How to Setup Active Directory on Windows Server 2022 (2024)

How to Setup Active Directory on Windows Server 2022. One of the most notable features of Windows Server that helps it stand out in the Enterprise sphereis Active Directory. All in all, Active Directory is a great tool for enhancing security for organizations, enabling administrators to have a centralized user and rights management.

The latest Windows server version that runs Active Directory service is the Windows Server 2022. Setting up Active Directory on this machine is a delicate process and this article offers a complete step by step guide on how to set it up on a Windows Server 2022 machine. Also, it highlights key prerequisites that are needed to begin installation.

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The following are the prerequisites needed before you begin with the Active Directory setup:

• Name The Server. Change the name of your server or the domain controller after it has been set up. However, it is recommended that you settle on the finalname for your server before installing Active Directory.

• Configure a Static IP for the server. A static or a fixed IP configuration and assignment to your server is mandatory to ensure that the resources stay connected and remain accessible by the server.

• Make sure that the machine is fully dedicated to the role of the server. Ensure that the server has sufficient hardware resources and that it handles extreme computation load.

Now, you should be ready to start the installation. But before that, let’s dive on how an active directory works.

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Primarily, Active Directory helps administrators in managing users and resources across a network. In addition, active directory is mainly structured into three main tiers: domains, trees and forests. A forest is a collection of trees, each of which may contain numerous domains.

One major checkpoint of this installation is a setup of the Active Directory Domain Serviceswhich isa component of Windows Server and the core Active Directory service. Domain controllers on the other hand are the machines that host Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS).

AD DS is based on a number of well-known protocols and standards including LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol), Kerberos, and DNS (Domain Name System). AD DS is usually the central node in a network and therefore, AD DS makes it easy for changes made to one domain controller to be replicated to the rest of the domain controllers.

Importantly, Active Directory is only for on premises Microsoft environments. Important to note that even though AD DS is the core of the Active Directory within a network, desktops, laptops, and other Windows based devices which are a part of an Active Directory system, cannot run the service.

Now with this basic understanding of the Active Directory, let’s proceed with the setup.

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1. Look for “Manage” on the top right of the menu bar. Click on it and then select “Add Roles and Features.” A pop-up window will open immediately. This pop-up window is the installer wizard that guides you with the roles and features setup.

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5. At the “Select Server Roles” checkpoint, select the role for the server. In the centre of the window, there is a list of all the roles that you can assign to your server machine. Search for “Active Directory Domain Services”.

To quickly find the required role, simply click on the first role in the list once and quickly type the keyword “active”. This will bring the selection to the required role. Once you’ve found “Active Directory Server Roles”, click the square box to confirm the selection and click “Next.”

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8. You’ll see a summary of your selected options here. Have a look at them carefully, and if you think you’ve made a mistake at any of the earlier checkpoints, you can go back and fix it by clicking “previous.”

Then, click “Install” button, once you’re satisfied with your selections at the “Confirmation” checkpoint.

So far, you’ve just added the required feature “Active Directory Domain Services.” The feature “Active Directory Domain Services” you’ve just added needs to be promoted to a DC (Domain Controller). Here are the following steps needed to do so:

1. Relaunch “Server Manager” if you have already closed it. On your Server Manager dashboard, you’ll should see a yellow triangle warning sign on the top right of the window near the menu bar. This sign appears only if Active Directory Domain Services was properly installed.

2. Click on the warning sign and a dropdown list will show you the required actions termed “post-deployment configuration.”

3. Look for the “Promote this server to a domain controller” option and click on it.

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1. At the first checkpoint “Deployment Configuration”, please select the “add a new forest” radio button and enter your root domain name as desired. Then click “next”. (When adding a new forest, you’ll see multiple options. You don’t necessarily have to add a new forest and you choose any option from the given list.)

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Congratulations! You have successfullyset up Active Directory on your Windows Server 2022. Next, your server machine will need to be restarted once the promotion is successfully complete.

After that, log into your server using the domain you just created and the password that you just set in the previous steps. Once logged in successfully, start managing Active Directory Domain Services through the administrative centre. Moreover, integrate all the tools with the AD DS and start using them immediately.

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Once done with the Active Directory setup, you might want to verify the installation and check for any errors. Here are some Windows PowerShell commands that you use to do so.

• Verifying if the Active Directory installation was successfully completed:

• Getting the details of your Domain Controller:

• To get the details of your domain, use this command:

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Finally, always remember to keep a record of the Active Directory credentials you use during setup to avoid hiccups later on. Active directory is a valuable resource in any organization as it can be integrated with other tools to facilitate a seamless user management across the organization. This guide is meant to help you set it up correctly.

Please note that the tutorial above is only designed for Windows Server 2022 version. If you’re on a different version, you might encounter some issues, as the installation process might be different than that of Windows Server 2022.

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