Selecting the Forest Root Domain

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

The first domain that you deploy in an Active Directory forest is called the forest root domain. This domain remains the forest root domain for the life cycle of the Active Directory deployment.

The forest root domain contains the Enterprise Admins and Schema Admins groups. These service administrator groups are used to manage forest-level operations, such as the addition and removal of domains and the implementation of changes to the schema.

Selecting the forest root domain involves determining whether one of the Active Directory domains in your domain design can function as the forest root domain, or whether you need to deploy a dedicated forest root domain.