Setting Up Active Directory for the First Time

I spend most of my time in Linux. Nginx configs, DNS zones, Bash scripts — that's my daily environment. But most enterprise environments run on Windows, and if I want to work in a more general sysadmin role, I need to actually know my way around Active Directory, not just have it on my CV.

So I set up a lab. VirtualBox on my personal PC, Windows Server 2022 Evaluation, and this week I promoted my first Domain Controller.

Installing the role

The first step is just installing the AD DS role through Server Manager — Add Roles and Features → Active Directory Domain Services. This only installs the binaries. Nothing is actually configured yet.

The real step comes after: Server Manager shows a yellow warning flag at the top of the screen. Clicking it gives you the option to "Promote this server to a domain controller." That's where you actually set things up — the forest name, the domain name, and a DSRM password (Directory Services Restore Mode, basically a recovery password you set and hopefully never need).

I used lab.local as the domain name. Nothing fancy.

What I noticed

The DNS integration was the first thing that stood out. When you promote a Domain Controller, it automatically installs and configures DNS alongside AD — because Active Directory is heavily dependent on DNS for service discovery. Clients find the DC by querying DNS. Everything is tied together in a way that felt unfamiliar coming from Linux, where DNS and directory services are completely separate concerns.

After the server rebooted, I logged in as LAB\Administrator and had a working domain. Took maybe twenty minutes total.

What's next

Now I want to actually use it. Create some Organizational Units, users, and groups structured like a real company. Then join a second VM to the domain and start experimenting with Group Policy — that seems to be where the day-to-day Windows administration actually lives.

I'll write about that once I've had a chance to break something.