Active Directory Tools – The basics

When you install a domain Controller it will install a basic set of Active Directory Tools. These tools are the basis for setting up and managing your Active Directory Infrastructure. These active directory tools installed by default are Active Directory Users and Computers, Active Directory Sites and Services and Active Directory Domain Services.

Active Directory Users and Computers
This tool is where you manage all the users, groups and computers in your Windows Domain Infrastructure. I found a good document on Microsoft’s website that explains in depth
Active Directory users, computer and groups

Active Directory Sites and Services
The Active Directory Sites and Services console is the primary interface for creating, configuring, and managing sites, IP subnets, global catalog servers, site links between sites, replication protocols and site link bridges. Tech republic has a good article called A look at Active Directory Sites and Services it provides a nice overview of this service. For a complete documentation guide check out this downloadable book by Microsoft called
Designing and deploying Active Directory Sites and Services

Active Directory Domains and Trusts
Active Directory Domains and Trusts is where you manage trust relationship between domain in your forest. Trust relationships allow computers and users in one domain to access resources in another domain. Several documents on this subject, Managing Trusts is a Microsoft article covering the guidelines for managing trusts. Another good article called Active Directory Domains and Trust console gives a good walk through on the Domains and Trusts console.