Managing Active Directory with DSMGMT in Windows: A Guide with PowerShell and Batch Script Examples

Active Directory is a crucial component of Windows environments, providing centralized management of users, groups, and resources. DSMGMT (Directory Service Management) is a powerful command-line tool that allows administrators to perform various Active Directory management tasks efficiently. This article aims to guide Windows administrators on how to effectively manage Active Directory using DSMGMT, providing practical examples and scripts adapted for the Windows environment.

Examples:

1. Querying Active Directory Users:

• PowerShell Example:
  

   dsquery user -name John*



• Batch Script Example:
  

   dsquery user -name John*

2. Creating a New Active Directory Group:

• PowerShell Example:
  

   dsadd group "CN=Marketing,OU=Groups,DC=domain,DC=com"



• Batch Script Example:
  

   dsadd group "CN=Marketing,OU=Groups,DC=domain,DC=com"

3. Modifying Active Directory User Attributes:

• PowerShell Example:
  

   dsmod user "CN=John Doe,OU=Users,DC=domain,DC=com" -title "Manager"



• Batch Script Example:
  

   dsmod user "CN=John Doe,OU=Users,DC=domain,DC=com" -title "Manager"