07/03/2019 Active Directory with ASP.NET MVC (.

NET) - CodeProject

Active Directory with ASP.NET MVC (.NET)

Mina bedier, 7 Mar 2019

Active Directory with ASP.NET MVC

Introduction
When it comes to access Microsoft's Active Directory using C#, a lot of people get confused how to get started. This article attempts
to show you how to communicate with active directory using C# in a simple way. I make a simple web application interact with
active directory using ASP.NET MVC .This application performs only three operations on active directory:

get all users

get all groups
reset password for users

Background
You should have some basic knowledge with ASP.NET MVC.

Active Directory
1. Install Windows Server 2012 R2.
2. Install Active Directory Domain Service.
3. Create new domain in a new forest. I named it “MBS.Com”.
4. Add organizational unit and named it “DevOU.
5. Add some users and groups in OU.

https://www.codeproject.com/Articles/1279198/Active-Directory-with-ASP-NET-MVC-NET?display=Print 1/6
07/03/2019 Active Directory with ASP.NET MVC (.NET) - CodeProject

Using the Code

There are two namespaces to communicate Active Directory with C#:

1. System.DirectoryServices.ActiveDirectory
2. System.DirectoryServices.AccountManagement (this is what I used)

Note
In my case, IIS server and directory domain controller reside on the same machine to run task successfully.

Add Action called HomePage in your Controller containing two buttons, one for Users and other for Groups.

public ActionResult HomePage()

{
return View();
}

Add View for this Action:

@{
ViewBag.Title = "HomePage";
}
@*<h2>HomePage</h2>*@
<br />
<br />
<div class="row text-center">
<div class="col lg-6">
@Html.ActionLink
("Users", "GetAllUsers", "Home", null, new { @class = "btn btn-primary" })
@Html.ActionLink
("Groups", "GetAllGroups", "Home", null, new { @class = "btn btn-primary" })
</div>
</div>

Add two Classes for User and Group in Models Folder:

public class User

{
public int Id { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Display Name")]
public string DisplayName { get; set; }
public string Samaccountname { get; set; }
}

public class Group

{
public int Id { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Group Name")]
public string GroupName { get; set; }
}

https://www.codeproject.com/Articles/1279198/Active-Directory-with-ASP-NET-MVC-NET?display=Print 2/6
07/03/2019 Active Directory with ASP.NET MVC (.NET) - CodeProject

Then we will implement three methods which will be performed on Active Directory: Get All Users, Get All Groups, Set
Password:

public ActionResult GetAllUsers()

{
List<User> ADUsers = GetallAdUsers();
return View(ADUsers);
}

public ActionResult GetAllGroups()

{
List<Group> ADGroups = GetallGroups();
return View(ADGroups);
}

//if you want to get Groups of Specific OU you have to add OU Name in Context
public static List<User> GetallAdUsers()
{
List<User> AdUsers = new List<User>();
//MBS.com My Domain Controller which i created
//OU=DevOU --Organizational Unit which i created
//and create users and groups inside it
var ctx = new PrincipalContext(ContextType.Domain, "MBS","OU=DevOU,DC=MBS,DC=com");
UserPrincipal userPrin = new UserPrincipal(ctx);
userPrin.Name = "*";
var searcher = new System.DirectoryServices.AccountManagement.PrincipalSearcher();
searcher.QueryFilter = userPrin;
var results = searcher.FindAll();
foreach (Principal p in results)
{
AdUsers.Add(new User { DisplayName = p.DisplayName,
Samaccountname = p.SamAccountName });
}
return AdUsers;
}

public ActionResult ResetPassword(string Samaccountname)

{
//i get the user by its SamaccountName to change his password
PrincipalContext context = new PrincipalContext
(ContextType.Domain, "MBS", "OU=DevOU,DC=MBS,DC=com");
UserPrincipal user = UserPrincipal.FindByIdentity
(context, IdentityType.SamAccountName, Samaccountname);
//Enable Account if it is disabled
user.Enabled = true;
//Reset User Password
string newPassword = "P@ssw0rd";
user.SetPassword(newPassword);
//Force user to change password at next logon dh optional
user.ExpirePasswordNow();
user.Save();
TempData["msg"] = "<script>alert('Password Changed Successfully');</script>";
return RedirectToAction("GetAllUsers");
}

