Active Directory Objects

The data stored in Active Directory, such as MCSA required exams information about users, printers, servers, databases, groups, computers, and security policies, is organized into objects. An object is a distinct named set of attributes that represents a network resource. Object attributes are characteristics of objects in the directory. For example, the attributes of a user account object might include the user's first name, last name, and logon name, while the attributes of a computer account object might include the computer name and description (see Figure 1-2).

Some objects, known as containers, can contain other objects. For example, a domain is a container object that can contain objects such as user and computer accounts. In Figure 1-2, the Users folder is a container that contains user account objects.
Active Directory Schema
The Active Directory schema defines objects that can be stored in Active Directory. The schema is a list of definitions that determines the kinds of objects and the types of information about those objects that can be stored in Active Directory. Because the schema definitions themselves are stored as objects, they can be administered in the same manner as the rest of the free 70-270 test questions objects in Active Directory.
The schema is defined by two types of objects: schema class objects (also referred to as schema classes) and schema attribute objects (also referred to as schema attributes). As shown in Figure 1-3, class objects and attribute objects are defined in separate lists within the schema. Schema class objects and attribute objects are collectively referred to as schema objects or metadata.

Schema class objects describe the possible Active Directory objects that can be created. A schema class functions as a template for creating new Active Directory objects. Each schema class is a collection of schema attribute objects. When you create a schema class, the schema attributes store the information that describes the object. The User class, for example, is composed of many schema attributes, including Network Address and Home Directory. Every object in Active Directory is an instance of a schema class object.
Schema attribute objects define the schema class objects with which they are associated. Each schema attribute is defined only once and can be used in multiple schema classes. For example, the Description attribute is used in many schema classes, but is defined only once in the
free practice questions, which ensures consistency.