System.DirectoryServices 8.0.0

About

Provides easy access to Active Directory Domain Services from managed code. Microsoft Active Directory Domain Services are the foundation for distributed networks built on Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server 2003 and Microsoft Windows Server 2008 operating systems that use domain controllers. The namespace contains two component classes, DirectoryEntry and DirectorySearcher, which use the Active Directory Services Interfaces (ADSI) technology. ADSI is the set of interfaces that Microsoft provides as a flexible tool for working with a variety of network providers. ADSI gives the administrator the ability to locate and manage resources on a network with relative ease, regardless of the size of the network.

Key Features

Active Directory Domain Services use a tree structure. Each node in the tree contains a set of properties. Use this library to traverse, search, and modify the tree, and read and write to the properties of a node.

• The DirectoryEntry class encapsulates a node or object in the Active Directory Domain Services hierarchy. Use this class for binding to objects, reading properties, and updating attributes. Together with helper classes, DirectoryEntry provides support for life-cycle management and navigation methods, including creating, deleting, renaming, moving a child node, and enumerating children.
• Use the DirectorySearcher class to perform queries against the Active Directory Domain Services hierarchy. LDAP is the only system-supplied Active Directory Service Interfaces (ADSI) provider that supports searching. A search of the Active Directory Domain Services hierarchy through DirectorySearcher returns instances of SearchResult, which are contained in an instance of the SearchResultCollection class.
• Network administrators write scripts and applications that access Active Directory Domain Services to automate common administrative tasks, such as adding users and groups, managing printers, and setting permissions for network resources.

How to Use

Install the System.DirectoryServices library from nuget

dotnet add package System.DirectoryServices --version 7.0.1

The sample needs a real path to an Active Directory server to work properly:

using System.DirectoryServices;

namespace TestDirectoryServices
{
    internal class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            DirectoryEntry rootDse = new DirectoryEntry("LDAP://RootDSE");
            string configNamingContext = rootDse.Properties["configurationNamingContext"].Value.ToString();

            DirectoryEntry certTemplates = new DirectoryEntry("LDAP://CN=Certificate Templates,CN=Public Key Services,CN=Services," + configNamingContext);
            DirectorySearcher templatesSearch = new DirectorySearcher(certTemplates, "(objectClass=pKICertificateTemplate)", null, SearchScope.OneLevel);

            SearchResultCollection templates = templatesSearch.FindAll();

            foreach (SearchResult template in templates)
            {
                Console.WriteLine($"Name: {template.Properties["name"][0]} ({template.Properties["displayName"][0]})");
                Console.WriteLine($"Flags: {template.Properties["msPKI-Enrollment-Flag"][0]}");
            }
        }
    }
}

Main Types

The main types provided by this library are:

• System.DirectoryServices.DirectoryEntry
• System.DirectoryServices.DirectorySearcher

Additional Documentation

• API documentation
• Active Directory Domain Services
• Active Directory Service Interfaces
• Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)

Related Packages

• System.DirectoryServices.AccountManagement
• System.DirectoryServices.Protocols

Feedback & Contributing

System.DirectoryServices is released as open source under the MIT license. Bug reports and contributions are welcome at the GitHub repository.