Active Directory Logical Components and Partitions
Active Directory has both physical and logical components. The logical side is what shapes how identity actually works - which objects exist, which DCs replicate which data, where to look for a setting. This article covers the five core logical components (Schema, OUs, Forest, Domain, AD DS Database) and the four partitions inside the database (Schema, Configuration, Domain, Application = DomainDnsZones + ForestDnsZones). Walks ADSI Edit inspection of each: connect to the Configuration well-known naming context, drill to CN=Partitions for the self-description; connect to Schema for classSchema and attributeSchema objects; connect to Default naming context for the Domain partition (matches ADUC); type explicit DNs for DomainDnsZones and ForestDnsZones to see how AD-integrated DNS records are stored. Includes the replication-reach matrix (which partitions replicate forest-wide vs domain-only), the Global Catalog partial-attribute subset, the Computers/Users-are-containers-not-OUs gotcha (use redirusr/redircmp), and the schema-extension-is-permanent caveat.