Home > Articles > Operating Systems, Server > Microsoft Servers

Install and Uninstall Active Directory Domain Services

May 22, 2009

📄 Contents

␡

Install a New Windows Server 2008 Forest
Install a New Windows Server 2008 Child Domain
Install a New Windows Server 2008 Domain Tree
Install an Additional Windows Server 2008 Domain Controller
Perform a Staged Installation of a Read-Only Domain Controller
Install AD DS from Restored Backup Media
Remove a Domain Controller from a Domain
Forcing the Removal of a Windows Server 2008 Domain Controller
Performing Metadata Cleanup
Rename a Domain Controller

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Active Directory Domain Services 2008 How-To

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Install an Additional Windows Server 2008 Domain Controller

Solution: Installing an additional Windows Server 2008 DC consists of promoting a member server to a DC in an existing domain. The installation of an additional Windows Server 2008 DC can be performed using the Windows interface, the command line, and an answer file.

Install an Additional Domain Controller by Using the Windows Interface

To install an additional DC by using the Windows interface, perform the following steps using an AD DS account that has membership in the following AD DS group:

Domain Admins for the domain for which you want to add a writable domain controller.

Log on to the server you want to promote to a domain controller.
Click Start, Run, type in dcpromo, and click OK.
The dcpromo process begins by determining whether the AD DS binaries are installed. If the binaries are not installed, dcpromo installs them.
After the dcpromo process installs the Active Directory Domain Services server role, the Welcome to the Active Directory Domain Services Installation Wizard page appears. Click Next.
On the Operating System Compatibility page, click Next.
On the Choose a Deployment Configuration page, select Existing forest, select Add a domain controller to an existing forest, and click Next.
On the Network Credentials page, enter the DNS name of the domain to which you want to add the domain controller. Under Specify the account credentials to use to perform the installation, click Alternate credentials, and then click Set. On the Windows Security dialog box, enter the username and password for an account that has the permission to add the domain to the forest, and then click OK. Click Next to proceed.
On the Select a Domain page, shown in Figure 3.38, select the domain to which you want to add the domain controller and click Next.

Figure 3.38 The Select a Domain page.
On the Select a Site page, select the site to which you want the domain controller to belong and click Next.
On the Additional Domain Controller Options page, select the desired additional options, such as DNS server and/or Global catalog, for the domain controller and click Next.
On the Location for Database, Log Files, and SYSVOL page, type the volume and folder locations for the database file, the directory service log files, and the SYSVOL files; then click Next.
On the Directory Services Restore Mode Administrator Password page, type and confirm the restore mode password. Then click Next.
On the Summary page, click Next after you review your selections.

The Active Directory Domain Services installation process starts.
After the installation is complete, the Completing the Active Directory Domain Services Installation Wizard page appears. Ensure the installation was successful and click Finish.
When prompted to restart, click Restart Now.
To validate the installation process, click Start, click Run, type C:\Windows\Debug, and click OK.
Open the DCPROMO.log file and analyze the results in the file.

Install an Additional Domain Controller by Using the Command Line

Table 3.7 lists the installation parameters used in the steps that follow and the corresponding action of each parameter.

Table 3.7. Installing an Additional DC by Using the Command Line Installation Parameters

Installation Parameter	Corresponding Action
`InstallDns:yes`	DNS server will be installed.
`confirmGC:yes`	Specifies the domain controller is a global catalog server.
`replicaOrNewDomain:replica`	An additional domain controller will be added to the domain.
`replicaDomainDNSName:WS03Domain.local`	The DNS name of the domain that the domain controller will be added to.
`databasePath:"c:\windows\ntds"`	Database path.
`logPath:"c:\windows\ntds"`	Log file path.
`sysvolpath:"c:\windows\sysvol"`	SYSVOL path.
`safeModeAdminPassword:Today01!`	DSRM Administrator password.
`rebootOnCompletion:no`	Server will not be rebooted after completion.
`userName:WS03Domain\Administrator`	The username that will be used to promote the server to a domain controller.
`userDomain:WS03Domain`	The domain of the user account that will be used to promote the server to a domain controller.
`password:Today01!`	The password of the user that will be used to promote the server to a domain controller.

