Categories
MCSA MCSE Servers

How to Backup Active Directory Fully in Windows Server 2016?

Managing network is a critical task in the networking world but not much tough with active directory. The Active Directory was first time introduced in Windows Server 2000 for centralized domain management. Before the active directory, Microsoft had added tools to manage users, computers but they were not as efficient as active directory. The Active Directory Services (AD DS) or directly Active Directory (AD) is the repository of management and information. You can manage and have information of every type of information about users, computers, services. Also, it offers excellent services like load balancing, failover cluster. As much as it’s affected that much, you need just to make it relevant and take care of it means you need to take backup of the active directory if someone accidentally delete something or being hacked. Therefore, if the domain controller stops working, you should be able to restore the data back. Don’t worry, because we have the every solution of your problem, let’s move on and do it now.

Backup Active Directory in Windows Server 2016

The Active directory backup is not much involved. Indeed, you can learn and do it easily.

First of all, you need to install the Windows Backup Server, using Server Manager.

1. Open Server Manager, click on Add roles and features, skip the Welcome page clicking on Next button, then select the server you want to install the backup server on, click on Next button. It is not the role; it is a feature, skip the select Server Roles page. In the feature page, scroll down and check the Windows Server Backup, hit Next!

Install feature
Install feature

2. In the Confirm installation selections page, click on Install button. Take a rest, because it takes a while, no reboot is needed.

Install feature
Install feature

3. Now on the Server Manager, click on Tools, then click on Windows Server Backup at the end of the list to open the server.

Windows Server Backup
Windows Server Backup

4. Now the server backup is opened, click on backup once. If you like to make a schedule for active directory backup, so click on Backup schedule.

Backup once
Backup once

5. Select Different options, click on Next button because Different options are used while we don’t have any schedule for backup.

Different option
Different option

6. On the Select backup configuration page, two options are available, Full Server and Custom. We just want to take backup of the active directory, so we choose the second option.

Custom backup
Custom backup

7. In the Select items for the backup page, click on Add items button, select system state option and click on Ok button. so you are done here, hit next!

Add items, system state
Add items, system state

8. It is the time to decide where to restore the backup files, Local drives or shared folder; I choose the local drive.

Destination type
Destination type

9. In the Select backup destination page, the place for backup files restoration is specified.

Destination page
Destination page

10. We are done, so click on the Backup button, take a rest. Let the server do its work.

Backup Active Directory Fully on Windows Server 2016
Backup Active Directory Fully on Windows Server 2016

Conclusion

Ok, hope it was informative and helpful, to restore the Active Directory backup, follow our next article covering restoring active directory’s backup.

Categories
MCSA MCSE Servers

Promote Windows Server 2016 to Domain Controller step by step

Active Directory which is the management service in Windows Server is installed on a server that is called Domain Controller (DC). When active directory have been installed on a server. You can promote the server to a domain controller. Every network needs at lest two domain controllers. When one of them is down, the other domain controller take the place and respond to clients. The Domain controllers respond to security authentications like logging in, checking permissions, files access, system check up and many more.

When you want to log in to a server from a client computer, you should have a user name and a password. Your system will be checked to have updated anti-virus and etc.

Permissions are the level of the tasks that you can do in the domain. File access is about the level of your access to sources. These and a lot more duties are done through domain controller.

In this article, I am going to show some easy steps outlined to promote server to domain controller. First, make sure that you logged in as an administrator.

Prerequisites

Install Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) role on the server you want to promote it to domain controller (DC).

Promote Server to Domain Controller

Follow the following steps to promote server to domain controller.

1. After the role installation, open Server Manager. Click on the flag, then click on Promote this server to a domain controller hyperlink.

Promote this server to domain controller
Promote this server to domain controller

2. When the Deployment Configuration page appears, you see three options.

  • Add domain controller to existing domain: This option is used when you want to add additional domain controller.
  • Add a new domain to an existing forest: This option is used for adding a new domain to existing forest.
  • Add a new forest: It is used for creating a new forest.

Select the third option: Add a new forest. Enter a Root domain name and click on Next button.

Create new forest
Create new forest

3. Specify the forest and domain functional levels (2008, 2008R2, 2012, 2o12R2, 2016). Type a complex password (composed of capital letters, small letters, numbers, symbols).

By default, Domain Name Services (DNS) server is installed at the same time when you are promoting the server to domain controller. If you want to install DNS server later, remove the selection from the box next to Domain Name Services (DNS) server. Click on Next button when you’re finished here.

Domain Controller Options
Domain Controller Options

4. On the Additional options page, let the NetBIOS domain name as selected by default. If you want, you can change the NetBIOS name. Click on Next button to move on next page.

NetBIOS domain name
NetBIOS domain name

5. Thus you can specify the path that you want to restore your Database files, log files and SYSVOL files. The path page give you the options to specify location of the sources to be restored. When you finished your work, click on Next button.

Paths page
Paths page

6. The next page is Review options. You go nothing to do. Click on Next button. The Prerequisites Check page shows you the summary of all prerequisites that are verified or not. If it’s verified click Next. If not, recheck the steps you did just before and be sure you have done all correctly. Click on Install button. After the installation succeeded, the system automatically reboots.

Install button
Install button

Conclusion

After the restart, the server is domain controller. It is really easy to promote server to domain controller (DC). Also, you can start managing and controlling users from your server. For any questions leave a comment below. I would be glad to answer your questions as soon as possible.