A Windows Server 2016 server that is running Server Core does not have the Server Manager GUI interface, so you need to use alternative methods to install the files for the domain
controller role and to install the domain controller role itself. You can use Server Manager,
Windows PowerShell, or Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) installed on a
client computer that has the Windows 8.1 operating system or a later version.
To install the Active Directory files on a server, you can do one of the following:
• Use Server Manager to connect remotely to the Server Core server and install the Active Directory role as described in the previous topic.
• Use the Install-WindowsFeature AD-Domain-Services Windows PowerShell cmdlet to install the files.
After you install the Active Directory files, you can complete everything except the hardware installation and configuration in one of the following ways:
• Use Server Manager to start the Active Directory Domain Services Configuration Wizard as described in the previous topic.
• Run the Install-ADDSDomainController Windows PowerShell cmdlet and supply the required information on the command line.
Note: In Windows Server 2016, running a cmdlet loads the cmdlet’s module automatically, if it is available. For example, running the Install-ADDSDomainController cmdlet loads the
ADDSDeployment module automatically into your current Windows PowerShell session. If a
module is not loaded or available, you will receive an error when you run the cmdlet. The error message reads that it is not a valid cmdlet.
You can still import the module that you need manually. However, you do not need to do this in Windows Server 2016 unless there is an explicit need to do so, such as pointing to a particular source to install the module.
Additional Reading:
• For more information on using the Install-ADDSDomainController Windows PowerShell cmdlet, refer to: http://aka.ms/mvkc3u
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Upgrading Your Skills to MCSA: Windows Server 2016 3-7
Deploying Active Directory domain controllers by using the Install from
Media method
If you have a network that is slow, unreliable, or costly, you might find it necessary to add another domain controller at a remote location or branch office. In this scenario, it is often better to deploy AD DS to a server by using the Install from
Media method rather than deploying it over the
network.
For example, if you connect to a server that is in a remote office and use Server Manager to install AD DS, the entire Active Directory database and the SYSVOL folder will copy to the new domain controller over a potentially unreliable wide area
network (WAN) connection. As an alternative, and to significantly reduce the amount of traffic moving over the WAN link, you can create a backup of AD DS, perhaps to a USB drive, and you can take this backup to the remote location. When you are at the remote location and run Server Manager to install AD DS, you can select the Install from Media option. Most of the copying then occurs locally. The WAN link is used only for security traffic and to ensure that the new domain controller receives any changes that were made to the central AD DS after you created the Install from Media backup.
To install a domain controller by using Install from Media, browse to a domain controller that is not an RODC. Use the ntdsutil command-line tool to create a snapshot of the Active Directory database, and then copy the snapshot to the server that you will promote to a domain controller. Use Server Manager to promote the server to a domain controller by selecting the Install from Media option, and then provide the local path to the Install from Media directory that you created previously.
The procedure is as follows:
1. On the full domain controller, at an administrative command prompt, type the following commands, where C:\IFM is the destination directory that will contain the snapshot of the Active Directory database:
Ntdstil
Activate instance ntds Ifm
create SYSVOL full C:\IFM
2. On the server that you are promoting to a domain controller, perform the following steps: a. Add the Active Directory role by using Server Manager.
b. Wait while the Active Directory files install.
c. In Server Manager, click the Notification icon, and then under Post-Deployment
Configuration, click Promote this server to a domain controller.
The Active Directory Domain Services Configuration Wizard runs.
d. On the appropriate page of the wizard, select the option to Install from Media, and then provide the local path to the snapshot directory.
AD DS then installs from the snapshot. When the domain controller restarts, it contacts other domain controllers in the domain and updates AD DS with any changes that occurred after the snapshot’s creation.
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3-8 Implementing Directory Services
Additional Reading: For more information on the steps that are necessary to install AD DS, refer to: “Install Active Directory Domain Services (Level 100)” at: http://aka.ms/nmus1d