Domain controllers are servers that run Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) and are responsible for managing and authenticating users, computers, and other resources in a Windows domain. They are an essential part of a Windows Active Directory infrastructure. Here's an overview of how domain controllers work:
Authentication: When a user logs into a computer in the domain, the computer sends a request to the nearest domain controller to authenticate the user's credentials. The domain controller checks the user's credentials against the Active Directory database and if the credentials are valid, it grants the user access to the domain resources.
Managing the Active Directory: Domain controllers store and manage the Active Directory database, which contains information about all the objects in the domain, including users, computers, groups, and other resources. This information is replicated across all domain controllers in the domain, ensuring that the most up-to-date information is available at all times.
Group Policy: Domain controllers are responsible for applying group policy settings to users and computers in the domain. Group policy is a feature that allows administrators to define settings for users and computers that control how the computers and their users behave.
Global Catalog: Global Catalog (GC) is a feature that allows domain controllers to store a copy of all the objects in the domain. This allows users to search for and find resources across the entire domain.
DNS Server: Domain controllers are also used as DNS servers, and they register their hostnames in the DNS zone associated with their domain. This allows clients to locate domain controllers by name, and also allows domain controllers to locate other domain controllers and other domain resources using DNS.
Active Directory Replication: Domain controllers use the Active Directory Replication to synchronize the Active Directory database with other domain controllers in the domain.
It's important to note that in order to maintain a stable
