Single Domain Model

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

A single domain model is the easiest to administer and the least expensive to maintain. It consists of a forest that contains a single domain. This domain is the forest root domain and it contains all of the user and group accounts in the forest.

A single domain forest model reduces administrative complexity by providing the following advantages:

  • Any domain controller can authenticate any user in the forest.

  • All domain controllers can be global catalogs; therefore, you do not need to plan for global catalog server placement.

In a single domain forest, all directory data is replicated to all geographic locations that host domain controllers. While this model is the easiest to manage, it also creates the most replication traffic of the two domain models. Partitioning the directory into multiple domains limits the replication of objects to specific geographic regions but results in more administrative overhead.