About System.DirectoryServices

System.DirectoryServices (SDS) is included in the Microsoft® .NET Framework. System.DirectoryServices provides a managed code API that can be used to access directory services on LDAP servers such as Active Directory.

This guide contains information necessary to create a System.DirectoryServices application using either the C# or Visual Basic .NET programming languages.

This section provides a brief introduction to SDS. The reader should be familiar with concepts in the following guides:

• The technology backgrounder and task guide found in the Visual Studio .NET documentation in the section Creating Active Directory Components.
• Conceptual information about the Active Directory architecture found in the Windows Server SDK in the section About Active Directory.

Reference topics for System.DirectoryServices are not included in this programming guide. Reference information can found in the following guides:

• Reference topics for System.DirectoryServices Namespace are in the .NET Framework Reference Class Library section.
• Reference topics for the Active Directory Schema, which contains a list of classes and attributes included with Active Directory, is in the Windows SDK, Active Directory, Reference section.

For more information about common concepts in the .NET Framework and common language runtime, see the .NET Framework SDK Getting Started Guide.