Active Directory Lab Part III: Install the VMs

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This post is part of a series illustrating how to automate the process of deploying an AD Lab. This article details the process for installing the Windows systems using the customized installer ISOs produced in part two of this series.

Install the Windows Systems

Install the Domain Controller

  1. Start the Server VM.
  2. Press any key to boot to the DVD drive and allow the automated installation to complete; the system will restart several times.
  3. Edit the Server VM settings and remove the ISO from the DVD drive.
  4. [Optional] Run the following commands in an Administrator PowerShell to populate AD with a variety of objects and delegations as [partially] described in Architecture:

    ozo-ad-manage-directory-objects.ps1 -Configuration "C:\ProgramData\OZO AD Lab\ozo-ad-lab-configuration.json"
    ozo-ad-manage-delegations.ps1 -Configuration "C:\ProgramData\OZO AD Lab\ozo-ad-lab-configuration.json"

  5. [Optional] define your own OZO Unified AD JSON and use OZO AD Manage Directory Objects and OZO AD Manage Delegations to populate AD with your own schema.
  6. [Optional] create your own AD objects and delegations using the GUI tools and PowerShell cmdlets.

Install the Client

  1. Start the Server VM if it is not already running.
  2. Start the Client VM.
  3. Press any key to boot to the DVD drive and allow the automated installation to complete; the system will restart several times.
  4. Edit the Client VM settings and remove the ISO from the DVD drive.
  5. [Optional] Install the RSAT tools and related OZO PowerShell modules and scripts on the Client:

    Get-WindowsCapability -Name RSAT* -Online | Add-WindowsCapability -Online
    Install-Module OZOAD
    Install-Script ozo-ad-manage-delegations
    Install-Script ozo-ad-manage-directory-objects

Note: The client installation uses DHCP and an auto-generated hostname. You can use the OZO-AD-Lab-Client.iso ISO to install any number of additional client hosts in your lab environment.

Part I – Introduction

Part II – Customization

Part III – Installation

Part IV – Conclusion