{"id":30924,"date":"2023-08-10T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-10T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/?p=30924"},"modified":"2024-11-08T16:34:02","modified_gmt":"2024-11-08T21:34:02","slug":"active-directory-pros-cons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/blog\/active-directory-pros-cons","title":{"rendered":"Active Directory Pros and Cons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Can you believe Active Directory is nearly a quarter of a century old? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft<\/a> introduced Active Directory (AD) to the world in 1999. Running on a Windows server, AD enables admins to manage users\u2019 access to the network resources. It also helps them grant permissions and enforce policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since its inception, AD has been the cornerstone on which many organizations have built their identity and access management strategy. However, changes in the technology landscape have introduced particular challenges that leave many IT administrators wondering whether Active Directory is still the way to go in a modern work environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this post, we\u2019ll examine the perks of Active Directory, its limitations, and an effective solution around these limitations. Let\u2019s get into it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pros of Active Directory<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While AD has many benefits, they are only enjoyable within an on-prem Window environment. In a cross-platform or hybrid\/remote work environment these benefits can quickly become nonexistent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"to<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nonetheless, the best bits about Active Directory are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Centralized Management of Users, Computers, and Resources<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

AD is a hub that allows admins to control user access, computers, and resources; remotely create, modify, or disable user accounts; and deploy software, configure multiple computers simultaneously, and remotely troubleshoot computers. Plus, admins can easily manage resources such as files, applications, and other hardware using AD Domain Services<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Integration With Other Microsoft Services<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Active Directory was developed by Microsoft for its Windows infrastructure. So, it\u2019s not surprising that it integrates seamlessly with the operating system and various Microsoft services such as Exchange Server, SharePoint, and Office Communications Server. It\u2019s also easy to combine AD with Azure AD to provide easy management and access to both desktop and cloud-based Microsoft products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Group Policies Objects (GPO)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

GPOs are a powerful feature of AD.<\/a> They are a set of commands that define the behavior and appearance of a system. With them, admins can set several rules about what multiple users and computers can or can\u2019t do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Admins typically use GPOs to update software, define settings for desktop appearance, prevent the installation of unauthorized software, and limit access to resources and certain system settings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Security and Access Control<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Admins set and enforce network-wide security policies from AD. They can define password complexity requirements<\/a>, account lockouts, and password expiration policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AD also utilizes secure authentication and authorization protocols<\/a> such as Kerberos and LDAP. The domain controller uses this to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive resources and ensures that only authenticated and authorized individuals can gain access to resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Improved Efficiency <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

AD results in greater efficiency for users and admins alike. Users get to enjoy the personalized settings that they can access on any device. Also, they only need to log in once using their AD credentials to gain access to multiple resources on the network. This eliminates the need to remember multiple usernames and passwords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Admins get to enjoy the widespread control they have over computers through the centralized system. Hence, they don\u2019t need to go into each computer to manually carry out tasks on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reporting for Auditing and Compliance<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By securing identities and controlling access to resources and data, Active Directory can play an important role in achieving data compliance. Plus, with the help of third-party tools, reports of multiple kinds of activities such as logging in or out, file creation, modifications, deletions, permission grants or revocations, etc., can all be generated for audit purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cons of Active Directory<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The drawbacks to Active Directory are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cost and Complexity of Implementation and Maintenance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of AD\u2019s biggest downsides is the total cost of setting it up and maintaining it<\/a>. Organizations that use Active Directory have to contend with hardware server costs. These become even higher when the organization is a large one with multiple offices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then there are the Client Access Licensing costs, the price of which varies depending on whether an organization is getting the license directly from Microsoft or a reseller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides these primary costs, there are other secondary costs to consider. For one, those servers won\u2019t house themselves, they\u2019ve got to be set up somewhere in a data center: Translation \u2014 more rent fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus, thanks to the fact that AD is a very complex directory that involves a steep learning curve, organizations have to allocate resources for training IT staff or hiring specialized professionals, further increasing the overall cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throw in the cost of implementing other third-party add-ons to make Active Directory play nice with other non-Windows devices in the environment, and then organizations have gotten themselves a real money sinkhole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"two<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dependency on Microsoft Ecosystem<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Active Directory operates on and is best suited for traditional on-prem architecture. Also, it is best compatible with Microsoft business applications. This makes it less suitable for organizations that use cloud-based non-Microsoft solutions and that have to support remote users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, Microsoft has since developed Azure Active Directory; but, contrary to what many think, this is a separate product that doesn\u2019t exactly serve as a cloud alternative to the traditional AD<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Azure AD<\/a> only extends a current Active Directory to the cloud. Plus, it also suffers the problem of being best suited for a Microsoft ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Limited Cross-Platform Support<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

AD certainly excels as a directory service for Windows-based environments. However, it doesn\u2019t seamlessly integrate with non-Windows platforms. This makes it challenging to use in heterogeneous IT environments that leverage platforms such as MacOS<\/a>, Linux, or Unix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take AD’s group policies for example. As earlier mentioned, group policies enable admins to control multiple computers and push group-wide instructions. However, except with the aid of multiple third-party tools<\/a> or custom scripting, admins cannot deploy or enforce AD policies on Mac and Linux devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even in instances where these tools come to the rescue, they often bring in entirely new sets of problems that can result in inconsistencies and security gaps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vulnerability to Internal and External Security Threats and Attacks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As noted earlier, AD\u2019s complexity and the consequent need for multiple third-party tools only make it easier to cause gaps and expand the attack surface area of an organization\u2019s network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Active Directory is also highly susceptible to modern-day threats such as Kerberoasting<\/a> and stolen credentials. Its architecture and design were primarily conceived in an era when cybersecurity threats differed from what organizations face today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, AD focuses on keeping outsiders from gaining entry but trusts insiders in the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the event of stolen credentials, few to no safeguards verify the user’s identity, giving the attacker free reign in the system. Credentials have been known to get stolen through phishing attacks and the contributory risk posed by admins who leave machines logged on as AD domain admins<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tool Sprawl<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

No thanks to the different workarounds needed to tackle AD\u2019s problems, IT teams can soon get bogged down with multiple tools. Tool sprawl not only increases costs but also contributes to the network\u2019s complexity, and makes it more challenging to manage. Further compatibility problems can also arise in integrating various third-party tools with AD and each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus, tool sprawl makes admins need training and support for each tool separately. This adds to the learning curve for administrators, leading to further costs and complexity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Considerations for IT Admins and MSPs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So is Active Directory good or bad for any organization? It depends on the following factors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n