Will Active Directory work for me?

Ryan Mosley 0 Reputation points
2023-03-28T18:36:40.35+00:00

I am an IT technician and I am trying to gather some information on whether Active Directory works for my situation. I have about 50 potential users that are on our network. I am wanting to have a directory service that allows for a user to log on to any computer and have their account accessible with all their permissions, programs, etc regardless of computer on the network. I want it to also be able to use 2FA/MFA for more secure access to accounts. I have also seen where some systems can create custom images of Windows to supply their users with so that it has only the required software on it. Is all this possible with Active Directory?

Active Directory
Active Directory
A set of directory-based technologies included in Windows Server.
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  1. Dave Patrick 426.1K Reputation points MVP
    2023-03-28T18:41:03.6233333+00:00

    Yes, it's possible. As to the software it sounds like you would better be served with a Remote Desktop services (terminal server) that has the software installed that's shared with the users.

    --please don't forget to upvote and Accept as answer if the reply is helpful--

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  2. Michael Durkan 12,151 Reputation points MVP
    2023-03-28T18:43:25.6333333+00:00

    Hi

    quick addition to Dave's answer - the only thing Active Directory won't do natively is MFA/2FA, you'll need a 3rd party product such as DUO to achieve this.

    Thanks

    Michael

    • If the reply was helpful please upvote and/or accept as answer as this helps others in the community with similar questions. Thanks!
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  3. Katherine M. Moss 76 Reputation points
    2023-03-29T01:38:24.56+00:00

    What you really need based on your situation is a small-scale Active Directory environment, along with Windows Deployment services, which would allow you to create custom Windows images that contain only the required software. You can also set up something like System Center, though that might be too large for only 50 users, which can then allow users to pick from the Software Center from a list of organization approved software; I have that set up like that at work. Other ways of doing this...you can set up software on the network via Group Policy and MSIs, which will then allow users to select the option to install a program from the network, so that you didn't have users with software they didn't need for their particular tasks.Hope this gives you a bit more background.

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