Setting Up an Active Directory Homelab from Scratch

A practical guide to spinning up Windows Server, configuring a domain controller, and practising AD administration safely before you touch production.

SysAdminActive DirectoryWindows ServerHomelab
Mifzaal Abdul Bari

Mifzaal Abdul Bari

@islandboymv

·1 min read

Before my internship at MINDCO I had read plenty about Active Directory but had never actually touched it.

What You Need

  • A machine with at least 16 GB RAM
  • VMware Workstation, VirtualBox, or Hyper-V
  • Windows Server 2022 Evaluation ISO
  • Windows 10 or 11 ISO for the client VM

Promoting the Server to a Domain Controller

powershell
Install-WindowsFeature -Name AD-Domain-Services -IncludeManagementTools

What to Practice Next

  1. 1Group Policy Objects
  2. 2FSMO roles
  3. 3AD replication
  4. 4Fine-grained password policies
  5. 5Audit logging
Next

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