The Active Directory client is network client software for computers connecting to Active Directory networks. A computer configured with the Active Directory client can log on to the network by locating a domain controller. The client can then fully benefit from the features of Active Directory.
Computers with Active Directory clients are:
The Active Directory client is provided in a single upgrade pack in a Clients folder on the Windows 2000 Server compact disc.
To logon to an Active Directory network, an Active Directory client must first locate an Active Directory domain controller for their domain. To locate a domain controller for a specified domain, an Active Directory client sends a DNS name query to its configured DNS server(s) with the following characteristics:
For example, to logon to the domain microsoft.com, an Active Directory client sends a DNS name query of the type SRV for the name _ldap._tcp.microsoft.com.
The response from the DNS server contains the DNS names of the domain controllers and their IP addresses. From the list of domain controller IP addresses, the client attempts to contact each domain controller to ensure that it is operational. The first domain controller to respond is the domain controller that is used for the logon process.
For more details on this process and details of other types of queries made by Active Directory clients to locate other types of Active Directory servers, see the Windows 2000 Resource Kit