Did you also know you should back up and archive your Active Directory (AD)? Active Directory is the foundation of your network. It is the structure that manages and controls access to some of the most critical resources in your organization.
AD is a database that coordinates the servers, client computers, printers, shared files, and other resources, as well as securing network resources in a Microsoft Windows network. Active Directory accomplishes these tasks by providing a hierarchy of management elements enabling your admins.
If your Active Directory is not properly configured and administered, this will result in service outages and worse yet, security breaches. Microsoft best practice is to perform a Health check that includes a backup at least once a year.
Health checks collect data and statistics on the most important and critical aspects of the environment: Operations, Performance, Infrastructure, Security and DNS. The goal of the health check is to proactively diagnose and analyze the data collected and potentially avoid any problems from surfacing in the future. The tools used are passive and only collect information about Active Directory. They are read-only and do not make any changes to any servers.
Active Directory health assessments are a challenge, especially for small and midsize companies that can’t afford a full-time Active Directory admin or costly third-party tools. But, they are essential to a well performing system.
Make sure that you’re running an Active Directory Health Check once a year AND performing a backup.
