GCP VM - AD Setup

1. Creating a Virtual Machine (VM) on GCP

Steps:

1. Navigate to Compute Engine:

   • Go to Google Cloud Console.

   • Select your project.

2. Create a VM Instance:

   • Click the menu icon ☰ and navigate to "Compute Engine" > "VM instances."

   • Click "Create instance."

3. Configure the VM:

   • Instance details:

     • Name: your-vm-name

     • Region and zone: us-central1 (or your preferred region)

     • Machine type: e2-medium

   • Boot disk:

     • Change the boot disk to Windows Server 2022 Datacenter.

   • Firewall:

     • Select "Allow HTTP traffic" and "Allow HTTPS traffic."

   • Networking:

     • Configure your network settings (VPC network, subnet, external IP).

4. Create the VM:

   • Click "Create" and wait for the VM to be provisioned.

TLDR:

• VM Name: your-vm-name

• Region/Zone: us-central1

• Machine Type: e2-medium

• Boot Disk: Windows Server 2022 Datacenter

2. Installing and Configuring Active Directory on the VM

Steps:

1. Connect to the VM:

   • Use RDP to connect to the Windows VM.

   • If no RDP option is available, use an RDP client with the external IP address of the VM.

2. Set Password for Local Admin Account:

   • When prompted, set a strong password for the local admin account on the server.

3. Install Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS):

   • Open Server Manager.

   • Click "Manage" > "Add Roles and Features."

   • Follow the wizard, select the AD DS role, and complete the installation.

4. Promote the Server to a Domain Controller:

   • Launch the "Active Directory Domain Services Configuration Wizard."

   • Choose "Add a new forest" (if creating a new domain).

   • Provide domain and forest details.

   • Set a Directory Services Restore Mode (DSRM) password.

5. Configure DNS (Optional):

   • Configure DNS if required during the AD DS setup.

6. Post-installation Tasks:

   • Configure firewall rules to allow necessary traffic for AD.

   • Set up additional AD settings as needed.

TLDR:

• Domain Name: your-domain-name

• Forest Functional Level: forest-functional-level

• DSRM Password: your-dsrm-password

Notes:

• If the server administrator account has a blank password you may be forced to set a password.

Additional Considerations:

• Security: Implement strong passwords, firewall rules, and regular updates.

• Backup: Set up regular backups of your AD environment.

• Monitoring: Configure monitoring and alerts for AD health and performance.