The Active Directory Schema continue…

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After you’ve installed the additional tools, you can run the Microsoft Management Console and add the Active Directory Schema Snap-In.

Adding the Active Directory Schema Snap-In to the MMC

Adding snap-ins to the MMC is simple. For Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003, simply click Start, Run, and then enter mmc /a in the Open: field. Note that there is a space after mmc before the /a switch. Click OK.

When the MMC Console screen appears, with only the Console Root in the left pane, use the following steps:

  1. Click once on the File menu at the top of the MMC. From the menu that appears, select Add/Remove Snap-In. The Add/Remove Snap-In dialog box appears.
  2. Click the Add button in this dialog box and the Add Standalone Snap-In dialog box appears, listing all the types of snap-ins available for your use.
  3. Select Active Directory Schema and click the Add button.
  4. The Add/Remove Snap-In dialog box reappears, but now you’ll see that the Active Directory Schema Snap-In appears in the dialog box. Click the Close button. When the MMC reappears, you’ll see that the Active Directory Schema Snap-In is now available under the Console Root, ready for you to use.

You can now start using the snap-in. However, if you think you might want to use it again soon, click on File and then Save. This saves the console as a tool in the Administrative Tools folder so that you won’t have to go through all this trouble again. Note that the default filename is consolel.msc. It would probably be more helpful to choose a name such as Modify Schema .msc so that you will recognize this new MMC snap-in utility in the future.

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Before You Use the Active Directory Schema Master

Before you begin to use the Active Directory Schema Snap-In, you should be aware of two important concepts. First, remember that a domain tree exists in a forest. The forest can contain a single domain tree, which is a single contiguous namespace, or it can contain multiple domain trees. Throughout a forest, however, a single domain controller is in charge of making changes to the schema that is shared by the forest. This domain controller is known as the Schema master domain controller. You can connect to this domain controller to make changes to the schema, or you can enable any domain controller to be the schema master.

Second, each object in the schema is uniquely identified by an object identifier, which is nothing more than a dotted-decimal number issued by some naming authority. Each attribute in the directory also is uniquely identified by an identifier. If you are operating in an environment where you will only use the Active Directory for internal network use and will never need to interact with any other LDAP/X.500 directory, you can more or less create your own object identifiers. However, consider what happens if your business acquires another business and you both use directory-based networking systems. To import or export information from one directory to another, or simply to join a domain tree from another business you’ve acquired, all your object IDs must be unique, and you I should obtain them from a responsible source.

In the United States, the registration authority for this is the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Other countries have an equivalent registration authority. The national registration authority. issues the root object IDs for an enterprise. To obtain unique object IDs from Microsoft, refer to http: //msdn.microsoft . com/ library/en - us /netdir/ad /obtaining_an_obj ect_identifier_from_ mic rosoft .asp?fi rame=true.

Using the Active Directory Schema Snap-In

Using the Active Directory Schema Snap-In is not complicated. Being sure that you know how objects and attributes are related to each other—and the organization of your domain tree and the forest in which it resides—can, however, be quite complicated. You’ll probably remember that in the movie The Wizard of Oz, there’s a sign on the Yellow Brick Road that says “I’d go back if I were you.” Don’t proceed unless you fully understand the changes you are about to make. Because the schema applies to the entire forest—that is, to every domain tree and every domain in every domain tree—you can potentially not only render a single computer nonfunctional, but make the entire network unusable if you are not sure about the changes you are going to make.

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