A trust relationship is a connection between two domains or forests that allows users from one to be authenticated and access resources in the other. The direction of this trust determines who can access what. A two-way trust allows users in both connected domains to access resources in each other's domain, enabling mutual access. A one-way trust is directional; it can be either incoming or outgoing. A one-way outgoing trust permits users in your local (on-premises) domain to access resources in the remote (managed) domain, while a one-way incoming trust does the opposite, allowing remote users to access local resources. Choosing the correct type is the first step in securing cross-domain authentication.
To establish a trust, you must first ensure the domains can find each other by configuring DNS. This often involves setting up Conditional Forwarders so that each domain's DNS servers know how to resolve names for the other domain's namespace. Once DNS is configured, you can create the trust itself. You can use graphical tools like the Active Directory Domains and Trusts console on an on-premises domain controller or the Microsoft Entra admin center in Azure. PowerShell commands and Azure AD Connect are also used to establish and manage these trusts in a hybrid environment, linking your on-premises Active Directory with Azure Active Directory.
After a trust is created, you must validate that it is working correctly. You can use the Active Directory Domains and Trusts console to check the trust's status in the domain properties. For command-line validation, the nltest tool is very useful. Running a command like nltest /trusted_domains from a domain controller will list all trusted domains and show if the trust is active. Regularly checking event logs and using other diagnostic tools helps ensure the trust remains healthy and secure, confirming that authentication paths are functioning as intended for reliable resource access.
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A two-way trust allows users in both connected domains to access resources in each other's domain, providing mutual access, while a one-way trust is directional and can be either incoming or outgoing, allowing access in only one direction depending on the type.
To establish a trust, you must first configure DNS, often by setting up conditional forwarders so each domain's DNS servers can resolve names for the other domain's namespace, and then create the trust using graphical tools like the Active Directory Domains and Trusts console, the Microsoft Entra admin center, PowerShell commands, or Azure AD Connect.
You can validate a trust by using the Active Directory Domains and Trusts console to check the trust's status in the domain properties, or by running the nltest tool with a command like nltest /trusted_domains from a domain controller to list all trusted domains and show if the trust is active.
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