Snacking on the Active Directory Cookbook; the Directory Expert Conference targets a bigger crowd

Today’s newsletter is all about Active Directory with news of a new book, a Webcast and a live event all of which can inform, educate and entertain you. Now those of you who have been reading this newsletter for a long time know that I’ve never considered AD the best directory system. I still don’t. But, in marketing terms, AD could be called the World’s Favorite Directory because there are certainly more AD “seats” than for any other system.

But being the largest seller (or most implemented, in this case) doesn’t mean it’s the one you’d choose if price (or connectivity) was no object. Would you rather have Gallo Hearty Burgundy or Domaine de la Romanee Conti? Would you rather have a Honda or a Maserati? Still, you have to play with the cards you’re dealt – and a good guidebook can be a big help.

My northern California neighbors at O’Reilly have just released a new edition of the Active Directory Cookbook. For this third edition, Active Directory expert, and five-time recipient of the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional award in Directory Services, Laura E. Hunter offers troubleshooting recipes based on input from many Windows administrators, in addition to her own experience. You’ll find insights into the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), ADAM (Active Directory Application Mode), multimaster replication, Domain Name System (DNS), Group Policy, the Active Directory Schema, and many other features of AD. Details at the book’s Web site or at a book store near you.

Hunter, from the Oxford Computer Group, will also be speaking at the upcoming The Experts Conference (TEC), the new name of the Directory Experts Conference founded by NetPro and now – since the merger – put on by Quest. Why the name change? According to the marketing folks: “While The Directory Experts Conference was born out of a desire to provide expert education on Active Directory, it has evolved over the years to cover a broader scope of Microsoft identity and access management technologies. And this year, we’re thinking even bigger as we launch The Experts Conference for Exchange to run side-by-side with The Experts Conference for Directory & Identity.” The four-day event will still kick off with a full day of workshops, including Oxford’s “Solutions You Can Use for Federated Identity”, and feature many of the familiar speakers, such as Microsoft’s Stuart Kwan. It should be a great show, once again.

And speaking of Quest, it has provided archived access to a recent Webinar of interest: “The Top 12 Most Difficult Active Directory Management Tasks …And How to Make them Easier!” It’s a winner. Browse here to watch it, and to download the associated white paper.