[This is preliminary documentation and subject to change]

# Active Directory Service Interfaces

Microsoft Active Directory Service Interfaces (ADSI) is a COM-based directory service model that allows ADSI-compliant client applications to access a wide variety of distinct directory protocols, including Windows® Directory Services, LDAP, and NDS, while using a single, standard set of interfaces. ADSI shields the client application from the implementation and operational details of the underlying data store or protocol.

An application called an ADSI provider makes itself available to ADSI client applications. The data exposed by the provider is organized in a custom namespace, defined by the provider. In addition to implementing the interfaces defined by ADSI, the provider also can implement the ADSI schema. The schema is used to provide metadata about the namespace structure and objects that are provided by the ADSI provider. Property attributes should only be set at property creation time.

For more information about ADSI, refer to the Active Directory Service Interfaces Version 2.0 SDK and the Active Directory Schema SDK in the Platform SDK.

###### ADSI and IIS

IIS currently stores most Internet site configuration information in a custom data store called the IIS metabase. IIS exposes a low-level DCOM interface that allows applications to gain access to, and manipulate, the metabase. To make it easy to access the metabase, IIS also includes an ADSI provider that wraps most of the functionality provided by the DCOM interface, and exposes it to any ADSI-compliant client applications. For more information about using ADSI with IIS, see Using IIS Admin Objects.

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