What exactly is a domain controller?

Question

Can someone kindly tell me what exactly a domain controller is? What is it used for in a network? What programs does it store and how is it used in a network? For example, is it used as a gateway? Do you put all your applications like games or word processors there? Do you connect it directly to a router?

Can someone care to explain it in simple terms but yet detail enough for me to understand?

Thanks a lot.

Answer 1

A domain controller puts all of your passwords in a central database. When a user logs on to a desktop PC, it consults the domain controller to verify your password.

A small organization starts with a workgroup, a collection of machines that can share files and a printer. A domain is a larger collection of computers where access to files and printers is controlled by the domain controller. A domain has exactly one primary domain controller and optionally one or more backup domain controllers
UPromote works by updating the system registry. To create a PDC it converts all local user accounts to global user accounts. To create a BDC it copies the user accounts from the PDC and then synchronizes the Security Identifier (SID) to match the PDC. To create a standalone server it converts all global user accounts to local user accounts. It does not modify any EXE or DLL files.

UPromote has been thoroughly tested and is safe to use. The result is indistinguishable from a domain controller created using the Microsoft setup procedure. As an added precaution, it backs up your entire registry. This allows for easy recovery.

Any domain controller created with UPromote can be safely upgraded to Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003.

UPromote has been used to promote/demote NT servers at hundreds of businesses and colleges, including many Fortune 500 companie

Benefits
Save days of downtime.
Lose none of your applications or preferences.
Create new BDCs.
Demote a DC to a Standalone Server.
Move a BDC to another domain.
Add or remove a BDC in an Active Directory domain.

Move a Domain Controller to Another Domain
You can move your BDC to a new domain with a simple 2-step procedure.

Run UPromote to demote your BDC to a standalone server.
Run UPromote a second time to promote the standalone server to a BDC for the new domain.
You can use the same 2-step procedure to move a NT 4 BDC into a Active Directory mixed-mode domain.

Demote a Domain Controller to a Standalone Server
You can demote a NT server to a regular standalone server. After you demote the server you can re-join it back to the domain as a member server. It will continue to use the same domain accounts that it used before.


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Remove a NT Domain Controller from Active Directory
Active Directory allows you to run a mixture of NT BDCs and Windows 2000/2003 servers. This is called "mixed" mode. To run in "native" mode all domain controllers must be running Windows 2000/2003. You cannot switch to native mode if any NT BDCs remain in your network.

It takes only a few minutes to use UPromote to downgrade your last NT BDC domain controller to a standalone server. After you demote the server, you can re-join it back to the Active Directory domain as a member server. You can then upgrade your AD domain to native mode and enjoy the full benefits of Active Directory.

http://utools.com/UPromote.asp

Answer 2

Yep, short and sweet, but easily understandable: A domain controller is a server that performs authentication for the domain. When a user enters their login name and password, the domain controller decides whether or not the user should be granted access.

Hope this helps~ Have a nice day!

Answer 3

In simple terms a domain controllers main task is network authentication. It keeps all computer accounts, user accounts along with group memberships and logon scripts.

Answer 4

The short story is that it controls the level of access to the NT-based network. All that other stuff said above applies, but mine is the short story.