Install And Setup AD (Active Directory) in Windows Server

What is AD?

Imagine you're working as an IT professional in a large company with hundreds or even thousands of employees. Each employee needs access to various resources like email, shared folders, and applications to do their job. Managing all these users and resources individually would be a nightmare!

This is where Active Directory (AD) comes in. Think of it as a central nervous system for your company's IT infrastructure. It acts as a secure database and management system that helps you:

1. Manage Users and Computers:
   Create and manage user accounts, including setting passwords, assigning permissions, and defining what resources they can access.

   example:

   When a new employee joins the company, you can easily create their user account in AD, assign them to the appropriate group (e.g., Marketing, Sales, IT), and grant them access to the resources they need.

2. Single Sign-On (SSO):
   Users can log in once with their AD credentials and access various resources like email, applications, and file servers without needing to enter their credentials again. This saves time and improves user experience.

3. Group Policy:
   Define and enforce policies for users and computers, such as password complexity requirements, security settings, software configurations, and restrictions on what users can do. This helps maintain security and consistency across the organization.

   example:

   You can use Group Policy to ensure all computers in the company have the latest security updates installed, enforce strong password policies, and prevent users from installing unauthorized software.

4. Application Integration:
   Many business applications integrate with AD, allowing users to seamlessly access them using their AD credentials. This simplifies access management and improves security.

   example:

   Many companies use Microsoft Exchange for email. By integrating Exchange with AD, users can access their email using their AD username and password, and administrators can manage email accounts and permissions through AD.

Setting up Active Directory (AD) on Windows Server

While cloud-based solutions are becoming increasingly popular, AD still plays a crucial role in hybrid environments, where companies utilize both on-premises and cloud resources. Additionally, the skills and knowledge you gain by learning AD can be applied to other identity and access management solutions.

• Start with Administrator Account:

Your Windows Server will only have one user account to log in at first, with administrator privileges. This account is important for setting up AD.

• Add Active Directory Domain Services:

Open a program called "Server Manager" on your server.
Find a section about adding roles and features (like extra tools).
Choose "Active Directory Domain Services" from the list and install it. Your computer might need to restart after this step.

• Make This Server the Boss (Domain Controller):

Once you've installed Active Directory, it's time to promote this server to a special role called a "Domain Controller" (DC). This is the boss of all the user accounts and computers in your network.
When promoting the server, choose the option to create a "new forest" if this is the first time you're setting up AD.

• Server's IP Address:

The setup process will give you the server's IP address. Write this down, you'll need it later.

Voilà ! You've just set up a basic Active Directory Domain Controller