Create an Active Directory Domain on Windows Server 2016

1. Log in to your Windows Server and start the Server Manager.
2. Navigate to the Local Server tab and select Manage > Add Roles and Features from the command menu at the top right of the window:
   
   
   The Add Roles and Features Wizard will be displayed.
3. Click Next. The Wizard will proceed to the Installation Type option.
4. Select the Role-based or feature-based installation type.
5. Click Next. The Select destination server panel is displayed:
   
   
6. By default, the server to apply the installation should already be selected. Confirm that the intended server has been selected from the server pool (or select the desired server) and click Next. The Select server roles panel is displayed:
   
   
7. Click the Active Directory Domain Services checkbox to activate it as the role to use with the server.
8. Click Next. The required features list is displayed:
   
   
9. Click Add Features to add the required features to the server. The Select features panel is displayed:
   
   
10. Optionally select any additional features that may be required for your server.
11. Click Next. The Confirm installation selections panel is displayed:
    
    
12. If all selections are correct, click Install.
13. Wait for the installation process to finish successfully, then click Close to close the wizard.

Promote the Active Directory Domain Controller on Windows Server 2016

After the Active Directory Domain is created successfully, you need to configure the service on the server. To do that, we set up the Active Directory Domain Services.

1. After the AD DS server has been added, an alert notification appears in the Server Manager. Click the notification flag.
2. From the dropdown menu at the top right corner of the window, click Promote this server to a domain controller. The Deployment Configuration panel is displayed:
   
   
3. Select the option Add a new forest and enter a value in the Root domain name field.
4. Click Next. The Domain Controller Options panel is displayed:
   
   
5. From the Forest functional level and Domain functional level dropdown lists, select the oldest operating system in your network. This option provides backwards compatibility for various features.
6. If your Domain Controller is a standalone server, you need not activate the DNS Name Server checkbox. Otherwise, it’s recommended to leave it checked.
7. Enter the Directory Services Restore Mode (DSRM) password and re-enter it in the Confirm password field.
8. Click Next twice. (There is no need to specifiy a DNS delegation.) The Additional Options panel is displayed:
   
   
9. The value of the NetBIOS domain name field should automatically appear.
10. Click Next. The Paths panel is displayed:
    
    
11. Browse and select the Active Directory Controller paths for each: Database folder, Log files folder and SYSVOL folder.
12. Click Next.
13. Confirm all your selected options and click Next. A prerequisite check will be performed. Although some warnings may be displayed, the check should complete successfully and a confirmation message will appear:
    
    
14. Click Install. When the wizard finishes configuring the settings, you will be prompted to log out of your current session.
15. Log out and then reboot the machine.
16. Following the reboot, your previous login credentials will fail:
    
    
    
    This is because your account now needs to be associated with the new Domain you created.
17. To solve this problem, in the Login dialog click Switch User and log in with your Domain Administrator account. This is basically your same user account, but with the new Domain Name preceding it, as shown below:
    
    
    
    For example, for your user name enter: corp.example.com\Administrator.

Configure the Domain in the CloudShare Portal

You now need to configure the new Domain controller in your CloudShare environment.

1. Login to CloudShare.
2. After the VM reboots (logs in with the local user, not the Domain), from the Environments panel, select the environment where the new Active Directory Domain Controller will be used. The relevant environment's configuration page will be displayed.
3. From the configuration menu at the right, click Edit Environment > Edit Domains:
   
   
   
   The Edit Domains dialog will be displayed.
4. Click Add domain. The Add new domain popup is displayed:
   
   
5. Enter the appropriate values from your Domain Controller in the Domain name, Administrator user name and Administrator password fields.
6. Click Add domain. The new Domain will be added to your selected environment.
7. After you have added the new domain, its corresponding VM needs to be configured. In the subsection displayed for your new domain, next to the VMs field, click 0, then click Add VM:
   
   
8. From the VMs dropdown menu, select the new Domain Controller and click Add:\
   
   
   
   The new controller is added to the VMs list.
9. Next to the Domain Controller field, click None and activate the checkbox that appears next to the name of the new VM:
   
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10. Click Confirm Changes. A confirmation message is displayed.
11. To confirm, click Save Changes.

Next Steps

Congratulations! You've completed setting up your new Active Directory Domain Controller and adding it to your CloudShare environment.

You may want to continue to the article: Add Virtual Machines to an Active Directory Domain.