Summary A directory service is like a phone directory. Given a name for a person or a resource, the directory provides the information necessary to access that person or resource. One of the challenges of working within a large distributed computing environment is identifying and locating resources, such as users, groups, print queues, and documents. A directory service is part of a distributed computing environment that provides a way to locate and identify the users and resources available in the system.
Most enterprises already have many different directories in place.
For example, network operating systems, electronic mail systems, and groupware products all have their own directories. Many issues arise when a single enterprise deploys multiple directories. These issues include usability, data consistency, development cost, and support cost, among others. Active Directory Service Interfaces addresses these issues by providing a single, consistent, open set of interfaces for managing and using multiple directories. All rights reserved.