Active Directory for Admins Training Course

1. Introduction

• Introduction to Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS).
• Course objectives and expected learning outcomes.
• The role of Active Directory within enterprise environments.
• Overview of the training laboratory environment.
• Key terminology and concepts related to Active Directory.

2. Overview of Active Directory Features and Architecture

• Active Directory architecture fundamentals.
• Differences between logical and physical structures.
• Domains, Trees, and Forests.
• Organizational Units (OUs).
• Domain Controllers and the Global Catalog.
• Flexible Single Master Operations (FSMO) roles.
• Sites and Subnets.
• Integration of DNS with Active Directory.
• Active Directory partitions and database structure.

3. Overview of Identity Management Solutions and Concepts

• Fundamentals of Identity and Access Management (IAM).
• Distinction between authentication and authorization.
• Kerberos authentication protocol.
• NTLM authentication protocol.
• Single Sign-On (SSO) functionality.
• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC).
• Identity lifecycle management principles.
• Concepts related to hybrid identity.

4. Setting up Active Directory

• Planning an Active Directory deployment.
• Installation of Active Directory Domain Services.
• Promoting a server to the role of Domain Controller.
• Creating a new forest and domain.
• Installation and configuration of DNS.
• Verification of the installation.
• Deployment best practices.

5. Implementing Active Directory Domain Services

• Creation of Organizational Units.
• Management of users, groups, and computers.
• User account management procedures.
• Group scopes and group types.
• Delegation of administrative control.
• Management of service accounts.
• Joining computers to the domain.

6. Configuring and Managing Replication

• Core concepts of Active Directory replication.
• Multi-master replication mechanisms.
• Replication topology design.
• The Knowledge Consistency Checker (KCC).
• Sites and replication scheduling.
• Troubleshooting replication issues.
• Monitoring replication health.

7. Implementing and Managing Group Policy

• Group Policy architecture overview.
• Creation of Group Policy Objects (GPOs).
• Linking GPOs to targets.
• Group Policy inheritance mechanics.
• Loopback processing configuration.
• Administrative Templates.
• Software deployment using GPO.
• Folder Redirection setup.
• Implementation of security policies.
• Password and account lockout policies.
• Troubleshooting Group Policy issues.

8. Implementing a Certification Authority (CA) Hierarchy

• Introduction to Public Key Infrastructure (PKI).
• Certificate Services architecture.
• Root and Subordinate Certification Authorities.
• Installation of Active Directory Certificate Services.
• Designing a CA hierarchy.
• Certificate templates configuration.
• Auto-enrollment processes.

9. Managing Certificates

• Certificate lifecycle management.
• Process for issuing certificates.
• Certificate renewal procedures.
• Certificate revocation processes.
• Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs).
• Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP).
• Management of certificate templates.
• Troubleshooting certificate-related issues.

10. Implementing and Administering Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS)

• Introduction to federation services.
• AD FS architecture.
• Claims-based authentication mechanisms.
• Installation of AD FS.
• Configuration of trust relationships.
• Implementation of Single Sign-On.
• Integration with external applications.
• Monitoring and troubleshooting AD FS.

11. Enabling Data Access

• Access control concepts.
• NTFS permissions.
• Shared folder permissions.
• Evaluation of effective permissions.
• Access-Based Enumeration.
• Dynamic Access Control.
• File Classification Infrastructure.
• Auditing file access events.

12. Securing Active Directory Domain Services

• Security best practices for Active Directory.
• Administrative security models.
• Tiered administration strategies.
• Privileged Access Management (PAM).
• Securing Domain Controllers.
• Password policies configuration.
• Fine-Grained Password Policies.
• Account lockout policies.
• Auditing and monitoring techniques.
• Backup and recovery considerations.

13. Implementing and Managing Rights Management Services (RMS)

• Introduction to Active Directory Rights Management Services.
• RMS architecture overview.
• Installation of AD RMS.
• Protection of sensitive documents.
• Information protection policies.
• Integration with Microsoft Office applications.
• Management of user access rights.

14. Implementing Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory)

• Introduction to Microsoft Entra ID.
• Cloud identity concepts.
• Hybrid identity architecture.
• Microsoft Entra Connect usage.
• Password Hash Synchronization.
• Pass-through Authentication setup.
• Federation with AD FS.
• Overview of Conditional Access.
• Identity synchronization processes.
• Management of cloud identities.

15. Integrating Active Directory with OpenLDAP

• Fundamentals of LDAP.
• Active Directory LDAP support capabilities.
• Overview of OpenLDAP.
• Identity synchronization methods.
• Authentication integration strategies.
• Common interoperability scenarios.
• Security considerations.
• Troubleshooting LDAP connectivity issues.

16. Monitoring Active Directory

• Utilization of monitoring tools.
• Usage of Event Viewer.
• Performance Monitor application.
• Active Directory Administrative Center.
• PowerShell for monitoring purposes.
• Replication monitoring techniques.
• Performing health checks.
• Auditing changes.
• Performance optimization strategies.

17. Troubleshooting

• Addressing user logon issues.
• DNS-related problem resolution.
• Replication failure troubleshooting.
• Group Policy troubleshooting steps.
• Authentication issue resolution.
• Certificate-related problem handling.
• Domain Controller health assessments.
• Use of diagnostic tools (dcdiag, repadmin, nltest, gpresult).
• Backup and recovery procedures.
• Disaster recovery scenarios.

18. Summary and Conclusion

• Review of key concepts covered.
• Best practices for Active Directory administration.
• Security recommendations.
• Operational maintenance checklist.
• Additional Microsoft resources and documentation links.
• Questions and answers session.
• Final hands-on review and laboratory wrap-up.