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  1. Introduction
  2. Windows 2000 Professional
  3. Windows 2000 Server
  4. Windows 2000 Advanced Server
  5. Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
  6. Application Support
  7. System Operation
  8. Disks and Volumes
  9. Filesystems
  10. Configuration Files
  11. Security
  12. Network Support
  13. Access Management
  14. Processes
  15. AD Structure
  16. AD Objects
  17. AD Object Naming
  18. AD Schema
  19. AD Sites
  20. Domains
  21. AD Functions
  22. AD Replication
  23. DNS
  24. AD Security
  25. AD Installation
  26. AD Configuration
  27. AD Performance
  28. Installation
  29. Installation Options
  30. Unattended Installation
  31. Software Distribution
  32. Remote Installation Service
  33. Language
  34. Accessibility
  35. File Attributes
  36. Shares
  37. Distributed File System
  38. Control Panel
  39. Active Directory Tools
  40. Computer Management Console Tools
  41. MMC Tools
  42. Network Tools
  43. Network Monitor
  44. System Performance Monitoring
  45. Tools
  46. Managing Services
  47. Connections
  48. TCP/IP
  49. DHCP
  50. Printing
  51. Routing
  52. IPSec
  53. ICS
  54. Fault Tolerance
  55. Backup
  56. System Failure
  57. Services
  58. Remote Access
  59. WINS
  60. IIS
  61. Certificate Server
  62. Terminal Services
  63. Web Services
  64. Authentication
  65. Accounts
  66. Permissions
  67. Groups
  68. User Rights and Auditing
  69. Auditing
  70. User Profiles
  71. Policies
  72. Group Policies
  73. Miscellaneous
  74. Terms
  75. Credits

Windows 2000 Authentication

Authentication is performed by the system to be sure the user is really who they claim to be. Authentication may be done at and for a local computer or at a global level for a domain using domain controllers across the network. Windows 2000 supports the following types of authentication:

  • Kerberos V5 (RFC 1510) - An internet standard authentication protocol which is the default protocol for Windows 2000 computers within a domain. This is not used for computers in different forests.
  • Windows NT LAN Manager (NTLM) - Used to authenticate users from Windows 95, 98, and NT systems. Windows 2000 Active Directory must be operating in mixed mode to use this authentication method.
  • Secure Sockets Layer/Transport Layer Security (SSL/TLS) - Requires certificate servers and is used to authenticate users that are logging onto secure web sites.
  • Smart card - Contains a chip with information about the user along with the user's private key. A personal identification number (PIN) is normally required to be authenticated using a smart card. Requires Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) to be enabled for the server to allow smart card authentication. Also some certificate authority must provide keys.

Authentication uses X.509 standard and kerberos.

Process of Logging On

  1. CTRL+ALT+DEL is pressed, name and password entered, and local or domain logon is indicated.
  2. If the logon is local, the name and password are checked against the local database. If the logon is a domain logon, the name and password are encrypted into a key, and timestamp information is encrypted. This information is sent to the Windows 2000 domain controller with an authentication request.
  3. The domain controller decrypts the information and checks for a valid timestamp. If the timestamp is valid, two Kerberos tickets are made and encrypted with the password. The tickets are sent back to the client computer. The tickets are:
    • User session key - Used to log on.
    • User ticket - Used to get other Kerberos tickets for accessing other domain resources.
  4. The client decrypts the tickets and uses the session key to log on.

Authentication when Accessing an Object

  1. The user tries to access the network object.
  2. The user ticket, user name, name of the object to access, and timestamp, are sent with a Kerberos ticket granting service request to the domain controller.
  3. The domain controller decrypts the information, checks the timestamp, makes an encrypted session key (with user account and group information) and returns the key to the local client.
  4. The client sends a request for the resource with the session key to the the server that has the resource.
  5. The receiving server decrypts the session key, and checks the information against its ACL for the object being requested.

Shares used for logon

NETLOGON/SYSVOL - The Netlogon share is used on Windows NT domain controllers to authenticate users. In Windows 2000, the SYSVOL share carries out these functions. The SYSVOL share includes group policy information which is replicated to all local domain controllers.