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Active Directory on W indow s Server 2008 Requirements by Daniel Petri - January 7, 2009 Printer Friendly Version The process of installing an Active Directory domain in Windows Server 2008 is quite simple, but some beginners or IT professionals that have never had a chance to get their hands on AD installations and that are not familiar with its requirements might stumble across a few pitfalls. So, what do we need in order to successfully install Active Directory on a Windows Server 2008? Here is a quick list of what you must have: An NTFS partition with enough free space An Administrator's username and password The correct operating system version A NIC Properly configured TCP/IP (IP address, subnet mask and - optional - default gateway) A network connection (to a hub or to another computer via a crossover cable) An operational DNS server (which can be installed on the DC itself) A Domain name that you want to use Brains (recommended, not required...) After you have all the above go ahead and read my "Installing Active Directory on Windows Server 2008" article. An NTFS Partition To successfully install AD you must have a t least one NTFS formatted partition. Back in older operating systems this was something that you actually had to tell people about, because *some* administrators had servers that did not have their partitions formatted with NTFS. Nowadays, NTFS is the only way to go in Windows-based servers, but I will nevertheless put it on the writing, just to make sure. This partition is where the SYSVOL folder is placed, and usually, that is the C:' partition, but for large AD deployments, this could very well be a different partition. To convert a partition (C:) to NTFS type the following command in the command prompt window: convert c:/fs:ntfs Free space on your disk You need at least 250mb of free space on the partition you plan to install AD on. Of course you'll need more than that if you plan to create more users, groups a nd various AD objects. Local Administrator's username and password Remember, only a local Administrator (or equivalent) can install the first domain and thus create the new forest. Other installation scenarios – such as adding additional (replica) DCs require either Domain Active Dire ct or y o n Wi ndows Ser ve r 2008 Requ irements ht tp :/ /www.p etri.c o. il/active-dire ct or y- wind ows- server-2 00 8- requ ... 1 of 8 7/7/2011 12:48 PM
