Question:

I am attempting to utilize PowerShell to enumerate all the groups located within an Organizational Unit (OU) named ‘Security Groups’, which I understand is a default OU included with Active Directory. However, when I query the ‘CN’ for this OU, the result I receive is:

“`

CN=Organizational-Unit,CN=Schema,CN=Configuration,DC=DOMAIN,DC=ORG

“`

This result indicates ‘Schema’ rather than ‘Security Groups’.

I am in the process of developing a script to add users to every group within this OU, but I am encountering an issue where PowerShell is unable to generate a list of these groups. The error message I receive is:

“` Cannot find an object with identity: ‘

CN=Organizational-Unit,CN=Schema,CN=Configuration,DC=DOMAIN,DC=ORG

‘ under: ‘CN=Schema,CN=Configuration,DC=DOMAIN,DC=ORG’. “`

Despite extensive research, I have not found a definitive solution for querying this particular OU. Could you provide any guidance on this matter?”

Answer:

When working with PowerShell to manage Active Directory (AD), it’s common to encounter challenges, especially when dealing with Organizational Units (OUs) and group enumeration. Let’s address the issue you’re facing with querying the ‘Security Groups’ OU.

Firstly, it’s important to ensure that the Distinguished Name (DN) you’re using to reference the ‘Security Groups’ OU is correct. The DN you’ve provided seems to point to the schema container, not the actual ‘Security Groups’ OU. The DN for an OU typically looks like this:

“`

OU=Security Groups,DC=DOMAIN,DC=ORG

“`

If you’re unsure of the correct DN, you can use the Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC) console to find the exact DN of the ‘Security Groups’ OU.

Once you have the correct DN, you can use the `Get-ADGroup` cmdlet to list all groups within the OU. Here’s a PowerShell command that should return all the security groups within the specified OU:

“`powershell Get-ADGroup -Filter * -SearchBase “

OU=Security Groups,DC=DOMAIN,DC=ORG

” “`

This command lists all groups in the ‘Security Groups’ OU. If you want to filter for only security groups, you can modify the filter parameter as follows:

“`powershell Get-ADGroup -Filter “GroupCategory -eq ‘Security’” -SearchBase “

OU=Security Groups,DC=DOMAIN,DC=ORG

” “`

To develop a script that adds users to all groups within this OU, you’ll need to iterate over each group returned by the `Get-ADGroup` cmdlet and use the `Add-ADGroupMember` cmdlet to add users. Here’s a simplified version of such a script:

“`powershell $groups = Get-ADGroup -Filter “GroupCategory -eq ‘Security’” -SearchBase “

OU=Security Groups,DC=DOMAIN,DC=ORG

”

foreach ($group in $groups) {

Add-ADGroupMember -Identity $group -Members “User1”, “User2”, “User3” } “`

Replace `”User1″, “User2”, “User3″` with the actual usernames of the users you wish to add to the groups.

In summary, ensure you have the correct DN for the ‘Security Groups’ OU, use the `Get-ADGroup` cmdlet to list the groups, and then iterate over them to add users as needed. With the correct DN and the above script, you should be able to manage group memberships effectively using PowerShell.

—

I hope this article provides clarity and assists you in resolving the PowerShell issue you’re encountering with Active Directory group enumeration. If you have any further questions or require additional assistance, feel free to ask.