Active Directory & Group Policy Documentation Tool
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Save time by using our Active Directory and Group Policy documentation tool XIA Configuration to automatically document your domain and policy configuration. Record a history of all changes, prove compliance, and streamline troubleshooting.
XIA Configuration has a non-intrusive architecture with agentless data collection.
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Active Directory Documentation Example
View an example Active Directory document generated by XIA Configuration:
Active Directory documentation example generated by XIA Configuration
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This video shows the Active Directory document generation and other features of XIA Configuration.
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Active Directory settings documented by XIA Configuration
Find out more about the Active Directory and Group Policy information documented by XIA Configuration below:
Screenshot of Active Directory general information in the XIA Configuration web interface
Supported Versions
XIA Configuration supports the documentation of Active Directory on the following versions of Windows:
- Windows Server 2019
- Windows Server 2016
- Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2
- Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2
- Windows Server 2003 and 2003 R2
- Windows 2000 Server
Active Directory Trusts
A trust is a relationship established between domains that enables users in one domain to be authenticated by a domain controller in the other domain.
This section contains the following Active Directory trusts information:
- Direction
- Type (for example Kerberos)
Screenshot of an Active Directory trusts diagram in the XIA Configuration web interface
Screenshot of Active Directory trusts information in a document generated by XIA Configuration
The forest acts as a security boundary for an organization and defines the scope of authority for administrators. By default, a forest contains a single domain, known as the forest root domain however additional domains can be created in the forest.
General Domain Information
Active Directory is a centralized authentication and directory service based around standards such as the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) and Kerberos. It stores information about user accounts, groups, distribution lists as well as information for directory enabled applications such as Microsoft Exchange Server.
This section contains the following general Active Directory domain information:
- Domain Name
- Domain NetBIOS Name
- Domain SID
- Domain Functional Level
- Forest Functional Level
- Forest Name
- Forest SID
- Logon Timesync Interval
- Active Directory recycle bin enabled
- Administrators Group information
Screenshot of Active Directory domain information in a document generated by XIA Configuration
Inter-Site Transports
This section contains the following inter-site transports information:
- Bridge All Site Links
- Ignore Schedules
Screenshot of inter-site transport information in a document generated by XIA Configuration
Site Links
- Name
- Description
- Type
- Transport Type
- Sites in link
- Cost
- Replication Interval
- Schedule
Screenshot of site link information in the XIA Configuration web interface
Domain Hierarchy
An organizational unit (OU) is a special container within Active Directory into which you can place users, groups, computers, and other organizational units. Group Policy objects (GPOs) can be linked to an organizational unit.
This section contains the following domain hierarchy configuration:
- Group Policy ID
- Group Policy Link Name
- Group Policy Link Enabled
- Group Policy Link Enforced
Screenshot of an organizational unit (OU) in the XIA Configuration web interface
Group Policy Objects
Group Policy is a technology incorporated into Active Directory that allows for centralized management of settings and simplistic software distribution to client computers and servers joined to the domain. Settings are grouped into objects called Group Policy Objects (GPOs). GPOs are linked to an Active Directory domain, organizational units (OUs) and sites.
This section contains the following Group Policy Objects (GPOs) information:
- Display Name
- GUID
- Computer Enabled
- User Enabled
- Creation and Last Modified Date
- User Version
- Computer Version
- Permissions
Screenshot of group policy object information in the XIA Configuration web interface
Fine-Grained Password Policies
Fine-grained password policies allow the definition of multiple password and account lockout policies for different sets of users in a domain and are available on Windows 2008 and above.
The screenshot below shows fine-grained password policy settings in Windows:
Sample password policy in Windows
XIA Configuration retrieves this information and displays these settings in its web interface:
- Name
- Precedence
- Description
- Minimum Password Length
- Password History
- Password Must Meet Complexity Requirements
- Store Password Using Reversible Encryption
- Minimum Password Age
- Maximum Password Age
- Last Updated
- Creation Date
- Account Lockout Policy
- Account Lockout Duration
- Reset Failed Logon Attempts After (minutes)
- Applies To (accounts)
Screenshot showing fine-grained password policy settings in the XIA Configuration web interface
Operations Masters
Active Directory is a multi-master system where each domain controller has autonomy for read and write operations there are however five special Flexible Single Master Operation Roles (FSMO) which must be assigned to specific domain controllers. All roles can be assigned to a single domain controller or can be distributed between domain controllers.
XIA Configuration retrieves the role holder for each FSMO role:
- Infrastructure Master
- Domain Naming Master
- PDC Emulator
Screenshot showing the FSMO role holders in a document generated by XIA Configuration
Active Directory Sites
Active Directory sites represent the physical structure, or topology, of a network. Active Directory uses topology information, stored as site and site link objects in the directory, to build the most efficient replication topology and permits clients to locate the nearest resources such as domain controllers or distributed file system (DFS) servers.
