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What Is an Administrative Domain?

Jean Marie Asta
Jean Marie Asta

An administrative domain is a kind of service provider that serves as a security repository, which permits simple authentication and authorization of clients with predetermined credentials. Part of computer network security, the administrative domain consists of a group of interconnecting networks, routers, and hosts with a single authority managing it all. This kind of domain and its components are set up to operate in conjunction with other domains of the same kind, and are configured to allow a certain degree of access, though most retain some level of security with regard to other domains. The organization of an administrative domain can be a loose or have a strict hierarchy, reflecting and representing the authority and availability to route certain pieces of administration. There are different ways to set up this type of computer security using different methods and security software.

The administrative domain is a domain class labeled under “AdminDomain” and is a concept of the GLUE informational model. This specific type of information model is used in grid entities and is described in a program by natural language as well as class diagrams of UML. Its design, as a concept model, makes it independent of and different from models of concrete data that are adopted for the model’s implementation. The model is also built on past models and multiple modeling approaches used for certain security infrastructures.

Woman doing a handstand with a computer
Woman doing a handstand with a computer

There are, however, other ways in which an administrative domain is set up and used. Certain default settings are generally acceptable for the purposes of computer and network security, but optional steps can be followed to maximize the optimization of a certain entity. Some programs may need to be migrated and installed within the hosts of a domain. They may also need to be configured to run as the primary administrative server to optimally function as the administrative domain. Another optional step that is taken is to use certain web tools or software to configure tape devices, clients and media servers.

Configuring an administrative domain consists of adjusting multiple settings to fit a user’s preferences. Generally, the most basic way to be able to configure the domain’s settings is to log into the domain using “admin,” which has a username and password created at the initial installation of the domain or software. Examples of settings to configure include the values of media retention or the authentication information. Another set of configurations involves clients and media servers, where subsets of hosts can be added or taken away from the authentication standards.

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      Woman doing a handstand with a computer