How Work group and Domain Work

 How Workgroups Work

A Windows XP Professional workgroup is a logical grouping of networked computers that share resources, such as files and printers. A workgroup is also called a peer-topeer network because all computers in the workgroup can share resources as equals (peers) without requiring a dedicated server.Each computer in the workgroup maintains a local security database, which is a list of user accounts and resource security information for the computer on which it resides. Using a local security database on each workstation decentralizes the administration of user accounts and resource security in a workgroup.

How Domains Work

A domain is a logical grouping of network computers that share a central directory database. A directory database contains user accounts and security information for the domain. This database, which is known as the directory, is the database portion of Active Directory service.The Windows 2003 directory service.In a domain, the directory resides on computers that are configured as domain controllers.A domain controller is a server that manages all security-related aspects of user and domain interactions, centralizing security and administration.