Searching the AD

Conclusion

Using the methods outlined above, and in the included script, you can easily find a specific object by searching on a unique field like samAcccountName or get at properties of all objects that have a certain attribute.  Searching for objects in the AD is crucial for building almost any script or application that needs to work with the AD and examples here should provide the information you need to get started.

Included Script (SQLADSearch.vbs)

About the Author

Jason Sherry is a Windows Infrastructure Architect for Pro Exchange and specialized in the Active Directory, Exchange, system management and administration, and scripting.  Before coming to Pro Exchange he worked at NetIQ for five years, where he was a product manager in their administration and security product line.

Reference Information

Microsoft ADO and SQL Server Developer's Guide
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnsqlsg/html/msdn_adosql.asp

Searching with ActiveX Data Objects (ADO)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/netdir/adsi/searching_with_activex_data_objects_ado.asp

AD search enumeration preferences
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/netdir/adsi/ads_searchpref_enum.asp

Searching the AD