What is a domain controller?

If we are going to discuss the core infrastructure services that you need in order to piece together your Microsoft-driven network, there is no better place to start than the domain controller role. A domain controller, commonly referred to as a DC, is the central point of contact, sort of a central hub that is accessed prior to almost any network communication that takes place. The easiest way to describe it is a storage container for all identification that happens on the network. Usernames, passwords, computer accounts, groups of computers, servers, groups and collections of servers, security policies, file replication services, and many more things are stored within and managed by DCs. If you are not planning to have a domain controller be one of the first servers in your Microsoft-centric network, you might as well not even start building that network. They are essential to the way that our computers and devices communicate with each other and with the server...