ADSI - This is the acronym for Active Directory Service Interface. A library of routines that provide an interface to various directories, such as the Windows NT user account database and Active Directory. ADSI can be used in PowerShell, VBScript, Visual Basic, Visual Basic for Applications, and other environments. Besides NT and Active Directory, ADSI also supports Novell bindery, Novell NDS, Internet Information Server (IIS), and other LDAP compliant directories.

LDAP - This stands for Lightweight Directory Access Protocol. A language based on the X.500 directory standard that allows clients and servers to communicate. The LDAP provider allows access to the hierarchical structure of Active Directory. However, the Windows NT user account database (the SAM account database on local computers) is not LDAP compliant.

WinNT - Windows NT namespace provider, supporting the Windows NT user account database. The WinNT provider can also be used to access Active Directory, but it exposes it as a flat namespace. WinNT is mostly used to access objects on local computers.

WSH - Windows Script Host, an ActiveX scripting host providing an environment for the execution of scripts using one of several scripting engines or languages, such as VBScript. WSH is included with Windows 2000 and above. WSH has two applications, cscript.exe and wscript.exe. Cscript executes scripts in a command line environment, while wscript executes scripts in a GUI environment.

VBScript - Visual Basic Script Edition, a subset of the Visual Basic language. Programs written in VBScript are saved in files with the ".vbs" extension. VBScript programs can be run with either of the two host programs, cscript.exe or wscript.exe. For example, the VBScript program saved in the file Example.vbs can be run at a command prompt as follows, assuming the file is in the current folder:

cscript Example.vbs

Or you can specify where the file is saved, using a relative or absolute path:

cscript ..\Scripts\Example.vbs

Also, you can use the //nologo option to suppress logo information. This is useful when redirecting output to a text file, as in this example:

cscript //nologo Example.vbs > Report.txt

PowerShell - Microsoft's newer scripting language and command line shell, based on C# and the Microsoft .NET Framework. PowerShell statements can be entered one at a time in the PowerShell command line shell, or in a script with the statements saved in a file with ".ps1" extension. To execute a PowerShell script at a PowerShell command prompt:

.\Example.ps1

Or at a command line prompt:

PowerShell .\Example.ps1

And you can specify an absolute or relative path to the script file:

PowerShell ..\Scripts\Example.ps1

Directory Service - Repository of network operating system information to manage users and resources in a network.

Active Directory - Microsoft's directory service database for Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server 2003, and above networks. Stores information about resources on the network and provides a means of centrally organizing, managing, and controlling access to the resources. Also called Active Directory Domain Services, or AD DS.

AD DS - Acronym for Active Directory Domain Services.

AD LDS - Acronym for Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services. This used to be called Active Directory Application Mode, or ADAM.

ADO - Acronym for ActiveX Data Objects. ADSI can act as an OLE-DB provider that allows database queries of Active Directory using ADO. Searches using ADO are only allowed in the LDAP namespace. For more information, see ADO Search Tips.

WMI - Acronym for Windows Management Instrumentation. WMI is a management technology allowing scripts to monitor and control managed resources throughout the network. Resources include hard drives, file systems, operating system settings, processes, services, shares, registry settings, networking components, event logs, users, and groups. WMI is built into clients with Windows 2000 or above.

ADsPath - A string that specifies an object in Active Directory or the NT SAM account database. In Active Directory, the ADsPath includes the provider (either "LDAP://" or "WinNT://") and the path to the object in Active Directory. Using the LDAP provider, this path includes the Distinguished Name of the object. An example of an ADsPath using the LDAP provider would be:

LDAP://cn=Jim Smith,ou=Sales,ou=West,dc=MyDomain,dc=com

And an example for binding to the same object using the WinNT provider could be:

WinNT://MyDomain/JSmith,user

Note in these examples, the common name of the object (the value of the cn attribute) is "Jim Smith". This is used with the LDAP provider. But the WinNT provider requires the sAMAccountName attribute (also called the "pre-Windows 2000 name") of the object, which is often different (in this case "JSmith").

The ADsPath of an object on a computer, where the WinNT provider is required, would be similar to:

WinNT://MyComputer/Sales,group

Distinguished Name - A string that uniquely identifies an object in Active Directory. Used by the LDAP provider to bind to the object. The Distinguished Name, sometimes abbreviated DN, specifies the name of the object (the Relative Distinguished Name) and the location of the object in the hierarchical structure of Active Directory. The DN of any object is a string of Relative Distinguished Names separated by commas. For example:

cn=Jim Smith,ou=Sales,ou=West,dc=MyDomain,dc=com

Relative Distinguished Name - The name of an object in Active Directory relative to it's location in the hierarchical structure of AD. The Relative Distinguished Name, sometimes abbreviated RDN, will be the lowest level component of the Distinguished Name. The RDN must be unique in the container (or OU), while the DN will be unique in the forest. An example RDN would be similar to:

cn=Jim Smith