Summary

Active Directory Domain Services is more efficient to manage in Server 2012. It offers more centralized administration with preinstallation checks, and integrated Adprep.exe with the install process means a more hassle-free deployment experience.

Having AD DS configured easily and correctly is a critical step to ensure the effectiveness of a directory service for amenities such as user identity management, security and authorization management, and device management.

Although the Active Directory Administrative Center has capabilities that have been included in previous Windows servers, such as search and the Recycle Bin, the interface has changed enough that it’s important to familiarize yourself with where to find features and how to use them. The interface also offers customization functionality, such as the ability to collapse or hide sections when creating new AD objects.

Server 2012 Active Directory can run at the Server 2012 functional level, or it can be incorporated into older functional levels of Active Directory domains, although some functionality may be sacrificed.

While it may seem like a bother to use PowerShell to execute commands that you can perform with just a click in the GUI, it’s worth getting acquainted with various PowerShell commands—in particular, ones related to Active Directory tasks—in order to manage AD quickly and efficiently. The best way to grasp PowerShell’s potential is to imagine needing to apply a slight change to every user object in Active Directory—a process that would take forever with the GUI. Investing a little time in learning PowerShell can make accomplishing such seemingly daunting tasks quick and easy, and this is a central theme of Server 2012.