Searching Active Directory

Searching is one of the key features of Microsoft® Active Directory™. A search operation enables you to find objects in Active Directory based on selection criteria (query) and to retrieve specified properties for the objects found.

Searching Active Directory is simply a matter of finding a Microsoft® Windows® 2000 domain controller, binding to the object where you want to begin your search in the directory, submitting a query, and processing the results.

The process for searching Active Directory includes the following steps:

1. Decide what you want to find.
2. Decide where to search.
3. Choose the data access technology to use.
4. Create a query filter (search criteria).
5. List the properties to return.
6. Bind to the object where you want to start the search.
7. Specify the scope of the search.
8. Specify other search options.
9. Execute the search and process the results.