Domain Controller vs. Active Directory: What's the Difference?

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In this video, we’ll talk about what Active Directory and domain controllers are, and how the two components differ.

Let’s start with Active Directory, or, “AD.”

Active Directory is a database used by IT teams to manage what users can do on a network. It includes four important services specific to identity and access management.

The first is called Active Directory Domain Services, or, “AD DS.” This is the main service that holds all the network info and decides who can access what.

The second service is Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services, or, “AD LDS.” This one works kind of like AD DS, except it can run on the same computer in multiple ways, making it perfect for handling lots of instances.

The third is Active Directory Federation Services, or, “AD FS.” Think of it like a passport service for the network. It lets you sign in just once in order to access multiple apps and servers.

Finally, there’s Active Directory Certificate Services, or, “AD CS.” This service helps create a specialized security system for the organization, and handles the certificates that keep critical data secured.

In a nutshell, Active Directory is a service for securing and managing access to your business’s networks, servers and applications. It makes sure the right people get access to the right stuff.

The second term we’re going to talk about is domain controllers. Domain controllers are special servers in a network that handle requests from users who want to log in. They’re like the gatekeepers of a specific area in the network – the “domain”.

Domain controllers are a component of AD, but they can also work with other systems like Samba and FreeIPA. They ensure that only authorized users can access certain things in the network by checking your login credentials.

At first glance, these two terms may still sound pretty similar. But just remember that domain control is a function of Active Directory. Think of AD as the database, while domain controllers are the gatekeepers to the database.

A lot of companies want to use a single sign-on service like AD FS to improve their security and their employees’ access. In the past, the best way to get there was using a domain controller and Active Directory. But this solution has hidden costs and complexities, like having to buy and maintain hardware and on-prem servers.

Nowadays, a good identity and access solution should be able to handle multiple critical functions, like automatically setting up user accounts, managing devices like phones and tablets, and deploying remote updates and patches all from one place. It should work with different vendors too, not just Windows-based systems like Active Directory.

For many modern businesses, a cloud-based platform like JumpCloud is the perfect solution. JumpCloud makes it easy to integrate Active Directory – or get rid of it all together – and perform all your IAM tasks in one place.