//if you want to get all Groups of Specific OU you have to add OU Name in Context
public static List<Group> GetallGroups()
{
List<Group> AdGroups = new List<Group>();
var ctx = new PrincipalContext(ContextType.Domain, "MBS", "OU=DevOU,DC=MBS,DC=com");
GroupPrincipal _groupPrincipal = new GroupPrincipal(ctx);

PrincipalSearcher srch = new PrincipalSearcher(_groupPrincipal);

foreach (var found in srch.FindAll())

{
AdGroups.Add(new Group { GroupName = found.ToString() });

}
return AdGroups;
}

Then Add view for GetAllUsers action.

https://www.codeproject.com/Articles/1279198/Active-Directory-with-ASP-NET-MVC-NET?display=Print 3/6
07/03/2019 Active Directory with ASP.NET MVC (.NET) - CodeProject

@model IEnumerable<ActiveDirectory.Models.User>
@{
ViewBag.Title = "GetAllUsers";
}

<br />

<form>
<div class="form-group">
<label for="SearchInput" class="col-sm-2 col-form-label">Search for User</label>
<div class="col-md-10">
<input type="text" class="form-control" id="SearchInput"

onkeyup="myFunction()" placeholder="Enter User">

</div>
</div>
</form>

<br />
<br />
@Html.Raw(TempData["msg"])

<table class="table table-bordered table-striped" id="tblUsers">

<tr>
<th>
@Html.DisplayNameFor(model => model.DisplayName)
</th>
<th>
@Html.DisplayNameFor(model => model.Samaccountname)
</th>
<th></th>
</tr>

@foreach (var item in Model)

{
<tr>
<td>
@Html.DisplayFor(modelItem => item.DisplayName)
</td>
<td>
@Html.DisplayFor(modelItem => item.Samaccountname)
</td>
<td>
@Html.ActionLink("Reset Password", "ResetPassword",
new { Samaccountname = item.Samaccountname })
</td>
</tr>
}

</table>

@section scripts
{
<script>

function myFunction() {
var input, filter, table, tr, td, i;
input = document.getElementById("SearchInput");
filter = input.value.toUpperCase();
table = document.getElementById("tblUsers");
tr = table.getElementsByTagName("tr");
for (i = 0; i < tr.length; i++) {
td = tr[i].getElementsByTagName("td")[0];
if (td) {
if (td.innerHTML.toUpperCase().indexOf(filter) > -1) {
tr[i].style.display = "";
} else {
tr[i].style.display = "none";
}
}
}
}
</script>
}
https://www.codeproject.com/Articles/1279198/Active-Directory-with-ASP-NET-MVC-NET?display=Print 4/6
07/03/2019 Active Directory with ASP.NET MVC (.NET) - CodeProject

Add another view for GetAllGroups Action.

@model IEnumerable<ActiveDirectory.Models.Group>
@{
ViewBag.Title = "GetAllGroups";
}
<br />

<table class="table table-striped table-bordered">

<tr>
<th>
@Html.DisplayNameFor(model => model.GroupName)
</th>
</tr>

@foreach (var item in Model) {

<tr>
<td>
@Html.DisplayFor(modelItem => item.GroupName)
</td>

</tr>
}
</table>

https://www.codeproject.com/Articles/1279198/Active-Directory-with-ASP-NET-MVC-NET?display=Print 5/6
07/03/2019 Active Directory with ASP.NET MVC (.NET) - CodeProject

Notes
All these functionalities work on specific organizational unit I have created “DevOU”.
To get All Users and groups of Active Directory, just remove “OU” from path in the context.

History
7th March, 2019: Initial version

License
This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)

About the Author

Mina bedier No Biography provided
Software Developer
Egypt

Comments and Discussions

0 messages have been posted for this article Visit https://www.codeproject.com/Articles/1279198/Active-Directory-with-
ASP-NET-MVC-NET to post and view comments on this article, or click here to get a print view with messages.

Permalink | Advertise | Privacy | Cookies | Terms of Use | Mobile Article Copyright 2019 by Mina bedier
Web05 | 2.8.190306.1 | Last Updated 7 Mar 2019 Everything else Copyright © CodeProject, 1999-2019

https://www.codeproject.com/Articles/1279198/Active-Directory-with-ASP-NET-MVC-NET?display=Print 6/6