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| Click the Start button and select Administrative Tools from the Programs group. |
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| Select the Active Directory Domains and Computers shortcut in the Administrative Tools program group. |
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| The Sites and Services console displays AD resources like sites, site links, and subnets that you use to regulate the directory replication process. These resources are all AD objects, made up of attributes like any other objects, but they are managed separately and do not appear in the same hierarchy as User, Computer, and Group objects. As with other consoles, the console tree pane displays the object types in an expandable display, and the details pane displays the objects themselves. |
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| Every Active Directory installation has a least one Site object, called Default-First-Site-Name, which represents all of the computers on the network. If your network consists of offices at different locations, connected by WAN links, you should consider creating additional Site objects for each office. This enables you to control the replication process between the sites, and to regulate the bandwidth it utilizes. Replication within a site is automatic and self-regulating, but may monopolize a slow link. |
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| The division of a network into sites is completely independent of its domain divisions. You can split a domain among multiple sites, or host multiple domains at a single site. In addition to controlling replication traffic AD also uses sites during the authentication process. When a user logs on to the network Active Directory always performs the authentication using a domain controller at the same site as the workstation, if one is available. This also serves to minimize traffic over WAN links. |
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| A Site Link object represents the mechanism used to connect sites, usually some form of WAN link. The Inter-Site Transports container in the console lists the Site Link objects in two categories: IP, for standard WAN technologies, and SMTP, for email-based links. During the creation of the domain, AD creates one Site Link object in the IP container called DEFAULTIPSITELINK. If you use more than one type of WAN technology to connect your sites, you can create additional Site Links to represent them. |
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| Site Link Bridge objects are similar to site links except that instead of connecting two Site objects, a site link bridge connects two Site Link objects. A Site Link Bridge object typically represents a router that enables replication traffic to pass between linked sites. When two site links connecting sites A and B and sites B and C are joined using a site link bridge, site A can send replication traffic to site C using site B as a conduit. |
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| The Subnets container in the Sites and Services console contains objects that represent the IP subnets on your network. The function of these Subnet objects is to identify which subnets are located at which sites. Sites contain Server objects that represent the domain controllers on the network. Creating Subnet objects for each of your sites enables Active Directory to automatically place the Server object in the correct site when you install a new domain controller. |
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