rmvvwls

I've been meaning to try out R2 since it became available on Dreamspark. So I'd love any reading I could get my hands on so I can try this over the holidays.
Thanks guys.

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QQ~

Do AD-DS, DNS and DHCP have to be installed on the server running WDS?

Manyak

No, they can be on a different server. Hell, each one can be on a different server. But they do have to be somewhere.

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ComGuards

I don't mean to be the negative guy here, but there's already tons of pre-existing resources on the web for Active Directory / DNS / DHCP on Server 2008. One of the better resource sites, http://www.petri.co.il.

For example:
http://www.petri.co.il/installing-ac...erver-2008.htm

Just trying to save everybody some time... Because you're bound to open a can of worms with the guide... there's a bunch of things to consider. For example, is it a (1) new Active Directory Forest, (2) new Domain in existing forest, (3) upgrade of an existing domain / forest, etc etc.

Manyak

You're right, there are plenty. But how many of them are geared towards a home server & network?

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ComGuards

There's no difference when you're installing Active Directory on a "home" network or a "business" network. The same basic network principles still apply.

And honestly, when you're going to Active Directory, you're going well beyond the realm of a "normal" home network anyways, yes? For example, you should already know that with AD, you should disable DHCP so that you can properly register DHCP leases with your AD DNS servers, etc etc.

Just my own thought, and one of the reasons I haven't bought a NAS yet (for example), is that all of the consumer-level NAS units, those "home-network" units, don't support Active Directory integration. If I'm going to go through the trouble of setting up Active Directory at home, then I might as well install storage units that take advantage of the benefits of AD.

Manyak

Yes but that's exactly the point. Not everyone here who runs a home server cares about everything that Active Directory has to offer. They want to do certain things: automatic configuration & installation of windows, roaming profiles, etc etc etc. Why read through a ton of documents on inheritance and security over forests (for example) when its never going to be used? And while someone at home might like a RADIUS server for their Wifi security, it doesn't necessarily mean they care about every single possible type of authentication method. Some people just want to be told "ok you should use this one, and this is how to configure it".

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ComGuards

I'm not saying "don't" do it. Well, I certainly don't want to you to be wasting your time, is all. I'm honestly just wondering how often or how many people are going to be "deploying" Windows variants all that often / much, or whether it may ultimately be better to do a single install and then write up a guide on cloning without WDS. I remember when I got WDS set up properly I felt like I climbed Mount Everest, and I went all nuts deploying virtual machines and admiring what I'd done. Then I just got sick of it, lol. I just finished checking and deleting all those deployed machines.

I can certainly understand your point. Actually I agree with it too - I don't give a d@mn about multiple forests / domains when I'm running a single forest/domain setup at home. I'm just not sure if you can go into truly explain how to properly use it (and Group Policy) without a (relatively) thorough understanding (first) of how AD works.

With regards to a home server and AD, I think unless you're prepared to delve into and deal with the possibilities of something going wrong, you should probably avoid AD. Like, for example, power outages corrupting your AD database, and you have no backup, how do you recover? That's going to put a big dent in your network when your kids (or more likely maybe a wife) can't log in to the computer to do online shopping / homework. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, yes? I'm sure you have plenty of experience with AD so you know how it is.

Anyways, with *specific* regards to WDS, I've actually stopped using it =P. I'm just sick of constantly reinstalling / installing / deploying Windows, no matter what method I use.

Manyak

Well there you go . That pretty much sums up the whole idea of writing up a guide on this forum. That, and the fact that it would simply be a nice addition.

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