What is a hierarchical directory service used for managing permissions and user/group access to network resources?

What is a hierarchical directory service used for managing permissions and user/group access to network resources?

• A. DNS
• B. LDAP
• C. Active Directory
• D. Network Policy Server

Answer: (C)

Active Directory is a hierarchical directory service that stores information about users, groups, computers, and other network resources and controls who can access them. It organizes objects into forests, trees, domains, and organizational units, which lets admins delegate management and apply policies across the network. Permissions are enforced through access control lists and group memberships, and Group Policy enables consistent configuration of users and computers. Authentication relies on Kerberos (with NTLM as a fallback), producing access tokens that grant rights to resources like file shares, printers, and applications. LDAP is the standard protocol used to query and update the directory, but the directory service itself is Active Directory. DNS and Network Policy Server serve different roles: DNS resolves names, while NPS handles network access policies, not general directory-based permission management.

Active Directory is a hierarchical directory service that stores information about users, groups, computers, and other network resources and controls who can access them. It organizes objects into forests, trees, domains, and organizational units, which lets admins delegate management and apply policies across the network. Permissions are enforced through access control lists and group memberships, and Group Policy enables consistent configuration of users and computers. Authentication relies on Kerberos (with NTLM as a fallback), producing access tokens that grant rights to resources like file shares, printers, and applications. LDAP is the standard protocol used to query and update the directory, but the directory service itself is Active Directory. DNS and Network Policy Server serve different roles: DNS resolves names, while NPS handles network access policies, not general directory-based permission management.