Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in

How Can I Promote Windows Server 2012 to Domain Controller? Part 03 – The Configuration

This Tutorial addresses:
  • Windows Server
  • Configuration
  • Domain Controller
Assuming that you have successfully completed all the steps described in the second part ‘AD DS Installation’, in this final part you will configure the AD DS settings in order to promote the Windows Server 2012 to a full-fledged Active Directory domain controller.

Here is how you can get the job done:

  1. Once you have closed the Add Roles and Features Wizard box after the successful installation of AD DS and DNS server roles, back on the Server Manager window, from the left pane, click to select the AD DS category from the left pane.

  2. From the right pane, under the SERVERS section, make sure that the current server name is selected in the displayed list.

  3. From the yellow bar displayed at the top of the list, click More.



  4. On the opened All Servers Task Details box, under the All Servers Task Details and Notifications section, make sure that the current server name is selected.

  5. Under the Action column, click the Promote this server to a domain controller option.



  6. From the Active Directory Domain Services Configuration Wizard box, on the Deployment Configuration window, under the Select the deployment operation section, click to select the Add a new forest radio button.

  7. Under the Specify the domain information for this operation section, in the Root domain name field, type the domain name that you want to use for your organization’s network.
    (MYDOMAIN.COM for this demonstration.).



  8. Once done, click Next to proceed to the next step.

  9. On the Domain Controller Options window, choose the Windows Server 2012 option from the Forest functional level and Domain functional level drop-down lists.

    Note: You can even choose the earlier versions of Windows Server if those versions of domain controllers are present in your architecture. If you plan to have only the Windows Server 2012 operating systems as the domain controllers, choosing the Windows Server 2012 option for the Forest functional level and the Domain functional level from the corresponding drop-down lists would give you all the benefits and features that the network operating system has.

  10. Under the Type the Directory Services Restore Mode (DSRM) password section, type and retype a unique and very strong password to restore the directory services in case the domain controller fails or gets corrupted. (For obvious security reasons, make sure that the Directory Services Restore Mode password is not identical to the one that you specified for the default Administrator account.).



  11. Once done, click Next to proceed to the next step.

  12. On the DNS Options window, click Next to proceed as there’s nothing much to do here at this initial stage.



  13. On the Additional Options window, leave the NetBIOS name as default, and click Next to continue.



  14. On the Paths window, leave the default paths for the testing purposes.

    Note: In production environments, where you might be dealing with thousands of domain user accounts, you might want to store the database folder, log files, and the SYSVOL folder at different locations, maybe in different volumes of the hard disk drive (or sometimes on different hard disk drives altogether).



  15. Click Next to continue.

  16. On the Review Options window, review the configurations that you are about to make while promoting the Windows Server 2012 network operating system to a full-fledged Active Directory domain controller.

  17. Click Next when done.

  18. On the Prerequisites Check window, wait till Windows Server 2012 checks the prerequisites for the process.

  19. Once the prerequisites check is passed, click the Install button to start the process of promoting the Windows Server 2012 to a full-fledged Active Directory domain controller.



  20. Wait till the installation process completes successfully, and the server restarts.

  • Once the Windows Server 2012 network operating system restarts, you can start using the server as a domain controller.
    Can't find your answer ? Ask !