Hi ziamughal,
Active Directory is an implementation of LDAP directory services by Microsoft for use primarily in Windows environments. The main purpose of Active Directory is to provide central authentication and authorization services for Windows based computers. Active Directory also allows administrators to assign policies, deploy software, and apply critical updates to an entire organization. Active Directory stores information and settings relating to an organization in a central, organized, accessible database. Active Directory networks can vary from a small installation with a few hundred objects, to a large installation with millions of objects.
Active Directory was previewed in 1996, released first with Windows 2000 Server edition, and revised to extend functionality and improve administration in Windows Server 2003.
Active Directory was called NTDS (NT Directory Service) in older Microsoft documents. This name remains in some AD binaries as well.
straight from
Wikipedia click to read more..
Hope this helps
Purple
