Installing Active Directory Domain Services On Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise 64
Installing Active Directory Domain Services On Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise 64
Enterprise 64-bit
This article provides prerequisites and steps for installing Active Directory Domain
Services (AD DS) on Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise 64-bit (W2K8).
This article does not provide instructions for adding a Domain Controller (DC) to an
already existing Active Directory Forest Infrastructure.
Before you install AD DS on a Rackspace Cloud Server running Windows Server 2008
R2 Enterprise 64-bit (W2K8), you must perform the following prerequisite tasks.
Select your domain name and know the domain administrator password that you want
to use.
Note: Your domain name should be reliably unique. Do not use the same domain as
your website, for example, and avoid extensions like “.local” unless you have registered
that domain name in DNS. We suggest a domain name that is not used for anything
else, like "internal.example.com"..
Windows Server 2008 can properly install and configure DNS during the AD DS
installation if it knows that the DNS is local. You can accomplish this by having the
private network adapter’s preferred DNS server address point to the already assigned
IP address of the same private network adapter, as follows:
1. From the Windows Start menu, open Administrative Tools > Server Manager.
2. In the Server Summary section of the Server Manager window, click View
Network Connections.
3. In the Network Connections window, right-click the private adapter and select
Properties.
Note: The last step for prepping W2K8 for AD is adding the proper Server Role. The
“Active Directory Domain Services” Role will be added. This only installs the framework
for W2K8 to become a DC and run AD. It does not promote the server to DC or install
AD.
Adding the Active Directory Domain Services role installs the framework for Windows
Server 2008 to become a DC and run AD DS. It does not promote the server to a DC or
install AD DS.
1. In the Server Manager window, open the Roles directory and in the Roles
Summary section, click Add Roles.
2. On the Before You Begin page of the Add Roles Wizard, click Next.
3. On the Select Server Roles page, select the Active Directory Domain Services
check box, and then click Next on this page and on the Confirmation page.
4. On the Installation Progress page, click Install.
5. On the Results page, after the role is successfully added, click Close.
Enable the Remote Registry
Now that you have prepared the server, you can install AD DS.
Tip: As an alternative to performing steps 1 through 3, you can type dcpromo.exe at the
command prompt. Then, skip to step 4.
7. On the Name the Forest Root Domain page, enter the domain name that you
choose during preparation steps. Then, click Next.
8. After the installation verifies the NetBIOS name, on the Set Forest Functional
Level page, select Windows Server 2008 R2 in the Forest function level list.
Then, click Next.
The installation examines and verifies your DNS setting.
9. On the Additional Domain Controller Options page, ensure that the DNS server
check box is selected, and then click Next.
10. In the message dialog box that appears, click Yes.
11. On the Location for Database, Log Files, and SYSVOL page, accept the default
values and then click Next.
12. On the Directory Services Restore Mode Administrator Password page, enter the
domain administrator password that you chose during the preparation steps. This
is not your admin password that was emailed to you during the creation of your
server, although you can use that password if you want to. Then, click Next.
13. On the Summary page, review your selections and then click Next.
The installation begins.
14. If you want the server to restart automatically after the installation is completed,
select the Reboot on completion check box.
15. If you did not select the Reboot on completion check box, click Finish in the
wizard. Then, restart the server.
16. After a few minutes, reconnect to your server by using the Console in your
Control Panel or RDP.
17. To log in, perform the following steps:
a. Click Switch User, and then click Other User.
b. For the user, enter the full domain name that you chose, followed by a back
slash and Administrator (for example, Example.com\Administrator).
c. Enter the password that was emailed to you when you first built the server. If
you changed your password
for the local admin account to this server before you began the installation of
Active Directory Domain Services, use that password.
d. Click the log in button.