2.7.1 Object Management

The use cases in this category reflect the most fundamental of operations in the Active Directory system, namely, the storage and retrieval of directory objects. Client applications, which, in a general sense, are used to access and manipulate data that is stored in the Active Directory system, perform object management operations to store data in the directory service for their own use or to configure and manipulate other systems that rely on data that is stored in the directory service.

The lifecycle of a directory object begins with its creation. After the directory object is created, clients can retrieve it by issuing a search to the directory service. Clients can also modify attributes of the directory object. When an object is no longer required, it can be deleted.

The following use case diagram shows the use cases for object management.

Figure 6: Use cases for object management