Active Directory Fundamentals

Master the core building blocks of Active Directory -- from logical and physical architecture to authentication, authorization, and the supporting services that hold it all together.

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What is Active Directory?

Active Directory is the identity backbone of most enterprises -- the single source of truth that decides who you are, what you can access, and how your computer is configured.

Beginner

AD Logical Structure

Forests, domains, trees, and OUs are the organizational containers that define how AD is logically structured and where the security boundaries really lie.

Beginner

AD Physical Structure

Domain controllers, sites, and replication form the physical backbone that keeps the AD database synchronized and available across the network.

Beginner

Authentication Protocols

Kerberos and NTLM are the two protocols AD uses to prove your identity. Kerberos is the modern default; NTLM is the legacy fallback. Both are prime attack targets.

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Authorization & Access Control

Once AD knows who you are, authorization determines what you can do. ACLs, security descriptors, tokens, and group memberships define every permission boundary.

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Group Policy Objects

Group Policy lets administrators push security settings, software installs, and configurations to thousands of machines at once. It is both a powerful defense tool and a juicy attack target.

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DNS Integration

Active Directory cannot function without DNS. DNS is how clients locate domain controllers, authenticate, and find services. Poisoning DNS can redirect the entire domain.

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Service Principal Names

SPNs tie Kerberos service tickets to specific services and accounts. They enable single sign-on -- and they enable Kerberoasting.

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Trust Relationships

Trusts allow users in one domain or forest to access resources in another. They expand the attack surface dramatically when misconfigured.

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Managed Service Accounts (gMSA & dMSA)

Group Managed Service Accounts eliminate the risk of forgotten service account passwords — AD auto-generates and rotates 120-character passwords, but attackers have found ways around this too.

Intermediate

AD Certificate Services Fundamentals

AD CS is Microsoft's built-in PKI that issues digital certificates for authentication, encryption, and signing — and it has become one of the most exploited attack surfaces in Active Directory.

Intermediate