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Systems & Data Center · Intermediate

Forest

The top-level AD container of one or more domain trees that share a schema, configuration and global catalog; the security boundary.

Definition

The first domain created is the forest root domain. All domains in a forest trust each other transitively. Separate forests are used for strict administrative isolation and are linked by forest trusts if needed.

Example

Two companies after a merger may keep separate forests linked by a forest trust.

Exam tip

The forest is the AD security boundary; the domain is only an administrative and replication boundary.

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