AD DS administration tools

AD DS management is one of the most common daily tasks for administrators. There are a few different options to manage AD DS environments. You can sign in to the domain controller directly, you can manage AD DS through RDS, you can use RSAT from your domain-joined computer, you can use Server Manager for Remote Management, or you can use PowerShell remoting.

If you decide to use the GUI, several tools and Microsoft Management Consoles (MMC) are included by default in Windows Server 2016:

• Active Directory Administrative Center: This GUI tool is natively Windows PowerShell-based. The improved functionalities of this management tool give you the ability to perform almost all known Active Directory tasks. The Active Directory Administrative Center can be installed on Windows Server 2008 R2 servers or later and Windows 7 or later operating systems. With Active Directory Administrative Center, you can perform the following actions:
  • Create and manage users, computers, and groups
  • Create and manage OUs
  • Manage multiple domains within a single instance of the Active Directory Administrative Center
  • Search and filter AD DS data
  • Configure fine-grained password policies
  • Recover objects from the Active Directory Recycle Bin
• Active Directory Users and Computers: An MMC snap-in that gives you the ability to manage most common tasks and resources, including users, groups, and computers.
• Active Directory Sites and Services: An MMC snap-in that manages replication, network topology, and other site-related services.
• Active Directory Domains and Trusts: An MMC snap-in that configures and maintains trust relationships between domains and forests.
• Active Directory Schema: An MMC snap-in that modifies the definitions of AD DS attributes and object classes.
• Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell: Supports AD DS administration. This is one of the most important management components.