What is Active Directory Users and Computers

Active Directory Users and Computers is a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in that enables administrators to manage Active Directory objects, including users, computers, groups, organizational units (OUs) and attributes. While the features of Active Directory Users and Computers  were included in a new tool named Active Directory Administrative Center, ADUC remains a popular tool that administrators use to manage their environments.

Managing an object includes obvious tasks like resetting user passwords , adding users to security groups, and moving computer objects. However, the Advanced Features setting in ADUC also enables you to manage the LostAndFound container, NTDS Quotas, Program Data and System information. This view is not enabled by default but you can enable through the View menu.

The Advanced Features option adds many tabs to the properties page of an object, including Published Certificates, Attribute Editor and Password Replication. The View menu enables you to filter the view based on object type (user, computer, printer, etc.). Individual columns can also be added or removed to customize the view to include other attributes that have been assigned to the object, such as its last-modified date, city, country and email address.

In addition to managing objects, ADUC can also manage domain operations. For example, you can use ADUC to raise the domain functional level or to transfer the RID, PDC Emulator, and Infrastructure FSMO roles to a different domain controller.

Finally, Active Directory Users and Computers also enables you to delegate control of objects through the Delegation of Control wizard or by manually modifying permissions on an object.