our
> IT department! Which in its self leads to future problems if i leave,
> i.e. i
> need a network that someone can take over from my if and when i do leave.

We have a server which i am presently trying to
> build Windows Server 2003 with AD, 31 pupil laptops (XP), 4 teacher
> PC's(XP),
> 2 or 3 other desktops running XP for network admin etc and two network
> colour


31 user is reason enough to use AD. AD in the need for someone else to take
over eventually and it makes it a lock to use AD. It's not totally unusual
to move to AD after 10 to 15 users.

If at all possible you might want to hire a consultant to set up the AD
domain.

If this is not an option, here are a few articles to get you started:

How To Create an Active Directory Server in Windows Server 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/324753/en-us

AD totally relies on DNS being set up correctly. Without DNS AD will appear
"broken".

How To Install and Configure DNS Server in Windows Server 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/814591/en-us

Best practices for DNS client settings in Windows 2000 Server and in Windows
Server 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/825036/en-us

How to configure DNS for Internet access in Windows Server 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/323380/en-us


hth
DDS



"Ivan Angell" <IvanAngell@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:6D654D07-79DB-4D0E-95D2-CB96F5A0689B@microsoft.com...
> Greetings all
>
> Can anyone advise me as to at what point active directory becomes a viable
> option for a small network?
>
> I am in the process of building a new (software wise) Windows Server 2003
> server and have opted to install Active directory. And although i have
> been
> in the IT industry for over ten years now on and off, Windows Server 2003
> is
> very new to me. Having spent the last week trying to set up all the
> relevant parts with little success (on my second rebuild) i am wondering
> wether it is really worth all the effort.
>
> Let me give you some information about our network. Basically it is for a
> small village primary school here in the UK with myself being the sum of
> our
> IT department! Which in its self leads to future problems if i leave,
> i.e. i
> need a network that someone can take over from my if and when i do leave.
> Anyway back to our network. We have a server which i am presently trying
> to
> build Windows Server 2003 with AD, 31 pupil laptops (XP), 4 teacher
> PC's(XP),
> 2 or 3 other desktops running XP for network admin etc and two network
> colour
> laser printers. plus two admin PC's on a seperate ip address range used
> for
> external email and admin tasks. And then to make it more fun, in a
> typical
> week i get about a day and a half spread out through the week to look
> after
> everything IT when i'm not teaching or helping in the classroom.
>
> So the long and short of it is.... Is it worth me using active directory?
>
> Please send some sanity pills with reply! )
>
> Regards
> Ivan