Each domain controller in an Active Directory forest includes
directory
partitions. Directory partitions are also known as naming contexts. A
directory partition is a contiguous portion of the overall
directory that has independant replication scope and scheduling
data. By default, the Active Directory for an enterprise contains
the following partitions:
Schema
Partition: The schema partition contains the
classSchema and attributeSchema objects that define
the types of objects that can exist in the Active Directory forest.
Every domain controller in the forest has a replica of the same
schema partition.
Configuration
Partition: The configuration partition contains replication
topology and other configuration data that must be replicated
throughout the forest. Every domain controller in the forest has a
replica of the same configuration partition.
Domain
Partition: The domain partition contains the directory
objects, such as users and computers, associated with the local
domain. A domain can have multiple domain controllers and a forest
can have multiple domains. Each domain controller stores a full
replica of the domain partition for its local domain, but does not
store replicas of the domain partitions for other domains.
Windows Server 2003 introduces the Application Directory
Partition, which provides the ability to control the scope of
replication and allow the placement of replicas in a manner more
suitable for dynamic data. For more information about application
directory partitions, see About Application
Directory Partitions.
For more information about how Active Directory maintains
consistency between the various replicas of a directory partition,
see Replication and
Data Integrity.