Domains in NT 4 and Windows 2000

NT 4 and Windows 2000 support drastically different implementations of the security and administrative concept known as domains.

Domains in NT 4.0. The concept of domains was first implemented in Windows NT Server 3.5 and then upgraded for NTS 4.0.

Windows NT Server 4.0’s domain system consists of two basic components: an administrative tool called the “User Manager for Domains” and a replicated database, which could be called a “directory” if the term is liberally applied. NTS 4.0’s domain database contains user account information (e.g., username, password); user group definitions (e.g., which users belongs to the “marketing” group); and administration and security policy settings (e.g., minimum password length permissible for users within the domain). Together, the User Account Manager tool and the replicated domain database implemented essential security and management capabilities on a NTS 4.0–based network, such as network logon and user authentication, arbitration of access to network resources, and the enforcement of restrictions on a user’s account, including the specific times of the week a user can log on to the network.