What is a domain?

Monday, August 24, 2009

The Microsoft Windows 2003 Active Directory glossary defines a domain as “a single security boundary of a Windows NT-based computer network. Active Directory is made up of one or more domains. On a standalone workstation, the domain is the computer itself. A domain can span more than one physical location. Every domain has its own security policies and security relationships with other domains. When multiple domains are connected by trust relationships and share a common schema, configuration, and global catalog, they constitute a domain tree. Multiple domain trees can be connected together to create a forest.”