Dear readers,
I am studying (MCSA Server 2008) but is quite
exciting to know that technology is getting advance every day.
During the
beginning of April last month, we give a recommendation to one of our clients
to backup all data from the server and reload a new (OS) Operating System. The
client agreed and scheduled a day for us. We got on site with our software and
was ready to go but to my utmost surprise, our department head pulled out
Window Server 2012 CDs from our software bag and this was how we carry on the
installation. This was my first time installing Server 2012 and I was so eager
to get familiar with the new features Microsoft has to offer in this OS.
On Installing a Windows 2012 Server and then
promoting it as the first domain controller in a new Forest. Even though
the logical steps haven’t really changed dramatically since the introduction of
Windows 2008, the interface has especially with the new look. So let’s
begin our journey with Windows Server 2012 as this will be the first of many
articles on configuring different components that Windows Server 2012 has to
offer.
Installing Windows Server 2012
The first step is to boot up from the CD or ISO image
and select your language settings.
Select your Language and input options and then click
on Next.
Click Install.
Select the operating system you want to
install. I have selected Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate Server
with a GUI. The other option is server core which was first introduced in
Windows 2008 and is a minimal install with no GUI but provides remote
management through Windows PowerShell and other tools.
Click Next.
Accept the License terms by checking in the box below.
Click Next.
I am performing a new installation of Windows Server,
so I had click on Custom.
Partition your drives and then click next.
The installation will eventually re-start your
Windows Server where it will go through the final stages of preparing the environment
for first time use.
You will eventually be prompted to enter a password
for the built-in Administrator account.
Click Finish.
You will now be presented with the new Windows Login
Screen, which is a fair change to what we have been accustomed to with previous
releases of Windows Server.
Hit Ctrl – ALT – Delete to sign in, and enter your
password.
You will be presented with the new Server Manager
Screen which really simplifies the administration and configuration of your new
server. Our main goal for this article is to configure Active Directory
and its related services such as DNS.
First thing I want to do is change the computer
name. Windows goes ahead and provides a default unique name in the form
of WIN-<random characters>
To do so, from the Server Manager > Dashboard
screen, click on Local Server and then click on the computer name hyperlink.
Click Change, enter a more desirable Computer Name
and then click OK.
You will then be prompted to restart your computer to
apply the changes. Click Ok and then Click on restart now.
After your computer has restarted, we will be
presented with the Server Manager Screen. Now we are ready to configure
this server as an Active Directory Controller.
Adding the Active Directory Domain Services Role.
From the Dashboard click on “Add roles and
features”. You will be presented with the “Before you begin screen.
Click Next. In the “Installation Type” screen click on “Role-base or
feature-based installation”.
Click Next.
You will be presented with the following screen
asking you to select a destination server. This is a new feature of
Windows 2012 where you have the ability to deploy roles and features to remote
servers and even offline virtual hard disks.
In our case, we are selecting the current server from
the server pool.
Click Next.
We are now back in familiar territory (if you have
worked with Windows 2008 Server) and we will select the “Active Directory
Domain Services” and DNS Server if it hasn’t already been provisioned.
You will then be prompted to add features that are
required for Active Directory Domain Services.
Click on Add Features.
Click Next.
If you want to add additional features, you can do so
from the next screen, otherwise click Next.
You will now be presented with the Active Directory
Domain Services (AD DS) screen outlining some information about AD DS and its
requirements. You will notice that DNS is a MUST and has always been the
case.
Click next.
You are now provided with a summary of installation
selections.
The installation will now begin.
Upon completion you will be presented with an
installation succeeded message.
Click Close.
Back in Server Manager, you will notice that AD DS
has been added to the left navigation tree. Click on it and then click on
‘’More’’ on the right navigation pane where it states that Configuration is
required for Active Directory Domain Services.
You will now be presented with the All Servers Task
Details, in which you will click on Promote this server to a domain controller
under Action.
The Deployment Configuration screen appears and we
will select “Add a new forest” as this is the first domain controller.
Enter your Root domain name and then click ‘’Next’’.
The following screen will then appear in which you
will enter and select your Domain Controller Options.
You will then get the below warning in which you can
ignore for now.
Click Next.
The NetBIOS domain name will then be inputted
automatically. In the event of a conflict, it will suggest an alternative
by appending the original name with a 0.
Click Next.
Confirm or change the locations of your database
folder, log folder and SYSVOL folder.
Click Next.
Review your selections and then Click ‘’Next’’.
If all of the prerequisites checks have passed
successfully, you will be able to click on Install to proceed.
Click Install.
The installation will now proceed and you will see
the progress being displayed.
The computer will most likely restart on its own to
complete the installation so don’t be alarmed if it does. You will
receive a brief warning advising so.
Upon restart, you should be able to login using your
domain credentials for the user administrator.
So let’s add our first user! We can do so via
the new Active Directory Administrative Center or via the well known Active
Directory Users and Computers. For something different, lets try the
former.
Once Server Manager has launched, click on Tools >
Active Directory Administrative Center
You will be greeted with the below Welcome screen.
Click on your domain on the left navigation pane, (local)
Let’s begin by creating our first Organizational Unit
that will house our corporate users (I am not a fan of using the default
Users). On the right navigation pane under Taks > <domain name>
click on New and then select “Organizational Unit”.
Enter the mandatory details.
Click OK.
This will immediately create the Organizational Unit
in the designated location. Double click on your newly created
Organizational Unit and on the left navigation pane, select New User. The
below screen appears in which you will fill in the necessary details.
Make sure you scroll down to the bottom and fill in all
the necessary sections such as Groups, Profile Settings and Organization
settings.
Once completed, Click OK.
Your newly created user will now be listed in the
middle navigation pane.
As you can see it is relatively straight forward
configuring your first domain controller in a new forest using Windows Server
2012, in particular if you have had experience with Windows Server 2008.
by Daniel Collins
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