Extend this idea to a network and you will understand Active Directory. The process of converting a name into specific, usable information is called name resolution. An Active Directory object is nothing more than a collection of attributes that describe and qualify a shared resource. The attributes of a printer might be its name, driver, building, and color. Likewise, a user might be identified by name, title, and email address.
Objects always belong to containers.
Containers are collections of attributes that don't point to something concrete, but simply contain other containers or objects. The concepts of container and object are parallel to the more familiar concepts of folder and file. In Active Directory jargon, a hierarchy of containers is called a Directory Information Tree. An Active Directory domain is the same as a domain in a Windows NT-based network. When domains share the same schema and are linked by trust relationships, you have domain trees.