Chapter 16. Managing sites and subnets
Active Directory, like all IT systems, is ultimately dependent on the underlying network. It needs to store some network information so that client machines can identify their physical locations in AD terms. For example, this information is required for identifying the nearest domain controller.
Note
You must be a member of the Enterprise Admins group to manage the AD topology components.
The AD components—sites, subnets, and site links—are referred to as the AD physical topology. This chapter starts with a quick review of the AD site and subnet concepts you need to understand. You then jump straight into managing AD sites—how to view the site information and how to create them. This will involve the use of PowerShell cmdlets introduced in Windows Server 2012 and the venerable AD Sites and Services GUI tool. The lifecycle of AD subnets is next, following the pattern of viewing, creation, and management. The last major section deals with AD site links, which are the replication traffic pathways through your environment. The chapter concludes with a lab, giving you a chance to practice working with these aspects of your Active Directory.
First, though, a quick bit of theory.
The AD physical topology is made up of three components:
- Sites
- Subnets
- Site links