To start the project, I needed to provision Active Directory servers using the Google Cloud Marketplace. Here are the steps:
- Log in to your Google Cloud Console.
- Navigate to the Marketplace section.
- Search for the Microsoft Active Directory or a related solution.
- Choose an appropriate AD server instance and configuration.
- Follow the prompts to deploy the instance.
After provisioning the AD servers, I needed to deploy a Windows virtual machine that will be added to the domain. Here's what I did:
- Access the Google Cloud Console.
- Go to the Compute Engine section.
- Create a new virtual machine instance.
- Choose Windows as the operating system.
- Configure the instance with appropriate resources and settings.
- Allow necessary firewall rules for communication.
To ensure that my Windows virtual machine can communicate with the Active Directory servers, I needed to update its DNS settings:
- Connect to the Windows VM using Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP).
- Open the Network and Sharing Center.
- Click on Change adapter settings.
- Right-click on the network adapter and select Properties.
- Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click on Properties.
- Set the preferred DNS server to the IP address of your Active Directory server.
- Confirm and save the settings.
Now that my VM is properly configured, I could add it to the Active Directory domain:
- From the Windows VM, open System Properties.
- Go to the Computer Name tab and click on Change.
- Select Domain and enter the name of your Active Directory domain.
- Provide credentials with sufficient privileges to join the domain.
- Restart the VM to apply the changes.
- After reboot, the VM will be part of the Active Directory domain.
By following these learning points, I have successfully set up a project involving a Managed Service for Microsoft Active Directory on Google Cloud. This project covers provisioning AD servers, deploying Windows VMs, configuring DNS settings, and adding VMs to the domain.