Windows Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) is a leading identity management solution for organizations of all sizes. At the core of Windows AD DS is the domain controller. The domain controller provides login services, group policies, domain naming services (DNS), and other identity management services for users and computers in a domain along with other enterprise management services.
In this lesson, we start by reviewing the Windows AD DS environment including forests and domains. Then we review considerations for deploying domain controllers in a virtualized environment, on-premises, and in Azure. Next, we look at use cases for deploying read-only domain controllers at locations where physical security cannot be guaranteed. Lastly, we examine flexible single master operations roles and how to locate and move them to support troubleshooting efforts.