When preparing to transfer Active Directory administration, these elements require thorough documentation:

# Example PowerShell script to document basic AD configuration
Get-ADForest | Select-Object Name,ForestMode,DomainNamingMaster |
Export-CSV -Path "C:\AD_Docs\Forest_Configuration.csv"

Get-ADDomain | Select-Object DNSRoot,DomainMode,PDCEmulator |
Export-CSV -Path "C:\AD_Docs\Domain_Configuration.csv"

Include step-by-step guides for common administrative tasks:

# Sample procedure for user account creation
1. Open Active Directory Users and Computers
2. Right-click target OU → New → User
3. Complete mandatory fields (Name, SAMAccountName)
4. Set password policy compliance
5. Configure group memberships

Document all GPOs with their purposes and linked locations:

# PowerShell to export GPO reports
Get-GPO -All | ForEach-Object {
    Get-GPOReport -Guid $_.Id -ReportType Html -Path "C:\AD_Docs\GPO_$($_.DisplayName).html"
}

Document delegated permissions and custom security groups:

# Export AD permission report
(Get-Acl "AD:\OU=Departments,DC=church,DC=org").Access |
Export-CSV -Path "C:\AD_Docs\OU_Permissions.csv"

Consider using these standard documentation templates:

• Microsoft's AD Documentation Toolkit
• ITIL-based Configuration Management Database (CMDB) templates
• SANS Institute Active Directory Security Checklist

Implement scheduled scripts to maintain current documentation:

# Scheduled documentation script example
$DateStamp = Get-Date -Format "yyyyMMdd"
$OutputDir = "C:\AD_Docs\$DateStamp"

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $OutputDir -Force

# Export critical AD data
Get-ADDomainController -Filter * | Export-Clixml "$OutputDir\DCs.xml"
Get-ADUser -Filter * -Properties * | Export-Clixml "$OutputDir\Users.xml"
Get-ADGroup -Filter * -Properties * | Export-Clixml "$OutputDir\Groups.xml"

When preparing an Active Directory (AD) server for handover, focus on documenting these essential elements:

• Forest and Domain Architecture: Document all domains, trusts, and functional levels
• Organizational Unit (OU) Structure: Include delegation models and GPO links
• Group Policy Objects: Document settings, precedence, and WMI filters
• Service Accounts: List all privileged accounts with their purposes
• DNS Configuration: Record AD-integrated zones and forwarders
• Replication Topology: Document sites, subnets, and bridgehead servers

Create detailed runbooks for common administrative tasks. For example:

# Example PowerShell for checking AD replication status
Get-ADReplicationPartnerMetadata -Target "$env:COMPUTERNAME" -Scope Domain |
Select-Object Server, Partition, LastReplicationSuccess |
Format-Table -AutoSize

# Scheduled task for regular AD health checks
$action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute 'PowerShell.exe' -Argument 'Get-ADReplicationFailure -Scope Forest'
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Daily -At 3am
Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName "AD Health Check" -Action $action -Trigger $trigger -RunLevel Highest

Document all security-related configurations:

• Password policies (fine-grained if used)
• Account lockout thresholds
• Kerberos policy settings
• Privileged Access Workstation (PAW) configurations
• Audit policies and SIEM integration details

Include step-by-step recovery guides with actual commands:

# System State backup command
wbadmin start systemstatebackup -backuptarget:E: -quiet

# Authoritative restore example
ntdsutil "activate instance ntds" "authoritative restore" "restore object cn=testuser,ou=users,dc=contoso,dc=com" q q

Document all regular maintenance activities:

Consider including these sections in your handover document:

1. AD Topology Diagram (Visio or draw.io format)
2. Service Account Matrix (Excel format)
3. GPO Documentation (HTML report from GPMC)
4. Custom PowerShell Script Library (with comments)
5. Third-party Integration Documentation

Use this PowerShell snippet to generate a basic handover report:

# Generate AD handover report
$report = @()
$report += "## Active Directory Handover Report - $(Get-Date)"
$report += "### Forest Information"
$report += (Get-ADForest).RootDomain
$report += "### Domain Controllers"
$report += (Get-ADDomainController -Filter *).Name
$report += "### Critical Groups"
$report += (Get-ADGroup -Filter 'Name -like "*Admin*"').Name
$report | Out-File "AD_Handover_Report.txt"