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Installation Notes

This document outlines the initial deployment and configuration of the Active Directory Home Lab environment.

Environment Information

Item Value
Hypervisor VMware Workstation Pro
Domain Controller DC01
Client Workstation CLIENT01
Domain Name adlab.local
Forest Functional Level Windows Server 2022
Domain Functional Level Windows Server 2022

Server Configuration

Server Name

DC01

Host-Only Network Configuration

Domain Controller (DC01)

Setting Value
IP Address 192.168.66.10
Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway None
Preferred DNS Server 192.168.66.10

DC01 Network Configuration Verification

The Domain Controller was configured with a static IPv4 address and configured to use itself as the preferred DNS server.

DC01 IP Configuration

Client Workstation (CLIENT01)

Setting Value
IP Address 192.168.66.20
Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway None
Preferred DNS Server 192.168.66.10

Installed Server Roles

The following Windows Server roles were installed:

  • Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS)
  • DNS Server

Active Directory Deployment

Domain Information

Domain Name: adlab.local
NetBIOS Name: ADLAB

Domain Controller Promotion

The server was promoted to a Domain Controller using:

Add a new forest

with the following configuration:

Setting Value
Domain Name adlab.local
Forest Functional Level Windows Server 2022
Domain Functional Level Windows Server 2022
DNS Server Installed
Global Catalog Enabled

Domain Configuration Verification

The Active Directory domain configuration was verified after DC01 was successfully promoted to a Domain Controller.

DC01 Domain Information

Organizational Structure Created

adlab.local
└── Company
    ├── Users
    ├── Groups
    ├── Computers
    ├── Servers
    └── Service Accounts

Organizational Unit Structure

The Organizational Unit structure was created to logically organize Active Directory objects and provide a foundation for administration, delegation, and future Group Policy deployment.

Active Directory OU Structure

Security Groups Created

IT_Admins
HelpDesk
HR
Sales

Security Group Configuration

Security groups were created to support departmental organization and group-based access control within the Active Directory environment.

Active Directory Security Groups

Test Users Created

Name Username Department
John Smith jsmith IT
Sarah Brown sbrown Help Desk
Emily Davis edavis HR
Mike Wilson mwilson Sales

Active Directory User Accounts

Test user accounts were created to represent users across multiple departments within the simulated organization.

Active Directory Users

Validation and Health Checks

The following validation steps were completed:

Verify IP Configuration

ipconfig /all

Verify Domain Controller Health

dcdiag /v

Verify DNS Resolution

nslookup adlab.local

Verify Active Directory Services

Get-Service NTDS,DNS,Netlogon,KDC

Verify Domain Information

Get-ADDomain

Verify Forest Information

Get-ADForest

Client Domain Join Validation

The following tests were completed successfully:

  • CLIENT01 joined to adlab.local
  • DNS resolution verified
  • Domain authentication verified
  • CLIENT01 visible in Active Directory Users and Computers
  • Successful login using domain credentials

Verify CLIENT01 Domain Membership

CLIENT01 was successfully joined to the adlab.local Active Directory domain.

CLIENT01 Domain Joined

Verify Domain Authentication

Successful domain authentication was confirmed by signing into CLIENT01 using Active Directory domain credentials.

Client Domain Login

Screenshots Collected

  • DC01-IPConfig.png
  • DC01-DomainInfo.png
  • DC01-DCDiag-01.png
  • DC01-DCDiag-02.png
  • DC01-DCDiag-03.png
  • DC01-DCDiag-04.png
  • OU-Structure.png
  • Security-Groups.png
  • AD-Users.png
  • CLIENT01-Domain-Joined.png
  • Client-Domain-Login.png
  • Client-System-Properties.png

Lessons Learned

  • DNS is critical to Active Directory functionality.
  • Static IP addressing should be configured before promoting a Domain Controller.
  • Proper virtual network configuration is essential for domain communication.
  • Documentation and screenshots significantly simplify troubleshooting and future administration.
  • PowerShell provides a powerful method for administering Active Directory.

Final Status

The Active Directory environment has been successfully deployed and validated. This environment will serve as the baseline for future projects involving:

  • Help Desk Administration
  • Group Policy Management
  • PowerShell Automation
  • File Server Administration