Category: Active Directory

Server 2008 R2: Active Directory Functional Levels MJP | Oct 06, 2009 | 8 comments Windows Server 2008 R2 was released in August, and it introduced new functional levels for Active Directory. This article takes a look back at the different functional levels of the past and what is new in the latest release of the server operating system for Active Directory (yes, a recycle bin for AD objects!). Functional levels were first introduced when Active Directory made its appearance in Windows 2000 Server. They allowed you to run different versions of domain controllers in your environment, and when all […]

Applies To: Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2 Functional levels determine the available Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) domain or forest capabilities. They also determine which Windows Server operating systems you can run on domain controllers in the domain or forest. However, functional levels do not affect which operating systems you can run on workstations and member servers that are joined to the domain or forest. When you deploy AD DS, set the domain and forest functional levels to the highest value that your environment can support. This way, you can use as many AD DS features as […]

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2 Domain and forest functionality Domain and forest functionality, introduced in Windows Server 2003 Active Directory, provides a way to enable domain- or forest-wide Active Directory features within your network environment. Different levels of domain functionality and forest functionality are available depending on your environment. If all domain controllers in your domain or forest are running Windows Server 2003 and the functional level is set to Windows Server 2003, all domain- and forest-wide features are available. When Windows NT 4.0 or Windows […]