To install an additional DC by using the command line, perform the following using an AD DS account that has membership in the following AD DS group:

Domain Admins for the domain for which you want to add a writable domain controller.

Log on to the server you want to promote to a domain controller.
Click Start and then click Command Prompt.
Type the following into the command prompt window, as shown in Figure 3.39, and then press ENTER:
```
dcpromo /unattend /InstallDns:yes /confirmGC:yes
/replicaOrNewDomain:replica /replicaDomainDNSName:WS03Domain.local
/databasePath:"c:\windows\ntds" /logPath:"c:\windows\ntds"
/sysvolpath:"c:\windows\sysvol" /safeModeAdminPassword:Today01!
/rebootOnCompletion:yes
```
Figure 3.39 Installing an additional DC using the command line.

The dcpromo process begins by determining whether the AD DS binaries are installed. If the binaries are not installed, dcpromo installs them.
After the AD DS binaries have been installed, a summary of the installation options is presented in the command prompt window; then the AD DS installation process begins.
The status of the AD DS installing is updated in the command prompt window.
When the installation process is complete, the server reboots automatically if the /rebootOnCompletion option was used in the command line. If the /rebootOnCompletion was not used in the command line, you are prompted to restart the server.
To validate the installation process, click Start, click Run, type C:\Windows\Debug, and click OK.
Open the DCPROMO.log file and analyze the results in the file.

Install an Additional Domain Controller by Using an Answer File

Table 3.8 lists the installation parameters used in the steps that follow and the corresponding action of each parameter.

Table 3.8. Installing an Additional DC by Using Answer File Installation Parameters

Installation Parameter	Corresponding Action
`InstallDns=yes`	DNS server will be installed.
`confirmGC=yes`	Specifies the domain controller is a global catalog server.
`replicaOrNewDomain=replica`	An additional domain controller will be added to the domain.
`replicaDomainDNSName=WS03Domain.local`	The DNS name of the domain to which the domain controller will be added.
`databasePath="c:\windows\ntds"`	Database path.
`logPath="c:\windows\ntds"`	Log file path.
`sysvolpath="c:\windows\sysvol"`	SYSVOL path.
`safeModeAdminPassword=Today01!`	DSRM Administrator password.
`rebootOnCompletion=no`	Server will not be rebooted after completion.
`userName=WS03Domain\Administrator`	The username that will be used to promote the server to a domain controller.
`userDomain=WS03Domain`	The domain of the user account that will be used to promote the server to a domain controller.
`password=Today01!`	The password of the user that will be used to promote the server to a domain controller.

To install an additional DC by using an answer file, perform the following using an AD DS account that has membership in the following AD DS group:

Domain Admins for the domain for which you want to add a writable domain controller.

Log on to the server you want to promote to a domain controller.
Click Start, click Run, type notepad, and click OK.
On the first line, type [DCINSTALL] and then press ENTER.

Type the following entries, one entry on each line, as shown in Figure 3.40:

InstallDns=yes
confirmGC=yes
replicaOrNewDomain=replica
replicaDomainDNSName=WS03Domain.local
databasePath="c:\windows\ntds"
logPath="c:\windows\ntds"
sysvolpath="c:\windows\sysvol"
safeModeAdminPassword=Today01!
rebootOnCompletion=no
UserName=WS03Domain\Administrator
UserDomain=WS03Domain
Password=Today01!

Figure 3.40 Installing an additional DC by using an answer file.

Save the answer file as C:\DCAnswer.txt.
Click Start and then click Command Prompt.
Type the following into the command prompt window, as shown in Figure 3.40, and then press ENTER:
```
dcpromo /unattend:"C:\DCAnswer.txt"
```
The dcpromo process begins by determining whether the AD DS binaries are installed. If the binaries are not installed, dcpromo installs them.
After the AD DS binaries have been installed, a summary of the installation options is presented in the command prompt window; then the AD DS installation process begins. The status of the AD DS installing is updated in the command prompt window.
When the installation process is complete, the server reboots automatically if the /rebootOnCompletion option was used in the answer file. If the /rebootOnCompletion was not used in the answer file, you are prompted to restart the server.
To validate the installation process, click Start, click Run, type C:\Windows\Debug, and click OK.
Open the DCPROMO.log file and analyze the results in the file.

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