Get users from an AD group

Question

I have this code to work with users from a group

DirectorySearcher myGroupSearcher = new DirectorySearcher(myDirectoryEntry);
myGroupSearcher.Filter = String.Format("(&(objectClass=group)(|(cn={0})(dn={0})))", strGroupName);
myGroupSearcher.PropertiesToLoad.Add("member");

SearchResult myGroupSearchResult = myGroupSearcher.FindOne();

if (myGroupSearchResult != null)
{
    ResultPropertyValueCollection myUsersInGroup = myGroupSearchResult.Properties["member"];

    int intMemberCount = myUsersInGroup.Count;

    for (int i = 0; i < intMemberCount; i++)
    {
        //Split the current result
        string[] strProperites = myUsersInGroup[i].ToString().Split(',');

        //Get the CN
        string strUsername = strProperites[0].Substring(3);

        DirectorySearcher myUserSearcher = new DirectorySearcher(myDirectoryEntry);
        myUserSearcher.Filter = String.Format("(&(objectClass=user)(|(cn={0})(sAMAccountName={0})))", strUsername);
        myUserSearcher.PropertiesToLoad.Add("memberOf");

        SearchResult myUserSearchResult = myUserSearcher.FindOne();

        //Do some work
    }
}

This works for most users, but for some, the strUsername gets turncated depending on how the customers AD looks like (if the user have a CN containing ,). So this solution isnt the most optimal to use. Is there a way to get the samaccount name when searching for members in a group? Or is there a better way?

Answer 1

Assuming you're on .NET 3.5 or newer (or can upgrade to it), you should check out the System.DirectoryServices.AccountManagement (S.DS.AM) namespace. Read all about it here:

Managing Directory Security Principals in the .NET Framework 3.5

Basically, you can define a domain context and easily find users and/or groups in AD:

// set up domain context
PrincipalContext ctx = new PrincipalContext(ContextType.Domain);

// find the group in question
GroupPrincipal group = GroupPrincipal.FindByIdentity(ctx, "YourGroupNameHere");

// if found....
if (group != null)
{
   // iterate over members
   foreach (Principal p in group.GetMembers())
   {
      Console.WriteLine("{0}: {1}", p.StructuralObjectClass, p.DisplayName);
      // do whatever you need to do to those members
   }
}

The new S.DS.AM makes it really easy to play around with users and groups in AD:

Answer 2

string[] strProperites = myUsersInGroup[i].ToString().Split(new string[] { "cn=" }, StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries);

Answer 3

It might be an option to use the System.DirectoryServices.AccountManagement classes instead of the DirectorySearcher. There is a GroupPrincipal class which has a Members property that contains the UserPrincipal objects.