Windows Domain and Workgroup concepts

The resources on the local area network need management, "domain" and "workgroup" are two kinds of different network resource management modes. So what's the difference?

Working Group work Group

within a network, there may be hundreds or thousands of computers, and if they are not grouped, they are listed in "Network Places". Can imagine how messy. To solve this problem, Windows 9x/nt/2000 cites the concept of "workgroup," in which different computers are generally grouped into different groups, such as the computers of the Finance department are included in the "Finance Department" working group, and the HR computer is included in the "Personnel" working group. To access a department's resources, you can find that department's workgroup name in My Network Places and double-click to see that department's computer.  
So how to join a workgroup? Actually very simple, you just need to right click on your Windows desktop "Network Places", in the pop-up menu choose "Properties", click "Identity", in the "Computer name" column to add your desired name, in the "Workgroup" column to add the name of the workgroup you want to join.  
If you entered a workgroup name that was not previously available, it would be equivalent to creating a new workgroup, but only your computer is in it. The computer name and workgroup length cannot exceed 15 English characters, you can enter Chinese characters, but not more than 7. "Computer description" is an additional information, do not fill, but it is better to fill in some information about this computer owner, such as "technical director" and so on. When you click the [OK] button, Windows 98 prompts you to restart, restart as required, and then go to My Network Places to see the members of your workgroup.  
in general, members of the same team have the highest frequency of exchanging information with each other, so when you go to your network Places, you first see members of your workgroup. If you want to access members of other workgroups, you need to double-click Entire Network, you'll see all the workgroups on the network, double-click the workgroup name, and you'll see the members inside.  
You can also quit a workgroup, as long as you change the workgroup name. However, you can still access your shared resources on the Internet, just to change a workgroup. You can easily join any workgroup on the same network, or you can leave a workgroup. The "Workgroup", like a club that joins and exits freely, serves only as a "room" to facilitate the browsing of resources shared by the Internet.  

Domains domain

Unlike the team's loosely-made membership, the domain is a relatively rigid organization. "Domain" refers to a combination of computers that the server controls whether computers on the network can join.
Strict management is necessary for network security. In peer mode, any computer can access shared resources, such as shared ISDN Internet access, as long as it is connected to the network. Although shared files on the peer network can be accessed with passwords, they are easily cracked. In a peer network made up of Windows 9x, data is very insecure.
In "domain" mode, at least one server is responsible for the verification work of each computer and user Tsu into the network, which is the same as a gatekeeper of a unit, called a "domain controller, abbreviated DC." A domain controller contains a database of information such as the account, password, and computer belonging to the domain. When the computer is linked to the network, the domain controller first to identify whether this computer belongs to this domain, the user is using the login account exists, the password is correct. If the above information is incorrect, the domain controller denies the user from logging on to this computer. Unable to log on, the user can not access the server has rights to protect the resources, only to peer-to access the Windows shared resources, so as to a certain extent, protect the resources on the network.
To join a computer to the domain, just so that it and the server in the "Network Places" to see each other is not enough, it must be the network administrator to the computer to join the domain of the relevant operations. The procedure is composed of server-side settings and client settings.