|  | Planning an Installation of Microsoft Windows XP Professional Deciding on a Workgroup or Domain Installation
Domain Characteristics A domain is a logical grouping of computers on a network that has a central security database for storing security information. Centralized security and administration are important for computers in a domain because they enable an administrator to easily manage computers that are geographically distant from each other. A domain is administered as a unit with common rules and procedures. Each domain has a unique name, and each computer within a domain has a unique name. A domain has the following characteristics: Resources, administration, and authentication are centralized. One directory database in Microsoft Windows 2000 environments, which stores all of the user and computer accounts for the domain. This database is used by the Active Directory™ directory service. A user needs only one domain user account in Active Directory to gain access to shared network resources in the domain. Easily supports a small group of computers to many thousands of computers.