A while back we talked about the Active Directory Recycle Bin, a new feature in Windows Server 2008 R2 that simplifies the recovery of accidentally deleted objects.

Of course, Recycle Bin is just one trick up Active Directory's sleeve. Over at SearchWindowsServer.com, IT guru Greg Shields takes a look at which Active Directory features you should care about and which ones you should ignore. Here's an excerpt from the section on Active Directory Administration Center:

In Windows Server 2008 R2, the Active Directory Administrative Center (ADAC), which has a new console with a very different look, adds an additional graphical user interface for managing users, groups and other objects. In addition, ADAC's task-based pages and all-up views on object properties centralize the configuration of AD objects into a single-pane view.

A single ADAC console can manage multiple domains at once, and a single console can also be launched under alternate credentials for managing other trusted domains. Furthermore, a breadcrumb bar and rich query building capabilities make it easy to locate objects and track where you've been.

The introduction of the ADAC doesn't eliminate the old-school Active Directory Users and Computers interface. As a result, the old console can be used while you learn ADAC's capabilities.

Shields also runs down the AD Best Practices Analyzer, AD Web services, offline domain join, managed service accounts, and more. Lots of good material here for interested R2 parties.

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