In a domain-based system, "Active Directory" is the Microsoft term used to describe the capabilities for providing and managing user access from the domain controller. In domains, Active Directory provides the advanced, user access security that is available as part of the operating system. Microsoft Active Directory has an extensive built-in structure for implementing Organizational Units and Group Policies. A Group Policy is a set of operating system features that can be turned on and off. Examples of Group Policies are: the ability to enable or disable user access to DVD drives or to the Start menu, to deny run access to specific applications, or to deny or allow access to modify the Internet Explorer configuration. A Group Policy Object (GPO) is a collection of Group Policies. Active Directory allows Group Policies to be applied to Organization Units only; not to users or groups. Organizational Units are containers for GPOs and are configured to be logical representations of an organization. They can be configured in a hierarchy of levels to divide users and computers into manageable segments that represent your organization.
The DeltaV software has preconfigured OUs and GPOs so that you can easily use the user access control features of Active Directory. It is not necessary for you to completely understand the user access control features of Active Directory; however, if you want to learn more about Organizational Units, NTFS, and Group Policy Objects, refer to your Windows documentation.