Setup the OU Structure - Server Basics 2016 #04

How to structure your new Windows Server 2016 OUs (Organizational Units). Best practice for OU structure can be a lot of different ways. Here I plan my structure for future growth and simple management.

Building the OU (Organizational Unit) structure in Windows Server 2016.
This is considered tutorial number four in a video series titled: Server Basics 2016. Tutorial number 1 was about downloading Server 2016 and a brief overview. Tutorial number 2 was on installing Server 2016. Tutorial number 3 was setting up the Active Directory Domain Services role on the new server.

Here we are going to plan and build the OU structure.

Things can change throughout the video series while configuring machines, users, group policy objects, and more. But we have to start somewhere.

Planning the OU Structure

There are no wrong or right ways of setting up your organizational units. There are a lot of guidelines and suggestions out there from Microsoft and many others. I have setup multiple locations with very different structures.

For this tutorial, we are going to pretend we are setting up a tire shop with a handful of employees (maybe around 10 users).

Here is a quick drawing I whipped up, showing the physical building, departments, and printer locations.

Now, my thought process for the service department is that there will be multiple server employees working at any one time. They could work in the north side or the south side of the building, each side having their own printer.

Let’s throw all the service employees “users” in the main service OU, then create north and south OUs for the “computer” objects.

We will then setup the printers to be mapped depending on what computer the user is logged into. More on this later in the video series.

The sales department is fairly simple. Sales OU with a computers OU and users OU. Then a sales manager OU, which will also have a computers OU and users OU.

Finally, the COOL department, the IT crew! OU will have a techs OU and a systems administrator OU. Each one containing a computers OU as well as users OU.

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[ittaster]

Nicely covered. OU structure is one of those areas where planning is key. The OU structure needs to fit the size of the organisation, after all it's about managing resources more efficiently. As the organisation grows, the OU structure will also need evolve. Keep up the good work!

[jelpy]

I like that you are doing shorter but more informative videos! The Windows Server 2008 Basics had quite long episodes.

[PoringPoring]

Thank you for the new Server Basics series!

[mattyafc]

Any chance of making a video on Group Policy including all your recommended basic GPOs? Loving the new series so far.

[TraxellOfficial]

thanks a lot for this! very helpful and easy to follow.

[chad]

I kept hearing his machine 'think' ... that sound when its doing something... I kept pausing to see if it was mine and it would stop. Anyone else notice that???

[AceZ]

you sound alot like a youtuber called nickbunyun xD maybe just a little bit darker voice tho :)