Imagine you work for Quality Corporation (Quality.ad) who has just recently bought Crescent Inc. (Crescent.ad) in a recent merger. Quality and Crescent have separate offices in St. Louis (Quality HQ), Little Rock, and Austin (Crescent HQ). Crescent also has offices in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and Santa Fe. The desire is to establish trusts between the two (2) AD forests and consolidate core services (DNS, DHCP, etc.) as soon as possible. Both companies are running Server 2012 as Domain Controllers. Their primary DNS, DHCP, and Domain Controller servers are in the two (2) corporate headquarters with secondary servers located in the other cities to reduce latency. For the Quality.ad domain, the Flexible Single Master Operation (FMSO) roles are located on Server01, which is located at the Quality HQ. For the Crescent.ad domain, the FSMO roles are located on RWDC01, which is located at the Crescent HQ. In addition, the Quality.ad domain has several servers configured as a Certificate Authority, and the Crescent.ad domain has a single Certificate Authority. During this acquisition, you will need to consider the following: Write a six to eight (6-8) page paper in which you: Purchase the answer to view it

Title: Integrating Active Directory Forests in a Recent Merger: An Analysis of Quality Corporation and Crescent Inc.

Introduction:
The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the steps required to establish trusts between Quality Corporation (Quality.ad) and Crescent Inc. (Crescent.ad) after their recent merger. The overall objective is to consolidate core services, such as DNS, DHCP, and domain controller servers, in order to optimize the efficiency and functionality of the integrated networks. Both organizations currently operate Domain Controllers running Server 2012 and have primary servers located at their respective corporate headquarters, with secondary servers in other cities to minimize latency.

Trust Establishment:
The first step in the integration process is to establish trusts between the Active Directory (AD) forests of Quality Corporation and Crescent Inc. Trusts facilitate secure communication and resource sharing between domains, allowing users from one domain to access resources in the trusted domain. The type of trust to be implemented primarily depends on the nature of resource accessibility requirements and the level of administrative control desired. In this case, a two-way forest trust is recommended, which will enable a seamless exchange of resources and user authentication between the two organizations.

Consolidation of Core Services:
Consolidating the core services, such as DNS, DHCP, and domain controllers, is crucial for the smooth functioning of the integrated network. Since Quality Corporation and Crescent Inc. already have primary servers located at their corporate headquarters, these servers can continue to serve as the primary infrastructure for their respective domains. However, additional secondary servers need to be deployed in the other cities where Crescent Inc. has offices to ensure redundancy and minimize latency.

Flexible Single Master Operation (FSMO) Roles:
The FSMO roles, which are responsible for fulfilling specific Active Directory functions, need to be carefully managed during the integration process. In the Quality.ad domain, the FSMO roles currently exist on Server01, located at Quality HQ. Similarly, in the Crescent.ad domain, the FSMO roles exist on RWDC01, located at Crescent HQ. It is recommended to designate a new server, preferably located at a data center with robust infrastructure, as the FSMO role holder for both domains. This will ensure high availability, fault tolerance, and centralized management of the FSMO roles.

Certificate Authorities:
Both Quality Corporation and Crescent Inc. have their own Certificate Authority (CA) infrastructure, with the former having multiple servers and the latter possessing a single CA server. During the acquisition process, it is essential to consider the consolidation of the CA infrastructure. A careful assessment of the needs and requirements of both organizations will determine whether a unified CA infrastructure should be established, or if each organization’s CA should be maintained independently. Factors such as scalability, redundancy, and compliance with industry standards must be taken into account while making this decision.

Conclusion:
Integrating the AD forests of Quality Corporation and Crescent Inc. necessitates the establishment of trusts, consolidation of core services, management of FSMO roles, and careful consideration of the Certificate Authority infrastructure. By following the recommendations outlined in this paper, the organizations can ensure a smooth and efficient integration of their networks, resulting in improved communication, resource sharing, and overall IT operations.