How to install Active Directory Service on Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2

Installing Active Directory

1. Open the Server Manager from the task bar.
2. From Server Manager Dashboard select Add roles and features. This will launch the Roles and Features Wizard allowing for modifications to be performed on the Windows Server 2012 instance.

3. Select Role-based or features-based installation from the Installation Type screen and click Next.
Note: Roles are the major feature sets of the server, such as IIS, and features provide additional functionality for a given role.

4. The current server is selected by default. Click Next to proceed to the Server Roles tab.

5. From the Server Roles page place a check mark in the box next to Active Directory Domain Services. A notice will appear explaining additional roles services or features are also required to install domain services, click Add Features.
Note: There are other options including, Certificate services, federation services, lightweight directory services and rights management. Domain Services is the glue that holds this all together and needs to be installed prior to these other services.

6. Review and select optional features to install during the AD DS installation by placing a check in the box next to any desired features; Once done click Next.

7. Review the information on the AD DS tab and click Next.

8. Review the installation and click Install.
Note: The installation progress will be displayed on the screen. Once installed the AD DS role will be displayed on the 'Server Manager' landing page.

Configuring Active Directory

Once the AD DS role is installed the server will need to be configured for your domain.
1. If you have not done so already, Open the Server Manager from the task bar.
2. Open the Notifications Pane by selecting the Notifications icon from the top of the Server Manager. From the notification regarding configuring AD DS click Promote this server to a domain controller.

3. From the Deployment Configuration tab select Add a new forest from the radial options menu. Insert your root domain name into the Root domain name field.

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