Description:
Though it may not sound exciting at first glance, the Microsoft Active Directory Service Interface (ADSI) can let programmers automate the administration of remote resources such as users, files, and printers across the entire corporate intranet. Steven Hahn's ADSI ASP Programmer's Reference provides a short, handy guide to getting started with this very important enterprise technology. Early sections introduce ADSI, which allows programmers access to a variety of directory services, including Windows NT 4/5 (Windows NT 5 is now known as Windows 2000), Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), Netware 3.x/4.x, and Domain Naming System (DNS). (In theory, with a single Windows NT box and IIS, an organization could administer resources remotely on any of these diverse platforms.) Early sample programs look at getting to domain information. Then it's on to querying users, changing passwords, and then managing groups and security. In one sample, the author provides a Web-based, remote user manager to demonstrate the use of the ADSI User object (which gives access to no less than 47 different user properties). Though all samples use VBScript and Active Server Pages (ASPs) for Web-based administration, ADSI objects will also work with C++ and Java. Later sections look at the remote administration of services and files and provide background material on the LDAP, which is the foundation of ADSI (and the Active Directory in Windows NT 5). Several concise appendices on ADSI objects and error codes round out this efficiently presented guide, which is sure to be valuable to any Windows system programmer considering Web-based administration. --Richard Dragan
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