Publish Shares in Active Directory Domain Services

Shares are published in ADDS to simplify their access by users. Users can search the directory to locate the shares they require access to, reducing the requirement for mapping shares in logon scripts. You may still need to add share mapping in logon scripts for legacy purposes, but at least your users can start working with Windows' new features.

1. Move to a domain controller, and open the Active Directory Users and Computers console in Server Manager.
2. If it isn't already done, create a new organizational unit structure and name it Virtual Service Offerings (VSO). Under Virtual Service Offerings, create a new OU named File and Print. Then create an OU under File and Print, and call it File Shares.
   CAUTION: When you create an object in ADDS, you can protect it from accidental deletion. This locks the object! Once an object is locked, you cannot delete it, you cannot move it, and you cannot change it unless you open its properties first and clear the protection option on the Object tab. Note that you must use the Advanced Features in the View menu to see the Object tab in the object's properties.
3. Within the File Shares OU, create new shares. To do so, move to the details pane and right-click to select New | Shared Folder from the context menu.
4. Type the name of the share and the path to the shared folder using the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) format. Click OK when done. Repeat for all the shares you need to publish.
   CAUTION: Do not publish hidden shares because they will no longer be hidden. Any share that is published in Active Directory Domain Services (ADDS) will be visible to users.
5. Once the shares are created, you will need to add a description and keywords to each. Folder descriptions are important, since they will serve to tell users the purpose of the shared folder. Keywords are also useful because users can search for shared folder by keyword instead of share name. To enter both, view the properties of each shared folder in ADDS.
6. Use this dialog box to add complete descriptions to each share and to identify its manager. To add keywords, click the Keywords button. Type the keyword and click Add. Click OK when done.
7. You should also assign a manager for each share. Do this through the Managed By tab. Assigning managers is a good practice, since they become responsible for the evolution and perhaps eventual removal of this share when it is no longer needed. Close the dialog box when done. Repeat for each share you publish in ADDS.

Your shares are now ready for access by users.

Find Shares in Active Directory Domain Services

Finding shares is performed through Windows Explorer's Search function.

1. To do so, open Windows Explorer and move to the Network node on either Windows Vista or WS08.
2. Click Search Active Directory in the quick access menu bar at the top of the window.
3. In the Find dialog box, select Shared Folders from the Find drop-down menu.
4. Type either the folder name or its keywords, and click Find Now.
5. The Find dialog box will display the shared folders matching the search criteria so long as you have access rights to it-remember the Access-Based Enumeration option you set. To access a shared folder, double-click its name.

As you can see, using shared folders in a Windows Server 2008 network is considerably easier than in previous Windows environments.

TIP: Your users will require this operation only once, because each time a new shared folder is accessed from a client computer, it is added to the Network Favorites portion of Windows Explorer. Users can access their shared folders from there when required.