Preparing AD Infrastructure Using Azure

Overview

This project demonstrates how to prepare the proper infrastructure to successfully deploy and configure an Active Directory environment using Microsoft Azure.

The setup includes:

• A Domain Controller (Windows Server 2022)
• A Client Machine (Windows 10)
• Proper network, DNS, and connectivity settings to enable AD Infrastructure functionality

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Technologies Used

• Microsoft Azure (Resource Groups, Virtual Networks, Virtual Machines)
• Windows Server 2022
• Windows 10 (21H2)
• Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS)
• PowerShell & Remote Desktop

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Step-by-Step Implementation

🔹 1. Create Resource Group & Virtual Network

• Log into the Azure Portal.
• Create a Resource Group:
  • Search for Resource Groups → Click Create → Enter name (e.g., Active-Directory-Lab).
• Create a Virtual Network (VNet):
  • Search for Virtual Networks → Click Create → Choose the Active-Directory-Lab resource group.
  • Name it Active-Directory-VNet.
  • The Subnet could be left at the default setting.

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🔹 2. Deploy the Domain Controller (DC-1)

• Create a Virtual Machine:
  • Virtual Machine Name: DC-1
  • Resource Group: Active-Directory-Lab
  • Virtual Network: Active-Directory-VNet
  • Region: (Same Region as Resource Group & VNet)
  • Image: Windows Server 2022 Datacenter: Azure Edition - Gen2
  • Size: Standard D2s v3 (2 vcpus, 8 GiB memory)
  • Username: labuser
  • Password: *********
    

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• Configure Dc-1 Private IP Address From Dynamic To Static Private IP:
  • Go to DC-1 → Networking → NIC settings → Change IP from Dynamic to Static.

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• Connect to DC-1 VM with Remote Desktop.

• Inside the DC-1 VM: You should be brought to a Server Manager Dashbroad (That'll confirm you have successfully setup your DC-1 Server correctly)

• Now, Open Windows Defender Firewall from Start menu

  • Within Windows Defender Firewall Properties ensure that Firewall state for:
    • Domain Profile
    • Private Profile
    • Public Profile

  are ALL set to Off (temporarily to simplify connectivity testing)

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🔹 3. Deploy the Client Machine (Client-1)

• Create a Virtual Machine:
  • Virtual Machine Name: Client-1
  • Resource Group: Active-Directory-Lab
  • Virtual Network: Active-Directory-VNet
  • Region: (Same Region as Resource Group & VNet)
  • Image: Windows (Windows 10 Pro)
  • Size: Standard D2s v3 (2 vcpus, 8 GiB memory)
  • Username: labuser
  • Password: *********

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• Update DNS settings:
  • Go to Client-1 → Networking → DNS Servers → Set to Custom DNS → Put DC-1’s private IP (10.0.0.4 for the sake of this project)
  • Save and Restart the Client-1 VM within Azure
• Then connect and log into Client-1 VM with Remote Desktop

Note: It'll bring you to a Windows OS Home Screen (Not a Server Manager Dashbroad) once logged in = Successful Windows 10 deployment

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🔹 4. Verify Connectivity Between Client and DC Using Powershell

• On Client-1, open Powershell:

  • Run Ping DC-1 Private IP (10.0.0.4)

  • Confirm replies are received.

• On Client-1, open PowerShell:

  • Run ipconfig /all
  • Verify the DNS Server is set to DC-1’s Private IP

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Outcome / Learnings

By completing this project, I:

• Prepared a fully functional Active Directory Infrastructure using Azure
• Configured static IP addressing and custom DNS settings.
• Validated communication between a Domain Controller and client machine.
• Strengthen skills in networking, VM management, and directory services.

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