Editing Active Directory (section)

==Database==
The Active-Directory [[database]], the ''directory store'', in Windows 2000 Server uses the [[Microsoft JET Blue|JET Blue]]-based [[Extensible Storage Engine]] (ESE98). Each domain controller's database is limited to 16 terabytes and 2 billion objects (but only 1 billion security principals). Microsoft has created NTDS databases with more than 2 billion objects.<ref name="blogs.technet.com">{{cite web |author=efleis |date=8 June 2006 |title=Large AD database? Probably not this large |url=http://blogs.technet.com/efleis/archive/2006/06/08/434255.aspx  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090817132033/http://blogs.technet.com/efleis/archive/2006/06/08/434255.aspx |archive-date=17 August 2009 |access-date=20 November 2011 |publisher=Blogs.technet.com}}</ref> NT4's [[Security Account Manager]] could support up to 40,000 objects. It has two main tables: the ''data table'' and the ''link table''. Windows Server 2003 added a third main table for [[security descriptor]] single instancing.<ref name="blogs.technet.com"/>

Programs may access the features of Active Directory<ref>{{cite web | last=Berkouwer | first=Sander| title=Active Directory basics | url=http://www.veeam.com/wp-active-directory-basics.html | publisher=[[Veeam Software]]}}</ref> via the [[Component Object Model|COM interfaces]] provided by ''Active Directory Service Interfaces''.<ref>
[http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa772170%28VS.85%29.aspx Active Directory Service Interfaces], Microsoft</ref>