Setting or modifying the password of an AD LDS user
Each AD LDS security principal, such as an AD LDS user, must be assigned an account and password, which AD LDS uses for authentication. You can use the Active Roles console to set or modify the password of an AD LDS user.
To set or modify the password of an AD LDS user
- In the console tree, under AD LDS (ADAM), locate and select the container that holds the user account of the AD LDS user for whom you want to set or modify the password.
- In the details pane, right-click the user account, and then click Reset Password.
- In the Reset Password dialog box, type a password for the user in New password, and retype the password in Confirm password, or click the button next to New password to generate a password.
- Click OK to close the Reset Password dialog box.
The AD LDS user for whom you set or modify the password must use the new password the next time that the user logs on to AD LDS.
By default, an AD LDS instance running on Windows Server 2003 or later automatically enforces any local or domain password policies that exist. If you set a password for an AD LDS user that does not meet the requirements of the password policy that is in effect, Active Roles returns an error.
Adding an organizational unit to the directory
To keep your AD LDS users and groups organized, you may want to place users and groups in organizational units (OUs). In AD LDS, as well as in Active Directory or other Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)-based directories, OUs are the most commonly used method for keeping users and groups organized. To create an organizational unit in AD LDS, you can use the Active Roles console as follows.
To add an organizational unit to the directory
- In the console tree under AD LDS (ADAM), right-click the container to which you want to add the OU, and select New | Organizational Unit.
- Type a name for the new OU, click Next, and then click Finish.
By default, OUs can only be added under OU (ou=), country/region (c=), organization (o=) or domain-DNS (dc=) object classes. For example, you can add an OU to o=Company,c=US but not to cn=Application,o=Company,c=US. However, the schema definition of the OU object class can be modified to allow other superiors.
You can create new AD LDS users and groups in an AD LDS organizational unit by using the New | User or New | Group command on that organizational unit, as discussed earlier in this section.
You can move an existing AD LDS user or group to an organizational unit by using the Move command on that user or group in the Active Roles console, or by using the drag-and-drop feature of the console.
Adding an AD LDS proxy object (user proxy)
AD LDS proxy objects are used in special cases where an application can perform a simple LDAP bind to AD LDS but the application still needs to associate the AD LDS user with a security principal (user account) in Active Directory. A process through which AD LDS can accept a bind request from an application and redirect this bind request to Active Directory, based on the contents of a proxy object, is referred to as bind redirection.
Bind redirection occurs when a bind to AD LDS is attempted using a proxy object (user proxy) - an object in AD LDS that represents a user account in Active Directory. Each proxy object in AD LDS contains the security identifier (SID) of a user in Active Directory. When an application attempts to bind to a proxy object, AD LDS takes the SID that is stored in the proxy object, together with the password that is supplied at bind time, and presents the SID and the password to Active Directory for authentication.
A proxy object in AD LDS represents an Active Directory user account, and it can be augmented to store additional data related to that user account that is specific to the application. Through bind redirection, applications can take advantage of the identity store of Active Directory, while retaining the flexibility of using AD LDS as an application data store.
To add a proxy object to AD LDS
- In the console tree, expand the AD LDS (ADAM) container.
- In the console tree, under AD LDS (ADAM), expand the directory partition to which you want to add a proxy object and locate the container to which you want to add the proxy object.
- In the console tree, right-click the container to which you want to add the proxy object, and select New | Proxy Object to start the wizard that will help you create a proxy object.
- Specify a name for the proxy object; then, click Next.
- Click Select and choose the Active Directory domain user account you want to be represented by the proxy object; then, click Next.
- If you want to set values for additional properties (those for which the wizard pages do not provide data entries), click Edit Attributes on the completion page of the wizard.
- After setting any additional properties for the new object, click Finish on the completion page of the wizard.
You can examine an existing proxy object by using the Properties command on that object. The Properties dialog box allows you to view the user account that is represented by the proxy object. However, due to a limitation of AD LDS, this setting cannot be changed on an existing proxy object. You can select an Active Directory domain user account only at the time that the proxy object is created. After a proxy object is created, this setting cannot be modified.
When creating a proxy object, you can select a user account from any domain that is registered with Active Roles, provided that the domain is trusted by the computer on which the AD LDS instance is running.
A proxy object for a domain user cannot be created in an AD LDS directory partition that already contains a foreign principal object (FPO) or a proxy object for that same domain user.
For a given user account in Active Directory, you can view a list of proxy objects that represent the user account in AD LDS: In the Properties dialog box for the user account, go to the Object tab and click AD LDS Proxy Objects.
Configuring Active Roles for AD LDS
Configuring Active Roles for AD LDS
The Active Roles configuration-related tasks specific to AD LDS data management include the following:
- Deploying rule-based administrative views You can configure Managed Units in Active Roles to represent virtual collections of directory objects, from AD LDS, Active Directory or both, for distribution of administrative responsibilities and enforcement of business rules and policies.
- Implementing role-based delegation You can apply Active Roles Access Templates to delegate control of AD LDS data the same way as you do for the directory data held in Active Directory domains.
- Policy-based control and auto-provisioning of directory data You can apply Active Roles Policy Objects to establish policy-based control and perform auto-provisioning of AD LDS data the same way as you do for the directory data held in Active Directory domains.
This section elaborates on each of these tasks.