What Does Global Catalog (GC) Mean?
A global catalog is a distributed data storage that is stored in domain controllers (also known as global catalog servers) and is used for faster searching. It provides a searchable catalog of all objects in every domain in a multi-domain Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS). A global catalog provides a partial representation of the objects and is distributed using multi-master replication.
Techopedia Explains Global Catalog (GC)
A global catalog is a multi-domain catalog that allows for faster searching of objects without the need for a domain name. It helps in locating an object from any domain by using its partial, read-only replica stored in a domain controller. As it uses only partial information and a set of attributes that are most commonly used for searching, the objects from all domains, even in a large forest, can be represented by a single database of a global catalog server.
