OU Planning Process

  • Article

The steps to creating an OU structure plan for a domain are:

  • Create OUs to delegate administration.

  • Create OUs to hide objects.

  • Create OUs for Group Policy.

  • Understand the impact of changing OU structures after deployment.

It is important to follow the steps in the order presented. You will find that an OU structure designed purely for delegation of administration is shaped differently than an OU structure designed purely for Group Policy. Because there are multiple ways of applying Group Policy, but only one way to delegate administration, you should create OUs for delegation of administration first.

Your OU structure can become complex very quickly. Note the specific reason for creating an OU each time you add one to the plan. This will help you make sure that every OU has a purpose, and it will help the readers of your plan to understand the reasoning behind the structure.

When creating the OU plan for each domain, consult the following groups in your administrative organizations:

  • Current domain administrators who are responsible for user accounts, security groups, and computers accounts.

  • Current resource domain owners and administrators.