Active Directory Improvements Remove Many Migration Roadblocks

Windows .NET Server will contain many features aimed at making the design, configuration, and maintenance of Active Directory (AD) easier, and these improvements will especially benefit large, geographically dispersed organizations and those that have been reluctant to upgrade to AD because they fear irreversible design mistakes. AD, introduced in Windows 2000, is a distributed database of objects, such as users, groups, computers, and policies, used primarily to control security (authentication and access to resources) and centralize administration of computer settings. Although the enhancements in Windows .NET Server will make AD more flexible, more efficient, and easier to manage, migrate, and deploy, some come at the cost of increased complexity and require substantial administrator effort and expertise.

What’s Slowing Conversion to AD?

Even though Windows 2000 has been shipping for over two years, organizations have been slow to adopt AD. Estimates vary, but still only about half of the organizations using Windows NT 4.0 have migrated completely to Windows 2000 and AD. For example, a recent TechTarget survey of 950 Windows IT professionals indicated that only 40% of respondents said they have installed AD, and another 13% plan to do so within six months.