To make this server a new domain controller, you must install Active Directory. A domain controller in a Windows 2000 Server domain is a computer running Windows 2000 Server that manages user access to a network, which includes logons, authentication, and access to the directory and shared resources. The Active Directory Installation wizard configures this server as a domain controller and sets up the DNS if it is not already available on the network. DNS is a system for naming computers and network services; these names are organized into a hierarchy of domains.

TCP/IP networks, such as the Internet, to locate computers and services through user-friendly names. When a user enters a DNS name in an application, DNS services can resolve the name to other information associated with the name, such as an IP address. You can use this wizard for the following scenarios:
No Existing Domain Controller. Sets up your server as the first domain controller on the network. Domain Controller Already on Network. Sets up your server as an additional domain controller, a new child domain, a new domain tree, or a new forest. These entities are defined in the following paragraphs.
An additional domain controller is a Windows 2000 domain controller installed into an existing domain. All domain controllers participate equally in Active Directory replication, but by default the first domain controller installed into a domain is assigned ownership of at least three floating single-master operations. Additional domain controllers installed into an existing domain do not assume ownership of these operations by default.

A child domain is a domain located in the namespace tree directly beneath another domain name (the parent domain). For example, tariq.digitalinfomative.com would be a child domain of the parent domain, digitalinfomative.com. A child domain is also known as a subdomain.
The domain tree is the hierarchical structure that is used to index domain names.Domain trees are similar in purpose and concept to directory trees, which are used by computer filing systems for disk storage. For example, when numerous files are stored on disk, directories can be used to organize the files into logical collections. When a domain tree has one or more branches, each branch can organize domain names used
in the namespace into logical collections.

A forest is a set of one or more trees that do not form a contiguous namespace. All trees in a forest share a common schema, configuration, and global catalog. The trees must trust one another through transitive, bidirectional trust relationships. Unlike a tree, a forest does not need a distinct name. A forest exists as a set of cross-reference objects and trust relationships known to the member trees. Trees in a forest form a hierarchy for the purpose of trust.

NOTE To host Active Directory, you need a partition formatted with the version of NTFS used in Windows 2000.

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