A site consists of well-connected networks as determined by the subnet addresses assigned to that site.
XIA Configuration provides much of the information displayed in the Active Directory Sites and Services tool:
- Name and Description
- InterSite Topology Generator
- Location
- Subnets in this Site
- Universal Group Membership caching
- Site and Server Replication Schedules
Screenshot of an Active Directory site in the XIA Configuration web interface
Active Directory Servers
This section contains the following information about server configuration:
- Server Name
- Is Global Catalog
- Operating System
- Security ID
- Replication Connections
- Replication Schedule
- Bridgehead server transports
- Query Policy
- Manufacturer
- Model
- Processors
- Serial Number
- Service Pack
- Directory Service Installation Paths
Screenshot of Active Directory server information in a document generated by XIA Configuration
Read-Only Domain Controller (RODC)
An Active Directory domain controller authenticates and authorizes all users and computers in a Windows domain type network. Every domain controller supports multi-master operations allowing autonomy in the reading and writing information to the directory service with the exception of read-only domain controllers (RODCs) which allow only read-only access to the directory service. RODC servers are useful in less secure physical environments such as a branch office.
In addition to the server information displayed above, XIA Configuration supports the following RODC settings:
- Manager
- Password replication policy
Screenshot of RODC settings and password replication policy settings in a document generated by XIA Configuration
Active Directory Schema
The Active Directory schema defines all of the objects and attributes that the directory service uses to store data. It is replicated to all domain controllers in all domains in the forest.
This section contains the following Active Directory schema information:
- Distinguished Name
- Schema Version
- Schema Master
Screenshot of schema configuration in the XIA Configuration web interface
Schema Classes
Each object in Active Directory is an instance of an object class defined in the schema. The class contains attributes which determine what information can be stored within it.
Screenshot of schema classes information in a document generated by XIA Configuration
Active Directory Users
An Active Directory user account (also referred to as a security principal) provides the ability for a user to logon to the domain. User accounts may also be used as dedicated service accounts for some applications.
This section contains the following Active Directory users information:
General
- Name
- First Name
- Surname
- Display Name
- Description
- Last Logon
- Canonical Name
- Member Of
Account Settings
- SID
- User Enabled
- User Principal Name
- SAM Account Name (pre-Windows 2000)
- Account Expiration Date
- Account Locked Out
- User Must Change Password Setting
- User Cannot Change Password Setting
- Password Never Expires Setting
Profile
Screenshot of Active Directory user information in the XIA Configuration web interface
Active Directory Groups
A group is a collection of user and computer accounts, contacts and other groups that can be managed as a single unit. Users and computers that belong to a particular group are referred to as group members. Using groups can simplify administration by assigning a common set of permissions and rights to many accounts at once, rather than to each account individually.
This section contains the following information on Active Directory Groups:
- Name and Description
- SAM Account Name
- Canonical Name
- Group Scope
- Group Type
- SID
- GUID
- Members
Screenshot of Active Directory group details in a document generated by XIA Configuration
Active Directory Computers
Every computer and server machine that joins a domain has a computer account. Like user accounts, computer accounts provide a means for authenticating and auditing access to the network and to domain resources.
This section contains the following Active Directory computers information:
General
- SAM Account Name
- DNS Hostname
- Is Domain Controller
- Description
- Computer Enabled
- SID
- Account Locked Out
- Last Logon
- Member Of
- Managed By
- Location
Operating System
- Name
- Version
- Service Pack
Object
Screenshot of Active Directory computer information in the XIA Configuration web interface
Automatic Search and Detection
Automatically search Active Directory to detect and scan Windows machines including server roles such as IIS, VMware and SQL.
Servers and server roles can also be scanned manually by specifying a list of machine names or IP addresses.
Screenshot of Active Directory search and detection settings in the XIA Configuration Client
Active Directory Reporting
In addition to generating full Active Directory documentation, you can run reports across multiple domains.
Create custom reports to query the full range of data collected by XIA Configuration.
Screenshot showing the Active Directory reports in the XIA Configuration web interface
Example - Domain Groups Summary Report
View a summary of domain groups:
Screenshot showing the Active Directory domain group summary report output in the XIA Configuration web interface
Export to CSV
Export your report to CSV and open it in Microsoft Excel for further analysis:
Active Directory domain groups summary report exported as a CSV and viewed in Excel
Find out more about the reporting feature >
Track Changes and Compare Domains
Compare items to see differences or compare two versions of the same item to see changes.
Screenshot showing the comparison of the latest version with the previous version
Find out more about the item comparison feature >
Mobile Support
Access your Active Directory domain and group policy object configuration on your mobile device.
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View all the systems documented by XIA Configuration >
†
Not currently supported for individual Group Policy Object settings.