Install and configure a Windows Server 2012. Refer to the recipes Installing Windows Server 2012 (Must know) and Configuring Windows Server 2012 (Must know) for more details.
Join the new Windows Server 2012 to the existing Active Directory domain. Refer to the recipe Configuring Windows Server 2012 (Must know) for more details.
Open Server Manager. Navigate to the All Servers group in the left-hand side pane.
From the Server Name box, right-click on the appropriate server and select the Add Roles and Features option. You can also select Add Roles and Features from the Manage menu in the command bar. If the correct server is not listed here, you can manually add it from the Manage tab on the top right-hand side and select Add Server.
Click on Next on the Welcome window.
In the Select Installation Type window, select Role based or Feature based installation. Click on Next.
In the Select destination server window, select Select a server from the server pool option and the correct server from the Server Pool box. Click on Next.
On the Select server roles window, select Active Directory Domain Services. You will see a pop-up window to confirm the installation of Group Policy Management Tool. It is not required to install the administrative tools on a domain controller. However, this tool is required for the Group Policy Object management and administration. Click on Next.
Click on Next in the Select features window.
Click on Next on the Active Directory Domain Services window.
In the Confirm Installation Selections window, select the Restart the destination server automatically if required option. In the pop-up window click on Yes to confirm the restart option and click on Install. This will begin the installation process.
You will see the progress on the installation window itself. This window can be closed without interrupting the installation process. You can get the status update from the notification section in the command bar as shown in the following screenshot:
The Post-deployment Configuration option needs to be completed after the Active Directory Domain Services role installation. This process will promote the new server as a domain controller.
From the notification window, select Promote this server to a domain controller hyperlink.
From the Deployment Configuration window, you should be able to:
Install a new forest
Install a new child domain
Add an additional domain controller for an existing domain
Specify alternative credentials for the domain controller promotion, and so on
Since our goal is to install an additional domain controller to an existing domain, select the Add a domain controller to an existing domain option. Click on Next.
In the Domain Controller Options window, you will see the following options:
Domain Name System (DNS) server
Global Catalog (GC)
Read only Domain controller (RODC)
Site name:
Type the Directory Service Restore Mode (DSRM) password
Select Domain Name System (DNS) server and Global Catalog (GC) checkboxes and provide the Directory Services Restore Mode (DSRM) password. Click on Next.
Click on Next on the DNS Options window.
In the Additional Options window you will see the following options:
Install from media
Replicate from
Accept the default options unless you have technical reasons to modify these. Click on Next.
In the Paths window, you can specify the AD Database, Log, and SYSVOL locations. Select the appropriate locations and then click on Next.
Note
Review the Microsoft Infrastructure Planning and Design (IPD) guides for best practices recommendations. For performance improvements, it is recommended to place database, log, and so on in separate drives.
Click on Next on the Preparation Options window. During this process the Active Directory Schema and Domain Preparation will happen in the background.
You should be able to review the selected option on the next screen. You can export these settings and configurations to a PowerShell script by clicking on the View Script option in the bottom-right corner of the screen. This script can be used for future domain controller deployments.
Click on Next to continue with the installation.
The prerequisite checking process will happen in the background. You will see the result in the Prerequisites Check window. This is a new enhancement in Windows Server 2012. Review the result and click on Install.
The progress of the domain controller promotion will display on the Installation window.
The following warning message will be displayed on the destination server before it restarts the server: