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Set Up AD DS and DNS

This is made for Windows Server 2019 Standard Edition version 1809, and I can not guarantee it works on any other version of Windows Server.

Setting Up Active Directory Domain Services for a domain

  1. Open Server Manager.

  2. Within the Manage menu, click Add Roles And Features

  3. Select the Role-based or feature-based installation, then choose the Active Directory Domain Services option

  4. When the installation completes, open the notification menu, and click Promote this server to a domain controller

  5. Select Add a new forest, and enter the domain name

  6. Set a DSRM password

  7. Finish configuration and reboot

Add a DNS record

  1. Within Server Manager, switch to the DNS tab, right click the server, and click DNS Manager

  2. Expand the sidebar objects until you find the Forward Lookup Zones directory, and right click your domain within it. Click New Host (A or AAAA)....

  3. Type in the hostname and IP in the proper fields, and check Create associated pointer (PTR) record. Ignore the "DNS" Warning.

  4. Right click the Reverse Lookup Zones directory and select New Zone..., and configure it with the Network ID.

  5. Open the configuration for your Forward Lookup Zone host from steps 1-2, uncheck Updated associated pointer (PTR) record, click Apply, then check it again, then click OK.

  6. On the device you want to add, change the DNS Server to the IP address of the server you've been working on.

Note: everything beyond this point assumes that you have at least one domain admin on the network. If you don't, before you continue, follow the instructions below to add a user, and add it to the group "Domain Admins"

  1. On the device you want to add, open Control Panel, and navigate to Control Panel\System and Security\System, and open System Properties.

  2. Click the Change... button, and within the Member of box, select domain, and enter the name of the domain. Enter a Domain Admin's username and password, then reboot.

Add objects to the network

This includes adding users

  1. Within Server Manager, switch to the AD DS tab, and right click the server

  2. Click Active Directory Users and Computers

  3. Find the desired location, right click it, and select New > \

  4. Enter the object name, and select the desired settings

Add a user to a group

  1. Within Server Manager, switch to the AD DS tab, and right click the server

  2. Click Active Directory Users and Computers

  3. Navigate to the user, right click it, and select Add to a group

  4. Add the group's name to the Object Names list, and click OK