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Deploying domain controllers

6 video lessons · about 26 minutes of video · practice questions on every step

This path is for Windows administrators who already know what Active Directory is and now need to put domain controllers into service. It is made of six short video lessons, each a few minutes long: promoting a server with Server Manager, doing the same on Server Core with PowerShell, installing from media for a branch office, upgrading to a newer Windows Server release, cloning virtual domain controllers and running them safely on a hypervisor.

Before starting, you should be comfortable with Windows Server basics, DNS names and the idea of domains and forests. A small lab with two or three virtual machines will let you try each step. The lessons were recorded for Windows Server 2016, so check version-specific details, such as functional levels and upgrade paths, against current documentation.

After this path you can

• promote a server to a domain controller with Server Manager or PowerShell
• deploy a branch-office domain controller from IFM media created with ntdsutil
• plan a move to a newer Windows Server release, including when adprep is needed
• prepare and clone a virtual domain controller with the right safeguards
• apply best practices for running domain controllers on a hypervisor

Start with step 1

The steps

1. 
   Step 1 · 3:44

   Installing a domain controller from Server Manager

   The two stages: adding the AD DS role, then promoting the server

2. 
   Step 2 · 2:22

   Installing a domain controller on Server Core

   Ways to install the DC role when Server Core has no local GUI

3. 
   Step 3 · 3:06

   Installing a domain controller from media (IFM)

   When installing from media beats promoting over the WAN

4. 
   Step 4 · 3:34

   Upgrading domain controllers to a newer Windows Server

   In-place upgrade versus adding new DCs and retiring old ones

5. 
   Step 5 · 9:28

   Cloning virtual domain controllers

   Requirements: generation identifier, Windows Server 2012 or later guests, PDC emulator

6. 
   Step 6 · 3:22

   Best practices for virtualising domain controllers

   Avoiding single points of failure with virtual DCs

Courses for this path

The videos are short lessons from these courses. The courses add the demonstrations, labs and the rest of the topic.

What next

Continue with the Active Directory users and groups path, then learn how sites and replication control traffic between the domain controllers you have deployed.

Next path: Active Directory users and groups →