The class store is integrated with Active Directory for Windows NT. Information relating to object CLSID, interface implementations, and applications are part of the directory schema. The class store is a container class in the Active Directory, and is integrated with the user account hierarchy and ADSI domain, as the following figure illustrates.
The class store can be viewed as a distributed registry. The local registry is used to search for available class implementations, based on GUIDs such as InterfaceID, ClassID, or AppID. Applications register classes, interfaces, and activation information in the registry. When an object is activated, the first check for registry information occurs in the local or desktop Registry. If the information is not found in the local registry, the search continues to the class store. If successful, the component is installed into the local registry.