Table of Content
- Best practices
- Manage users in bulk using AD management tools
- Do not bundle users and computers in the same organizational unit (OU)
- Create stand-alone OUs for security groups
- Use security groups to apply permissions to resources
- Create local groups controlled by restrictive groups
- Perform AD cleanup every month
- Automate common AD tasks for bulk user management
- Have change control in place
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Active Directory (AD) is a directory service provided by Microsoft for digital identity management. AD helps organizations arrange objects and resources in the network hierarchically, which enables system administrators to manage permissions and access effectively. But as the size of an organization increases, the complexity of managing identities also increases.
When the organization grows, IT administrators often find user management tedious. Tasks like creating user accounts during onboarding, modifying their privileges, and deleting them after offboarding are seemingly simple. However, performing these operations on a large scale for thousands of users is time-consuming and bound to result in errors. Furthermore, if not done properly, complex operations such as user group management might leave a security loophole and cause massive data breaches.
Consider a scenario where a set of users is moved to a different department. Their user accounts should also be moved from their existing security group to another. If they are not removed from their existing group, the data intended only for the members of that group becomes vulnerable.
Although this is seemingly minor in nature, vulnerabilities like these tend to get replicated in many places in AD. Mismanagement of bulk groups and users can lead to threats like having excessive admin, guest, and inactive accounts; tasks being delegated to non-administrative accounts; improper management of security groups; and, ultimately, employees ignoring the organization's Zero Trust policy.
Thus, effective bulk management of users and groups is necessary for an organization to not only save time and money but also ensure security. Here are a few practical guidelines that IT admins can benefit from in managing users and groups in bulk.
Best practices
1. Manage users in bulk using AD management tools
When the structure of an organization is large, the Windows network tends to be complex. Managing AD objects in bulk can be difficult and demanding. But thorough knowledge of AD, scripting, and PowerShell can help you accomplish certain tasks in bulk. Running open-source PowerShell scripts may take a single step to complete a task. But procuring multiple scripts for each task and maintaining them may not be wise in the long term.
There are tools available that help control AD in fewer steps and without the need for any in-depth knowledge of built-in tools. All an IT sysadmin has to do is modify CSV files, load them into the solution, and run the program.
2. Do not bundle users and computers in the same organizational unit (OU)
For easier management of AD objects, do not group users and computers in the same OU. Instead, create separate OUs for users and computers for better visibility and simpler management. To navigate easily in AD, create sub-OUs for departments or functions under each OU. Group similar functions or objects under each sub-OU.
3. Create stand-alone OUs for security groups
After having split users and computers into separate OUs, it is time to look at the security groups. Having security groups under each department might pay off, but you could miss out on non-department groups. So it is better to create a separate group containing security groups. Here, too, the sub-OUs for each department or function can be created.
4. Use security groups to apply permissions to resources
It is best not to assign privileges to individual user accounts because they become difficult to manage. Instead, group similar users into security groups and assign privileges to those groups. This simplifies privilege management because security groups facilitate adding, controlling, and managing users who access resources.
When you grant permissions to a security group, users in the group will automatically inherit those permissions, making it easier to manage user permissions in bulk. It also simplifies the reporting and auditing of users by reducing the work to a simple security group update. It also saves time otherwise spent on individually modifying access to each resource.
5. Create local groups controlled by restrictive groups
The scope of local groups lies within a machine (PC or laptop), workstation, or server. A local admin can install any software, modify or disable security settings, transfer data, create new admins, and add new users to a local group. However, you need to restrict the local users from performing privileged operations, such as adding new admins to local groups. In such situations, you can use restricted groups.
Restricted groups are used to manage the memberships of local groups and ensure that unauthorized users are not added to these groups. Restricted groups are applicable only over local groups and are meant to be deployed on the client side, not in the domain groups.
6. Perform AD cleanup every month
Over time, AD accumulates users and groups that have become obsolete or that admins have forgotten to decommission. It is always best to keep track of and discard them as soon as possible. For operational ease, this should be done every month. There are a lot of scripts and tools available that can identify and purge obsolete accounts.
7. Automate common AD tasks for bulk user management
AD administration involves performing many routine tasks, like creating users, deploying software, and applying patches and updates. If these time-consuming tasks are automated, the time saved can be used to focus on more complex issues. Although complete automation is impossible, monotonous tasks should be automated.
Some general tasks you can automate are user creation, deletion, and modification; group management; AD cleanup; inventory management; and asset decommissioning. PowerShell is one of the most common tools used to automate these tasks.
Here's a tip:Using AD360, an integrated identity and access management (IAM) solution, you can automate the entire AD user creation process to save time and effort. You can also leverage review-approval-based AD user provisioning automation and keep track of the entire automation process via reports.
8. Have change control in place
AD and group policies play crucial roles in maintaining business operations. Thus, it is vital to have change management in place. Built-in auditing tools are only capable of logging limited changes and offer less visibility. Any changes to AD need to be thoroughly documented. It is best to document a change in the order of who, why, what, when, and how and to have contingencies in place to mitigate projected problems.
These few general practices can help you save tremendous amounts of time, effort, and money when it comes to managing users and groups in bulk in AD. Each organization has its own customizations and regulations, but it is always best to start with the available tools and services, then tailor them to the organization. After all, it is better to realign the wheel than to reinvent it!