Windows 2000 Delegation of Control Wizard Guide

This article examines how Microsoft Windows 2000 executes administrative delegation within Active Directory using the Delegation of Control Wizard. It covers the underlying security architecture, how the wizard simplifies the assignment of granular permissions to Organizational Units (OUs), and how Access Control Lists (ACLs) enforce delegated administrative tasks without granting full domain administrator privileges.

The Role of Delegation in Windows 2000

In Windows NT 4.0, administrative authority was largely an all-or-nothing proposition. Windows 2000 introduced Active Directory, which established a hierarchical structure composed of domains, trees, forests, and Organizational Units (OUs). To eliminate the need for granting sweeping Domain Admin rights for routine operational tasks, Windows 2000 introduced administrative delegation. This model enables higher-level administrators to assign specific, scoped responsibilities—such as resetting user passwords, managing group memberships, or creating computer accounts—to specific users or groups over designated OUs.

How the Delegation of Control Wizard Operates

The primary interface for configuring these rights is the Delegation of Control Wizard, accessible within the Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC) Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in. When executed, the wizard performs the administrative delegation through the following operational sequence:

  1. Target Selection: The administrator navigates the directory tree in ADUC, selects a specific container or OU, right-clicks it, and launches the wizard. The selected container serves as the root boundary for the delegated authority.
  2. Assigning Principals: The administrator selects the users or security groups that will receive delegated authority. Best practice in Windows 2000 dictates assigning permissions to Security Groups rather than individual user accounts to streamline maintenance.
  3. Task Definition: The wizard presents two paths for defining permissions:
    • Common Tasks: Pre-configured templates for standard operations, such as resetting user passwords, managing user account properties, modifying group memberships, or managing Group Policy links.
    • Custom Tasks: Advanced configurations allowing administrators to grant permissions down to specific object classes (e.g., User, Computer, Printer) and individual attributes (e.g., modifying only the phone number or address attributes of user accounts).
  4. Execution and DACL Modification: Upon completing the wizard, Windows 2000 translates the specified tasks into low-level Access Control Entries (ACEs) and writes them directly to the Discretionary Access Control List (DACL) of the target Active Directory object.

Underlying Security Architecture and Enforcement

The Delegation of Control Wizard does not introduce a separate security subsystem; rather, it functions as an administrative front end for Active Directory's native object security architecture.

  • Discretionary Access Control Lists (DACLs): Every object stored in the Active Directory database (NTDS.DIT) possesses a Security Descriptor, which contains a DACL. The DACL is an ordered list of ACEs that explicitly define which security principals have Read, Write, Create Child, Delete Child, or extended control rights over the object.
  • Permission Inheritance: By default, Windows 2000 enables permission inheritance throughout the directory tree. When the wizard writes ACEs to an OU, those permissions cascade down to all child objects and subordinate containers within that OU unless inheritance is explicitly disabled on a child container.
  • Security Subsystem Enforcement: When a delegated user attempts to perform an administrative action—such as resetting a password in their assigned OU—the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS) evaluates the user's access token against the ACEs stored in the target object's DACL. If the ACE grants the required extended right (User-Force-Reset-Password), the operation succeeds; otherwise, access is denied.

Management Considerations

While the Delegation of Control Wizard simplifies the assignment of rights, it operates as a one-way configuration tool in Windows 2000. It writes permissions to the target object's DACL but does not retain a distinct "delegation profile." To review, modify, or revoke delegated permissions assigned by the wizard, administrators must enable the "Advanced Features" view in ADUC, inspect the Security tab of the target OU's properties, and manually adjust the underlying Access Control Entries.