Active Directory Design & Implementation

One of Computer Methods’ most senior consultants is currently assisting a major broadcasting company with a highly complex, multi-phase data center project. The client’s key goals include:

• The relocation of an existing data center
• Establishing this as a mirror site for their corporate data center
• The design & implementation of a Windows 2000 Active Directory infrastructure
• Consolidation of existing servers

Given the demands of these initiatives, they selected Computer Methods to act as the technical lead and manage the project. In addition to planning the move for their existing servers, CMC identified several opportunities for "server consolidation": reducing the number of servers in operation by consolidating compatible applications down from several machines to just a few. As part of this server consolidation effort, CMC helped design a Microsoft Active Directory infrastructure that would replace their large number of Windows NT domain controllers with just a few Active Directory servers. In Microsoft Active Directory, Organizational Units -- many of which can reside on just a few AD servers --are replacing more than 20 separate NT "resource domain" controllers with just 4 Active Directory servers.

As part of their Active Directory implementation, which is scheduled to replace all their NT 4 user accounts with AD user accounts by February 2004, CMC has: 1) developed a company-wide set of standards for integrating Windows AD logins with the client’s various authenticated web applications, in order to develop a "Single Sign-On" system; 2) upgraded their existing Systems Management Server infrastructure to work with the new AD OU organization; and 3) developed "batch" procedures to automate various aspects of user account migration.