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Microsoft Posts Stand-Alone Active Directory

Microsoft has posted the bits for its stand-alone Active Directory, an out-of-band component of Windows Server 2003 that greatly expands the flexibility of Microsoft's directory services.

Active Directory in Application Mode, or AD/AM, unties Active Directory from the server operating system and the domain structure -- addressing one of the big criticisms of Active Directory in the Windows 2000 release.

Key differences between AD/AM and the regular Active Directory are that AD/AM runs as an independent service instead of an operating system service, it is not required to run on a domain controller, it can be run in multiple instances on a single server and it will run on Windows XP for development and testing purposes.

Microsoft has identified several usage scenarios for AD/AM:

  • To deploy an application-specific directory.
  • For use by application developers.
  • For extranet access management.
  • For migrations.

    The bits are available here..

    • About the Author

    Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.

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