Which AD DS forest model provides a one way trust relationship between forests?
An Active Directory forest (AD forest) is the top most logical container in an Active Directory configuration that contains domains, users, computers, and group policies. Show
“But wait?” you say. “I thought Active Directory was just one domain?” A single Active Directory configuration can contain more than one domain, and we call the tier above domain the AD forest. Under each domain, you can have several trees, and it can be tough to see the forest for the trees This additional top-level layer creates security challenges and increased potential for exploitation, but it can also mean greater isolation and autonomy when necessary: the trick is to understand AD forests and different strategies to protect them. Get the Free PowerShell and Active Directory Essentials Video CourseHow to Create a Forest Design?Say you want to create a forest, or (and more likely) you have inherited a forest that you need to clean up. It’s common to see several different domains and GPOs in one or more forests that try to coexist due to earlier attempts at consolidation or acquisition. First, determine if there are any organizational requirements that require a completely separate set of security policies. Frame the conversation with a focus on data security:
Once you have the “autonomy and isolation” requirements documented, the design team can build the forest, domains, and GPOs according to each team or organization’s needs. How Many Forests are Required?In some cases, it might be necessary to create separate AD forests based on the autonomy or isolation requirements. Adding additional forests multiplies the complexity to manage the AD schema. There are some considerations to make if you decide to add another forest to your AD schema:
Single Forest vs Multi-Forest Active Directory DesignA single AD forest is a simpler solution long-term and generally considered best practice. It’s possible to create a secure environment without the additional overhead of a 2nd AD forest with multiple domains by leveraging GPOs, established data owners, and a least privilege model. Multi-forests do provide an extra layer of security across the two domains, but at a significant increase to IT cost. Multi-forests do not make you more secure by default. You still need to configure GPOs and permissions appropriately for each AD forest. Forest Design ModelsThere are three primary ways to design an AD forest: you can mix and match those designs to meet your organization’s security needs. Every Active Directory has at least one AD forest, and there are cases where multiple AD forests are required to meet business and security objectives. Here are a few different Forest Models. Each model has different advantages and disadvantage, and unique use cases. Organizational Forest ModelIn an organizational forest, user accounts and resources are stored and managed together. This is the standard configuration. Characteristics of an organizational forest model:
Resource Forest ModelA resource forest separates user accounts and resources into different forests. You would use this configuration to separate a manufacturing system or mission-critical system from the primary forest, so any problems with one forest allow the other to continue operation. Characteristics of a Resource Forest Model:
Restricted Access Forest ModelA restricted access forest totally isolates the users and resources in it from other forests. You would use this configuration to completely secure data and limit users to specific datasets. Characteristics of a Restricted Access Forest Model:
Active Directory Forests Best PracticesAD forests have been around since 2000, so there are many different theories about the best way to configure Active Directory and forests. Current best practices include:
If Active Directory holds the keys to the kingdom, the AD forest is the keyring for some of those keys: it’s important not only to secure Active Directory, but to understand how to configure and manage the AD forest in order to prevent data breaches and reduce security vulnerabilities. Want to learn more about how to protect Active Directory – regardless of how many AD forests you have? Learn about 5 FSMO Roles in Active Directory. Prefer an audio/visual experience instead? We’ve got you covered: watch an on-demand webinar on 4 Tips to Secure Active Directory.
We're Varonis. We've been keeping the world's most valuable data out of enemy hands since 2005 with our market-leading data security platform. Michael BuckbeeMichael has worked as a sysadmin and software developer for Silicon Valley startups, the US Navy, and everything in between. What is oneIn a one-way trust relationship, the trusting domain makes its resources available to users in the trusted domain. A two-way trust relationship consists of two one-way trusts in opposite directions. By default in Active Directory, all domains in a forest trust each other with two-way transitive trust relationships.
What is a trust relationship in Active Directory?Trust relationships are an administration and communication link between two domains. A trust relationship between two domains enables user accounts and global groups to be used in a domain other than the domain where the accounts are defined.
What type of trust relationship exists within an Active Directory forest by default?Implicit trusts are trusts that are created automatically by the nature of the built-in relationships between domains within a forest. These implicit trusts are two-way and transitive. Implicit trusts automatically exist between each domain that is created and its child domain(s).
What is a transitive trust in Active Directory?Transitive trust is a two-way relationship automatically created between parent and child domains in a Microsoft Active Directory forest. When a new domain is created, it shares resources with its parent domain by default, enabling an authenticated user to access resources in both the child and parent.
|