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Active Directory - Setup

Last updated: June 25, 2024

Setup and Tools​

While the video I followed for this lab uses Virtual Box, I have a test environment for Windows Sever 2019 which is what I will be using for this lab. There is an assumption that you have a suitable Windows Server version running somewhere to complete the following.

For the curious, my setup is as follows:
  • Proxmox 8 VE
  • VM running Windows Server 2019
    • Two Virtual NICs
      • One to connect to the public internet
      • The second for an internal private network
  • A Client Windows Machine - this will also be a VM running in Proxmox.

There are no set rules or requirements other than needing hardware capable of running the Server and Client operating systems. And probably some internet. Yep ... you'll want that. If you want to set up your virtual machines using a simple tool, you can watch the original youtube video where Josh walks through creating VMs on VirtualBox.

Set up NICs for External & Internal Connectivity​

The goal here is to set up network segmentation that allows one of our virtual NICs to connect to the public internet and another to be used internally. The NIC dedicated to connecting to the internet will use DHCP to receive a dynamically assigned IP address. The other will be assinged an internal static IP.

Steps​

  1. In your Windows Server VM, click into the network settings: Windows Start Menu > Settings > Network & Internet > and look for the Change Adaptor Options under the Advanced Network Settings header

  2. You should see the two NICs set up when creating the VM. At this point if you are using Proxmox both will be set up using DHCP and will have a public IP to connect to the internet. We want to alter one of these to keep it internal.

  3. Give one NIC a static address. Right click on of the NIC entries and select Properties > in the Networking Pane select Internet Protocl Version 4(TCP/IPv4) > Properties

  4. In the new pop-up, we will enter the values for our static address. Click the Use the following IP address radio button and enter the following values

  • IP Address: 172.16.0.1

  • Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

  • Default Gateway: No gateway should be assinged as the DC will serve as the gateway

  1. Active Directory automatically installs DNS and so we will add the following values. Our server will use itself as the DNS server:

  • Preferred DNS Server: 127.0.0.1 (this is the loopback address)

    The NIC with the static address will show Unidentified network under it's name and the other will show Network
  1. Rename each connection to keep them unique and easily identifiable. Right click the Internet connected NIC and click Rename and then name it PUBLIC. Then do the same for the Unidentified network giving it the name INTERNAL

Rename PC To Make it Easily Identifiable​

  1. Click Start Menu > Settings > System > About and then click Rename this PC

  2. In the pop-up window you'll see your current PC name which is a random string. Give it a memorable name and click next. I've called mine DomainController

  3. Restart your VM