Active Directory

Promoting a server to domain controller is a common task for Active Directory admins. Learn how using both the GUI and PowerShell in this tutorial.

Active Directory really does keep getting better with age! Learn to install the AD domain services role on Windows Server 2012 in this handy how-to.

One of the keys to successful federation is properly adding and verifying the domain. Learn to verify domain ownership in Office 365 with this handy article.

In this post, Michael Simmons explains FSMO Roles in Active Directory 2008. Michael covers all 5 roles: Schema Master, Domain Naming Master, Infrastructure Master, Relative ID Master and Primary Domain Controller Emulator. Together, these FSMO Roles help prevent conflicts when making changes within the traditional multi-master model.

This article deals with the mechanism of deploying and verifying GPO deployment. It will not deal in the GPO itself and the settings inside it (these settings and configurations will be discussed in different articles). Note that this article was written and contributed to the site by Amir Meron. Group Policy is a one of…

How can I rename my Windows 2003 Domain Controllers? Although not the best idea in the world and although I rather re-build the entire server from scratch, this can be done in Windows Server 2003-based Domain Controllers. The procedure is quite simple. It only requires one reboot of the DC that had it’s name renamed….

What do I need to do to prepare my Windows 2000 forest for the installation of the first Windows Server 2003 DC? Before you can introduce Windows Server 2003 domain controllers, you must prepare the forest and domains with the ADPrep utility. ADPrep /forestprep on the schema master in your Windows 2000 forest. ADPrep /domainprep…

How can I view additional information about a user in the AD Users and Computers snap-in? The Windows 2003 Resource Kit has a hidden .dll file called Acctinfo.dll. After registering the .dll with the following command, it will add a new property page, called Additional Account Info, to the user properties page in Active Directory…

What are Administrative Template in Group Policy Objects? In Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 Group Policy Objects (also known as GPO) you may find hundreds of useful settings and configuration options, all nicely divided in to specific sections. With GPO, you can create policies to centralize the management of user and computer settings. Amongst…

What are the most common DNS related Dcpromo errors? How do I fix them? Some common issues that you may encounter with Active Directory installation and configuration can cause a partial or complete loss of functionality in Active Directory. These issues may include, but not be limited to: Domain Name System (DNS) configuration errors. Network…