The active directory has been used for the storage of network components. The emergence of further versions of the active directory has been was developed to address the numerous network security vulnerabilities thus came with new features (Mayes & Markantonakis, 2013). The new versions come with an improvement to the 2000 AD version. The following features have been added;
1. New features in Active Directory
Windows PowerShell-The new versions have incorporated the command-line controller that enables it to manage several and multiple servers (Mayes & Markantonakis, 2013). The new feature makes it easy to manage many servers.
AD Web Service-It is aimed at creating great developer experience by enabling distributed service and cloud scenarios.
AD Administrative Center-The new feature was created to replace the AD Users and Computers feature (Mayes & Markantonakis, 2013). It thus offers a single interface for the system management.
2. How to backup AD
Domain Controller-the system state should be backed up on the domain controller using NTbackup.exe tool. The backup should be performed a minimum of two times within a tombstone lifeline (Romer, 2014). Performing the backup twice will ensure that new components are added to the domain controller.
The system disk should also be backed up on the DC by exploiting the NTbackup.exe tool. The process with enable the restore services between the network components. It is critical that an administrator has the capability to restore the services and components of a network (Romer, 2014). It will help improve accessibility to the computer resources.
Practices to maintain AD
AD compliance policies-Creating the policies that the users have to comply with are critical to ethical usage (Romer, 2014).
Nesting-To properly manage AD and optimize replications, nested groups are often recommended (Romer, 2014).
Establish AD boundaries-It is essential to establish secure AD boundaries to create autonomy but also support user collaborations (Romer, 2014).
References
Mayes, K., & Markantonakis, K. (2013). Information Security Best Practices. Secure Smart Embedded Devices, Platforms and Applications, 119-144.
Romer, H. (2014). Best practices for BYOD security. Computer Fraud & Security, 2014(1), 13-15
