The System.DirectoryServices.ActiveDirectory namespace is used to automate Active Directory management tasks. System.DirectoryServices.ActiveDirectory is not used to access data that resides within Active Directory or any other directory service. The System.DirectoryServices namespace should be used for this purpose.
The System.DirectoryServices.ActiveDirectory namespace is intended for use by application developers who are familiar with .NET Framework programming using Visual Basic .NET or C#. Knowledge of directory services programming is also helpful.
System.DirectoryServices.ActiveDirectory is part of Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 and is supported on any operating system that Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 is compatible with.