TOPIC
    Active Directory Object Identity

SHORT DESCRIPTION
    The Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell objects have a range
    of identifying attributes that are used for search and retrieval.

LONG DESCRIPTION
    In order to identify the objects in Active Directory, each object has
    attributes that can be used as identifiers. In the Active Directory
    module, the value of the identity of an object can be passed using the
    Identity parameter. Each object type has its own set of possible types
    and values for use by the Identity parameter. See the detailed
    description of the Identity parameter of the given cmdlet for more
    information about its usage.

    When searching with the Active Directory module cmdlets, the value of
    the Identity parameter, along with the values of the Server and
    Partition parameters, is used to uniquely identify a single object. The
    Server parameter is used to locate which server to connect with. The
    Partition parameter further narrows the search to a specific partition.
    The Identity parameter then resolves to a single unique object in the
    partition.

    If more than one object is found using identity resolution, the Active
    Directory module throws an error.

    For more information about the Server and Partition parameters, see the
    help topics for the individual cmdlets where they are used, such as
    Get-ADUser, by typing:

        get-help Get-ADUser


  Objects and Identities
    Each object has a list of attributes that can be used as an identity for
    that object. Additionally, if the object inherits from another object,
    then the parent object's identities can also be used as the child
    object's identities. For more information on the Active Directory object
    hierarchy, see about_ActiveDirectory_ObjectModel.

    Note: For Active Directory Provider cmdlets, only an object's
    'Distinguished Name' or 'Relative Distinguished Name' can be used as the
    identity. For a list of Active Directory Provider cmdlets, see
    ActiveDirectory.


  Identity Attributes
    The following is a list of identity attributes by object type.

    ADAccount
      Distinguished Name
      GUID (objectGUID)
      Security Identifier (objectSid)
      SAM Account Name (sAMAccountName)

    ADComputer
      Distinguished Name
      GUID  (objectGUID)
      Security Identifier (objectSid)
      Security Accounts Manager Account Name (sAMAccountName)

    ADDirectoryServer
      Name of the server object (name)
        For AD LDS instances the syntax of a name is
          <computer-name>$<instance-name>
        For other Active Directory instances, use the value of the name
          property.
      Distinguished Name of the NTDS Settings object
      Distinguished Name of the server object that represents the directory
        server.
      GUID (objectGUID) of server object under the configuration partition.
      GUID (objectGUID) of NTDS settings object under the configuration
        partition

    ADDomain
      Distinguished Name
      GUID
      Security Identifier
      DNS domain name
      NetBIOS domain name

    ADDomainController
      GUID (objectGUID)
      IPV4Address
      Global IPV6Address
      DNS Host Name (dNSHostName)
      Name of the server object
      Distinguished Name of the NTDS Settings object
      Distinguished Name of the server object that represents the domain
        controller
      GUID of NTDS settings object under the configuration partition
      GUID of server object under the configuration partition
      Distinguished Name of the computer object that represents the domain
        controller.

    ADFineGrainedPasswordPolicy
      Distinguished Name
      GUID (objectGUID)
      Name (name)

    ADForest
      Fully qualified domain name
      DNS host name
      NetBIOS name

    ADGroup
      Distinguished Name
      GUID (objectGUID)
      Security Identifier (objectSid)
      Security Accounts Manager (SAM) Account Name (sAMAccountName)

    ADObject
      Distinguished Name
      GUID (objectGUID)

    ADOptionalFeature
      Distinguished Name
      Name (name)
      Feature GUID (featureGUID)
      GUID (objectGUID)

    ADOrganizationalUnit
      Distinguished Name
      GUID (objectGUID)

    ADPrincipal
      Distinguished Name
      GUID (objectGUID)
      Security Identifier (objectSid)
      SAM Account Name (sAMAccountName)

    ADServiceAccount
      Distinguished Name
      GUID (objectGUID)
      Security Identifier (objectSid)
      SAM Account Name (sAMAccountName)

    ADUser
      Distinguished Name
      GUID (objectGUID)
      Security Identifier (objectSid)
      SAM User Name (sAMUserName)


  Identities Formats
    Active Directory module objects have a range of identity attributes.
    Below is a list of these, their types and formats.

    Distinguished Name
      Example: CN=SaraDavis,CN=Europe,CN=Users, DC=corp,DC=contoso,DC=com

    DNS domain name
      Example: redmond.corp.contoso.com

    DNS Host Name (dNSHostName)
      Example: corp-DC01.corp.contoso.com

    Feature GUID (featureGUID)
      Example: 599c3d2e-f72d-4d20-8a88-030d99495f20

    Fully qualified domain name
      Example: corp.contoso.com

    Global IPV6Address
      Example: 2001:4898:0:fff:200:5efe:157.59.132.61

    GUID (objectGUID)
      Example: 599c3d2e-f72d-4d20-8a88-030d99495f20

    IPV4Address
      Example:157.59.132.61

    NetBIOS domain name
      Example: redmond

    Name of the server object
      Example: corp-DC01$

    Security Accounts Manager (SAM) Account Name (sAMAccountName)
      Example: saradavisreports

    Security Identifier (objectSid)
      Example: S-1-5-21-3165297888-301567370-576410423-1103

    Name
      Example: Recycle Bin Feature


SEE ALSO
    about_ActiveDirectory
    about_ActiveDirectory_ObjectModel