Active Directory (AD) is Microsoft's implementation of the LDAP protocol or X.500 standard.  Its purpose is to manage objects from a networked computer and make them available for users and administrators of the network.

Active Directory (AD) is Microsoft's implementation of the LDAP protocol or X.500 standard. Its purpose is to manage objects from a networked computer and make them available for users and administrators of the network.

Tag usage

Only use this tag for questions specifically related to the server installation of Microsoft Active Directory. Any version of Active Directory is on topic for this tag.

If your question is about Active Directory Explorer, the desktop client used to search & browse the directory on the server, please use the following tag instead:

If you have a question that is more generally related to the LDAP protocol, or another LDAP implementation, please use one of the related tags below.

Related tags