Active Directory Lab Part III: Installation Prerequisites

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This post is part of a series illustrating how to automate the process of deploying an AD Lab. This article provides information on system requirements and implementing the prerequisites for installing the AD Lab. These prerequisites are a subset of the prerequisites for part two. If you have already completed that section, you may skip these steps. This is the starting point for deploying the AD Lab if you already have the customized installer ISOs produced in part two.

You can use my automation script, OZO AD Lab Implement Installation Prerequisites to perform these steps with a single command! Some steps may require you to reboot and start the script again. Look for the message “All prerequisites are satisfied” before moving on to the next post.

System Requirements

  • Microsoft Windows Server, Enterprise, or Pro
  • An external (Internet) network connection
  • 32GB persistent storage for virtual machine disks
  • 11GB temporary storage for customized ISOs
  • 6GB memory
  • 3 virtual CPUs

Prerequisites

Install Hyper-V Components

Run these commands in an Administrator PowerShell to install the Hyper-V components and restart:

Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V -All
Restart-Computer

Grant Permissions

Using an account with Administrator rights, add your [regular] user to the local Hyper-V Administrators group, then log out and back in.

Configure Networking

You will need a Hyper-V NAT switch called OZO AD Lab NAT configured with 172.16.1.1. Execute the following in an Administrator PowerShell:

New-VMSwitch -SwitchName "OZO AD Lab NAT" -SwitchType Internal -ErrorAction Stop
New-NetIPAddress -IPAddress "172.16.1.1" -PrefixLength 24 -InterfaceIndex (Get-NetAdapter -ErrorAction Stop | Where-Object { $_.Name -eq "vEthernet (OZO AD Lab NAT)" }).ifIndex
New-NetNat -Name "OZO AD Lab NAT" -InternalIPInterfaceAddressPrefix "172.16.1.0/24"

Your new switches will appear in the Hyper-V Virtual switch manager:

Obtain Installer ISOs

You will need the two customized installer ISOs created as described in part two of this series. Copy these to your Downloads directory.

Virtual MachineISO
ClientOZO-AD-Lab-Client.iso
ServerOZO-AD-Lab-Server.iso

Part I – Introduction

Part II – Customization

Part III – Installation

Part IV – Conclusion